Review of Santa Sangre (1989) by Cine M — 07 Apr 2011

FANTASTIC! This has been added to my personal list of the best films ever made. Now, if you've seen Jodorowsky's other films and been put off by the dense mystical symbolism and surrealism of "El Topo" and "Holy Mountain," rest assured that "Santa Sangre" is quite different. It still offers the visual spectacle you'd expect from his films, but the story is tempered by the collaboration of Claudio Argento (brother of Dario Argento) on the writing of the screenplay. The result is a masterpiece that incorporates elements of surrealism, psychological thriller, giallo and horror. At the same time, Jodorowsky doesn't hold back in his critique of Catholicism and American influence on South American culture.

This is perhaps one of the most interesting voyages inside the mind of a serial killer ever made. It begins with the origin of the killer; his mother is the leader of a religious cult that worships an armless saint but is also a trapeze performer in his father's circus. Mom catches dad cheating with a tattooed woman, pours acid on him, he cuts off her arms and then slits his own throat... all in front of the boy. He's locked in a mental institution, escapes, and begins killing at the behest of his vengeful, armless mother. She takes him over so completely that he exists as little more than her hands.

That's all I can give you about this flick without giving too much away. It plays out like the cinematic lovechild of Fellini and Hitchcock, full of incredible imagery and truly strange twists and turns, leading up to one of the most fulfillingly ironic endings I've ever seen in a movie. The film's flaws are few and superficial. If you haven't seen it, SEE IT. "Psycho" meets "The Heart of Darkness" with flourishes that only Jodorowsky (or maybe Fellini) could provide.