Director: Sol Charlotte, J. Oskura Najera
Year: 2019
Country: Panama
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Witchcraft
Plot:
After a series of strange incidents, a bus driver gets wind from a local policeman and his assistant that they’ve been caught up in the antics of a local coven of witches trying to make life difficult for others around them, and they must rely on a special priest to battle the creatures.
Review:
This was an immensely enjoyable and likable genre effort. Among the better factors to be had here come from the amazingly enjoyable setup that manages to tie in some rather unusual folklore pieces from an unfamiliar location into a somewhat traditional genre setup. The fact that this comes from a place that ties its localized stories together about the coven of witches and how they’re able to interact with the world at large, not just from intermingling with the other members of the coven, but also the different parts known to the human cast about how to deal with them. Since we get to see various types of witches on offer who can deliver on different powers or means of control, as well as varying physical appearances, this makes everything feel rather unique about getting to know more about the local culture and customs featured here. Other small bits, such as the use of the titular buses or interacting with the community itself, further this type of local support and bring about some more immersion in the story.
That type of setup makes this one come together rather nicely when it starts to showcase the different witches going on the rampage and attacking others. The first few scenes, where the bus is only just barely out of the way of the attacks on others, and the aftermath we see of the incidents with the police officers covering the scene, give this a great starting point, especially with the carnage left behind that is quite fun. This leads into the majority of the film where it starts to employ more of a chase through the woods as the team is brought together after several close calls to gather up the necessary information to learn more about the origin of the coven chasing after them, featuring not just some stellar sequences of the ravenous witches killing them in the woods but the other scenes on the bus where the folklore is laid out and more potential plans are put in place to stop them. That they’re as lighthearted and fun as they are, despite the serious connotations of the sequence in question, makes everything that much more fun and gives the film its likable moments.
There are some minor issues here that keep this one down. The main disappointing factor here is the confusing and disconnected tone that crops up here, as it’s hard to get a sense of what the film wants to be. The overall presentation here jumps back and forth between lighthearted and serious way too frequently and never settles on a consistent tone, mostly in the presentation of the friend group trying to stop them. Presented in a lightened tone with their constant bickering and a jarringly inappropriate chintzy song that evokes more of a cartoon than anything else, the bumbling group of fools fighting off against the serious, viciously violent witches is a wild ride that makes for some troubling moments to try to get around, especially in the middle portion when the group spends more time on the bus discussing things than anything else. Since the whole thing is treated more seriously when dealing with the witches and their revenge plan, this makes for a distracting time, especially with the silly effects on display that help to bring about the old-school tone as well. These all manage to give this one some drawbacks overall.
Overview: ****/5
An immensely fun and likable genre effort, this is a standout entry for the country’s first output and has a lot going for it, which makes this hold up quite nicely against the few negatives. Those with an appreciation for this kind of approach, who are curious about a genre effort from the country, or who are simply a fan of the approach taken here, while most others turned off by its issues might want to heed caution.
Comments
Post a Comment