There
is extensive Panamanian folklore regarding evil witches, or Bruja, but most of
these characters we are about to meet would rather not hear about that right
now. That is because they are running for their lives from a coven with
supernatural powers. They have a vehicle, one of Panama’s few surviving
festively decorated “Diablo Rojo” buses, but they lack fuel and a reliable
sense of direction in Sol Moreno & J. Oskura Najera’s Diablo Rojo PTY,
Panama’s first horror movie, which releases tomorrow on Amazon.
The
witches are out to get Miguel Moreno, but he has no idea why. It starts with a
drunken hook-up that takes a macabre turn, spooking the bus driver badly. Much
to the confusion of his assistant, he floors the bus, refusing to heed the cops
chasing behind him. Despite what seems like a few minutes on the road, Moreno
and the patrolmen pursuing him find themselves miles away from the capitol,
outside the country village Moreno grew up in.
They
temporarily find refuge with the parish priest, who remembers Moreno and might
have an idea about the bad karma catching up with him. Unfortunately, the
destructive senior officer sabotages their sanctuary, forcing everyone back on
the road.
Okay,
DR PTY is not exactly up there with The Exorcist, but its unruly
energy and gleeful gore are infectiously entertaining. It is a shame this film
will not have more opportunities for first-run midnight screenings, because
this film is probably best experienced with a theater full of whooping and hollering
horror fans.
Regardless,
you can’t keep a knuckleheaded underdog down. We can still appreciate the
generously splattering practical effects and the half-serious attempt to draw
from Panamanian folk culture and pop culture. As a bonus, the depiction of
Padre Andres is mostly sympathetic. Granted, he thinks most of the sanctuary-seekers
are idiots, but they mostly are.
Carlos
Carrasco manages to play it reasonably straight and earnest as Moreno, while
Leo Wiznitzer is appealingly hard-nosed as the good Father. Julian Urriola clearly
has a lot of fun playing Moreno’s stoner subordinate, but Renan Fernandez really
deserves “good sport” credit for all he endures as the young, superstitious,
and painfully ill-fated cop.
Yes,
this is a messy meathead movie and it aims to please. It might not be great
art, but it is a cinematic milestone. Indeed, the Panamanian horror movie tradition
is off to a rip-roaring, body-part-ripping start. Connoisseurs can think of it
like Alex de la Iglesia’s Witching & Bitching, with less brains and
more chutzpah. Highly recommended for fans gross-out comedy horror, Diablo
Rojo PTY releases tomorrow (5/14) on Amazon.
