Director: Rodrigo Aragão
Year: 2021
Country: Brazil
Alternate Titles: O Cemitério das Almas Perdidas
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
After finding their activities unwelcome, a group of carnival workers mistaken for devil worshippers are left in a cursed cemetery as prey for an immortal collection of bloodthirsty beings trapped there, and when one of them tires of the situation contacts a local tribesman to help break the curse and stop them.
Review:
There was quite a lot to love about this effort. One of the strongest aspects involved here is the strong and engaging storyline that keeps this one intriguing and moving forward. The initial battle with the Satanic colonists and the locals manages to not only bring about some interesting occult imagery but sets the stage for the more engaging work found in the modern setting. Getting an idea of their association with the black arts and how this religious-based fear governs the locals against the supposed devil-worshipping carnival workers who get involved with the followers by being dragged into the fateful cemetery they’re cursed to remain at. With the work done to also feature the connection to the warrior tribe and the young kid saving them, the story here is quite well-handled.
There’s also so much to like here with the action that takes place. The film operates with plenty of different tactics, including the series of confrontations between the treacherous members of the cult to get their hands on the fabled book of spells to the tribe’s raid on the carnival workers and their later assault on the church ruins o rescue their kidnapped member who becomes involved in all sorts of black magic fun as the blood gets spilled with abandoned, bodies are hacked to pieces and the action involved is frenetic. This impressive series of battles and confrontations carries on throughout the rest of the film as the possessed demons become far more active and bloodthirsty with their captives or whoever manages to encounter them. Given the impressive amount of practical gore effects and blood spilled here, there’s quite a bit to like here which all holds this one up for the most part.
This one had a few minor, sight problems. The main problem is the dizzying amount of characters and plotlines to keep track of that can make for a slightly disconcerting time getting invested in the film. The first half ends to go through so much backstory and setup, which admittedly serves this nicely in terms of bringing together what happens later but does make keeping track of everything rather difficult. That becomes more prominent when it suddenly reintroduces the carnival workers into the story after being a major part of the film for the first few minutes nearly an hour later, making it possible to forget they were still alive. This really holds the film down the most.
Overview: ****/5
Graced with plenty of strong gore, plenty of action and an engrossing if somewhat overly complicated storyline that ties everything together, there’s quite a lot to like here and not too many flaws to hold it back. Give it a look if you’re a fan of this kind of over-the-top splatter, enjoy local genre fare or a fan of the creative crew and their previous work, while only those who aren’t into this format should heed caution.
This film is part of Fantaspoa, which ran for free on the streaming platform Darkflix, from April 9th through the 18th. All film screenings are geo-blocked to Brazil, with additional details available at www.fantaspoa.com.
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