Santa Sangre (1989) Film Review – The Circus of Dreams and Nightmares

Posted on by Michael Williams

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I first saw Alejandro Jodorowsky’s surreal, bildungsroman film, Santa Sangre, in 1989 on VHS tape. Watching it was like watching a slasher about a killer with a twisted Oedipal Complex that takes place in the slums of Mexico City while on LSD. This unusual and dark fantasy left a powerful impression that 33 years later, I could revisit and found a new appreciation for it thanks to Severin Films’ release of the Santa Sangre 4K Ultra HD, 4-Disc Limited Edition Collector’s Set.

Chilean-born avant-garde surrealist artist, Alejandro Jodorowsky’s films, are not just about storytelling but about taking the audience on a spiritual journey that traverses the extremes of glorious beauty and abject depravity. His highly visual, often provocative movies offer viewers a chance to peer beyond the veil of direct experience. In his 1974 film, The Holy Mountain, a group of seekers on a quest for spiritual enlightenment, he shatters the fourth wall, exposing the cameras and crew to the audience, urging them to live their lives beyond the wall of illusion.

In describing his own body of work, Jodorowsky has said, “I ask of film what most North Americans ask of psychedelic drugs. The difference being that when one creates a psychedelic film, he need not create a film that shows the visions of a person who has taken a pill; rather, he needs to manufacture the pill.” SOURCE

In his 1989 horror/fantasy movie Santa Sangre, Alejandro Jodorowsky departs from the mystical and psychic cleansing and social commentary that drove The Holy Mountain. Instead, he composes a less abstract, more plot-driven narrative that delves into themes of passion, drama, and rage within a world of vivid spectacle. This shift in focus is a compelling exploration of the individual instead of the previous film’s broader criticism of society.

The seeds of Sante Sangria were planted in dark and disturbed soil by two writers with fantastical tales to tell.  Jodowoski became inspired to make a movie in which the killer is a character worthy of empathy after a chance encounter with serial killer Gregorio Cárdenas Hernández. Cárdenas’s rehabilitation was so complete that he was pardoned and became a celebrity in Mexico. Co-screenwriter Roberto Leoni contributed elements from his time working with patients suffering from dissociative identity disorder.

The result is a mind-melting trip. Roger Ebert described it as a combination of horror, poetry, surrealism, psychological pain, and wicked humor, blending into one of the greatest horror films. SOURCE Fenix (Adán Jodorowsky), the circus’s “boy magician,“ sees his brutal, alcoholic father (Guy Stockwell), a deadly accurate knife-thrower, cut off the arms of his mother, Concha (Blanca Guerra), the high priestess of the Church of Holy Blood, before killing himself.  Fenix (now played by Axel Jodorowsky) spent the rest of his childhood in a mental institution. On an outing with other residents, he sees the Tattooed Woman (Thelma Tixou) she caught his father making love to and becomes enraged.  Concha appears the next day, urging him to escape.

In an act of devotion and, perhaps, redemption, Fenix binds himself to his mother, using his arms to replace hers.

Similarly to Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, Fenix embodies Concha’s rage and possessiveness. Like Mother Bates, Concha is murderously jealous of any woman he is attracted to.  Trapped in this codependent state and compelled to kill, he desperately seeks to break free from her suffocating, handless grip. When his childhood love Alma (played by deaf and mute actress Sabrina Dennison) appears, mother and son violently struggle to control his will and, quite literally, his hands.

On July 29, 2024, Severin Films will release the Santa Sangre 4K Ultra HD, 4-Disc Limited Edition Collector’s Set, sure to be among the year’s best releases. The beautifully packaged set gives viewers an enthralling visual feast like never before. The box contains a 4K UHD scan from the original negative, a Blu-ray supervised by the director, and a third with over eight hours of archival and all-new special features. In Severin Films’ 90-minute documentary Forget Everything You Have Ever Seen – The World of Santa Sangre, one of the great extras, Jodorowsky talks in depth about his life, his beliefs as an artist and a healer, and the tragic story that almost forced him to abandon the film. Producer Claudio Argento, crew, and cast members also talk about their experience making the film. The fourth disc is Simon Boswell’s Latin-influenced soundtrack. Inside the box are eight decorative lobby card reproductions suitable for display

Alejandro Jodorowsky’s work often revolves around the search for meaning in a chaotic universe. Santa Sangre, a hallucinogenic, fantastical film, presents a kaleidoscope of bizarre spectacles, moments of sublime beauty, and the darkest of passions. It’s a story of Fenix’s tormented quest for freedom from the events that turned him into a monster. Severin’s box set is a treasure trove for lovers of unique cinema. The beautifully rendered video and audio elements and extra features take viewers on a mesmerizing journey through a colorful and chaotic circus, filled with blasphemy, twisted psychology, and heart-wrenching pathos. The film is a profound exploration of the darkest human emotions, leading viewers to quest for redemption and tranquility in a world of turmoil and violence. The third disc of special features offers fans a deeper insight into the creation of this visionary work of art. Step into the world of Santa Sangre, and get ready to forget everything you thought you knew.

Santa Sangre (1989) is available to purchase from July 29th

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