Horror anthology film ‘SATANIC HISPANICS’ rounds up chilling, comical macabre tales

Preston Barta // Features Editor

Just in time for Hispanic Heritage Month, ‘SATANIC HISPANICS’ is now playing in theaters, ready to cook your nerves and poke your funny bone. Watch director Gigi Saul Guerrero share how her mom determines the gore meter in her films.

If you think horror anthology films are merely scattered collections of short-form storytelling without much to offer, it’s time for a reeducation.

This type of art has paved avenues for filmmakers to test bold ideas or showcase their talents without the pressures of crafting feature-length debuts. When done right, it’s a packaged deal that maintains continuity between segments while making individual creative splashes.

One such splash comes from Gigi Saul Guerrero (Bingo Hell, upcoming V/H/S/85), who directs the short film “Nahuales” within Satanic Hispanics. The newly-released anthology held its world premiere at Fantastic Fest in Austin last year, where it took home the award for Best Director(s) under the horror category.

Guerrero contributes a chilling exploration of folklore about a CIA collaborator (Ari Gallegos) who is captured and tortured by a group of Mexican animal people. Anticipate hardcore visuals such as flesh peelings, werewolf-like transformations, and plenty of images to make Robert Eggers (The VVitch, The Lighthouse) smile. 

“Nahuales” is part of a larger story that centers on a mysterious man (Napoleon Dynamite’s Efren Ramirez) who is taken into custody for questioning. He manages to be the only survivor of a bloody police raid at a stash house in El Paso.

One would expect a shared story about incredible luck; however, he tells the skeptical detectives of all the horrors and magic he’s encountered in his life through a series of relics found on his person. Portals to other worlds, mythical creatures, demons, and the undead surface for one fun round-up of juicy frights and laughs.

Starring The Mummy’s Patricia Velasquez, Sons of Anarchy’s Jacob Vargas, and Star Wars’ Greg Grunberg, Satanic Hispanics brings together five terrors and spotlights Hispanic talent both in front and behind the camera.

Fresh Fiction had the opportunity to chat virtually with Guerrero to discuss her directorial achievements on Satanic Hispanics. She shares how her mom determines where the gore meter needs to be, how music helps her create effects-driven goosebumps, and what items she would collect and discuss if she were “The Traveler” in Satanic Hispanics.

Enjoy the conversation below, and catch this wicked anthology in theaters this weekend!