Director – Christopher Ambriz (Dark Blood, Blood, Sweat and Fears)
Starring – Mario Aguilar (Wolfsbane Say My Name, Deviant Behavior), Tara Allen (A 13th Soul, Paranoia Tapes 5: Rewind), and Michelle Banks (The Night Before)
Release Date – 2018
Rating – 3/5
Tagline – “Tales of vampires, witches, demons, and a cucuy”
Writing for Horror Society has given me the opportunity to check out some amazing films. In fact, writing for the site has brought several movies to my attention that I would normally never hear about. I hate to say it but indie horror has one of the worst communities I’ve ever seen. If someone loves a particular movie then they will share it on social media but most refuse to help indie filmmakers out and share their work on social media. It’s because of this a lot of the indie films go unnoticed.
Sometime back I made contact with director Christopher Ambriz of Night Creature Productions. Since then I’m mentioned his horror anthology Muerte: Tales of Horror several times. I never got to check the film out then but a few weeks back Christopher was kind enough to hook me up with a blu to review. Thanks Christopher!
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows a few nerds who steal an old comicbook while looking for other items to perform a ritual. After stealing it they decide to read through it to see what happens and read the four strange tales out loud. **Spoiler Alert**
I avoided trailers for this one like the plague. I knew I would be seeing it eventually so I didn’t want to have a trailer ruin the experience for me. The only thing I knew about the film is what I could see in the images I had shared on the site prior to my viewing. After it was all said and done I have to admit that I really enjoyed what the film brought to the table but it did have some room for improvements.
The acting in this one is pretty solid. The cast works very well together and I get the feeling that they were all friends prior to filming. They look great together on camera and their chemistry really makes the stories work. With that being said, some of the characters has more personality than others. I think this was due to the writing but the cast for those characters did a great job bringing them to life.
The segments for this anthology is consistent and entertaining. I really liked the stories for the most part but a few of them are a little dialogue heavy. In fact, some of the scenes is dragged down by the dialogue that does very little to move the story along. A little less talking and more time spent on building atmosphere would have went a long way.
Finally, the film has some blood. It’s not a gory indie piece of work but the practical and make-up effects we get look great. I was really impressed by the make-up effects and the way the creatures looked. They pay tribute to the creature features of the late 80s and I respect that. Overall, Muerte: Tales of Horror is a dark anthology that is best enjoyed with the lights off. The stories are nothing new but they do have a good bite about them. Indie horror fans will not be disappointed with this one.
