Latin Horror Offers a Bridge to Hollywood, Despite Language Troubles
08 January, 2024Unlike lots of other genres, horror is portable across borders. Even where language presents a barrier, a universal understanding of humanity’s – or nature’s – darker elements offers a middle-ground between foreign media and viewers.
Apocalypto
Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto serves as a classic example, some 16 years after it debuted. Using Yucatec Mayan throughout, the movie featured both indigenous and native peoples as 16th-century Mesoamericans, including Comanche actor Rudy Youngblood.
Of course, Apocalypto doubles as a horror film. Mayan hunters either kill or capture residents of Jaguar Paw’s (Youngblood) village to prepare them for later sacrifice. This is a civilization in steep decline, petitioning their gods with blood.
This trend for indigenous cinema on more northern shores, albeit a slow-burning one, coalesced into Dan Trachtenberg’s 2022 epic Prey. Coincidentally, Prey also had a Comanche connection, as the film’s second language (optionally, and not in the trailer).
While Comanche isn’t a Latin tongue, it nevertheless represents the audience’s willingness to read subtitles as long as a monster is involved.
Latin-inspired Media
There’s plenty of evidence that Latin-inspired media makes for good crossover material in media. In video gaming, Shadow of the Tomb Raider visits indigenous architecture, while Guacamelee! gets its inspiration from lucha libre.
The casino industry has an affection for South American styles too. Yucatan’s Mystery, Gonzo’s Quest, and 3 Secret Cities on its NJ casino app, alongside slots dedicated to Narcos and Narcos Mexico, another production that successfully made the trip northward
The much more down-to-earth title Forza Horizon 5 is set in a fictionalised Mexico but with many real-life locations intact. The Aztec capital of Teotihuacan is located in the game’s south, for instance.
In other words, Meso and South America are just as friendly to digital adaptations as many other countries, yet there seems to be a particular obsession with gangland crime and amusingly – a sepia colour palette – whenever Hollywood is involved.
The Curse of La Llorona
This is where horror comes in. The genre’s only reliance is on spooky things, often from folklore. James Wan’s The Curse of La Llorona, based on the pre-Hispanic ‘Weeping Woman’ and Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, tells the story of ancient terrors.
Both of these are voiced in English, which should make the two more palatable for speakers of the language but, as we’ve seen already, it’s not essential for a good time. The Curse of La Patasola (2022) does much the same, this time with a vampire from the Amazon.
One of the most ‘authentic’ Latin movies to breach Hollywood is also one of the oldest. Guillermo del Toro’s Cronos, from 1993, is another vampire movie that has since come to be regarded as one of Mexico’s finest exports.
Ultimately, del Toro’s film is an exploration of desire – chiefly human blood but the prospect of eternal life is explored as both a goal and curse of humanity. Cronos initially only got a two-cinema release at its first go around.
The English-speaking audience seems especially fickle when it comes to movie languages – yet horror continues to offer a bloody hand to diverse audiences.
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