Director: Larissa Anzoategui
Year: 2021
Country: Brazil
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Anthology
Plot:
Introduced by a demonic hostess, a select series of dark horror tales is told to the viewer.
Review:
Red Hookers-Living together with her friend, a woman becomes concerned about her sister’s behavior after visiting a special stripclub, which she learns is home to a deadly cult. Overall, this was a fantastic starting point for everything. The sleazy setup not only provides this with some great mystery to get going, where the sister’s strange behavior and the ability to recognize what’s going on as a result of a visit to the particular stripclub that serves as the secret home to a group of cult worshippers participating in a ritual for a demonic figure. There’s some fun gore and a nice bit of sensuality present here to complete things, completing it all with a fun twist that allows for a strong start.
The Night of the Odalisque-Desperate to entertain himself, a king sets up a dance contest between several seductive demonic beings, only to realize the targets of the competition aren’t willing to play along. While there’s a lot to like here, it does have a fatal flaw holding it back. The idea is unique and creative enough, offering a way to provide this with the kind of alluring atmosphere and seductive demonic imagery that provides a look at a multitude of demonic dancing leading to a telegraphed, if no less impactful, finale. The whole problem here is that it doesn’t offer much in the way of a thrilling or even suspenseful setup, where the whole thing happens for reasons, and hardly any of it is scary.
Fatal-Looking for a sensual experience, a horny guy accepts an invitation to a special party with a group of girls willing to give him what he wants, only to discover the dark secret about them. There’s quite a lot to like within here. The classic anthology morality tale about being careful what you wish for and getting that delivered to you in ways far beyond what you imagined is trotted out in fine form, creating a kind of telegraphed but no less surprising setup of the guy trying to score and finally thinking he’s going to succeed at this party following multiple rejections. The finale goes on a bit too long, but there’s enough retributive bloodshed and sleazy antics featuring enjoyable nudity to give this a strong touch.
Bad Trip-Going through a normal day, a stoner takes a drug from a friend of his and undergoes a bad trip where he can’t distinguish fantasy from reality, leading to a wholly unforgettable experience. This was a generally fun, if one-note story. The main idea here is solid enough and allows this one to revel as much as it does in the wild imagery and chaotic scenarios present, where everything he ends up imagining, from the girlfriend who comes over to visit to the talking dog next to him, ends up resulting in a fun running gag about his missing member, providing plenty to like. That this one goes for the same joke over and over again makes this feel immensely formulaic and not that original, and this one tends to be hurt the most by the short running time as well, undoing the fun setup.
The Other One's Window-Stuck at home alone, a woman unable to sleep like normal begins seeing demonic versions of herself conducting vicious and violent actions to her body, and begins questioning what’s real. This was a fun, if somewhat unspectacular entry. The central concept here works incredibly well, getting this one to offer up some chilling moments where she sees the doppelganger version perform unnatural or gruesome actions against herself, not helped at all by the deformed and grotesque appearance of the demonic versions. While this all creates a solid hint of whether or not it’s real or a dream, this doesn’t do enough to separate the versions from the real thing, and it can become a bit one-note while waiting for something to develop.
One More Dance-Arriving at a sensual stripclub, a detective tries to question one of the workers there about a series of disappearances, but the more he tries to talk to her, the more her demonic personality comes through. This was a disappointing segment to end things on. The main idea behind this segment has a core idea behind it involving a police officer looking for missing people around the club, but there’s little about how this goes about it that makes for an enjoyable time. That becomes especially true when the majority of the running is a lame series of conversations going back and forth between the detective and one of the dancers that doesn’t offer much of anything. With a cheap look and no real payoff, this is a detrimental way to end things.
Overview: ***/5
A solid if somewhat disjointed indie anthology, there are some likable enough segments that keep this one better than expected, even with those detrimental segments being the biggest drawback. Those with an appreciation for this kind of indie genre film, who are hardcore fans of anthologies in general, or who enjoy the work of the creative crew, will have a lot to like here, while most others out there should heed caution.
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