FRIGHT CLUB: NEW LATINO HORROR
So you think horror has gone stale. Try telling that to the past decade of Spanish-language cinema, which hasn’t so much quietly simmered as violently exploded. We’re swimming in options now, an embarrassment of riches that forced some fuzzy math on this list, left too many brutal beauties on the cutting room floor. Terrified, Huesera, The Platform, consider them honorary members of this club. But the six that made it? They’re doing something else entirely. Forgetting the rules, or maybe just rewriting them with a bloodier pen.
It’s not all about the scare, though sure that’s part of it. It’s about Pinochet as a tired vampire. It’s about a fairy tale wish made in a hail of gunfire. It’s about a coffee table that becomes the centre of a universe of pain. These films get under your skin because they’re not just about monsters; they’re about the monstrous things we do, the histories that haunt us, the mean girls and the messy redemption. They’re political, personal, and profoundly ugly in the most beautiful way. Let’s just say the genre’s pulse is beating strongest somewhere south of the border, or across the Atlantic, and you’d be a fool not to listen.
Thanks as always to a great crowd at Gateway Film Center!
6. El Conde (2023, Chile)
On Netflix
Pablo Larraín has a particular gift for poetic historical retellings grounded in a singular woman’s perspective: Spencer, Jackie. But his passion for the political history of his native Chile rings through most of his films, including Naruda and No. But did we see a vampire movie coming?
El Conde reimagines Augusto Pinochet as a vampire weary of his many years on earth and ready to leave his bickering family in squalor and finally die – until the church sends a vampire slayer after him. What follows is a near-slapstick political satire, sort of The Death of Stalin meets What We Do in the Shadows.
Every moment’s a delight, and a late-film reveal is a cynical and biting reward for a gloriously spent couple of hours.
5. Tigers Are Not Afraid (2019, Mexico)
On Shudder, Prime and AMC+
Lopez’s fable of children and war brandishes the same themes as Guillermo del Toro’s masterpiece Pan’s Labyrinth, but grounds the magic with a rugged street style.
Tigers follows Estrella, a child studying fairy tales—or, she was until her school is temporarily closed due to the stray bullets that make it unsafe for students. As Estrella and her classmates hide beneath desks to avoid gunfire, her teacher hands her three broken pieces of chalk and tells her these are her three wishes.
But wishes never turn out the way you want them to.
4. Piggy (2022, Spain)
On Hulu, HBO Max, Prime, AMC+
Mean girls are a fixture in cinema, from Mean Girls to Carrie, Heathers to Jawbreaker to Napoleon Dynamite and countless others. Why is that? It’s because we like to see mean girls taken down.
Writer/director Carlota Pereda wants to challenge that base instinct. But first, she is going to make you hate Maca (Claudia Salas), Roci (Camille Aguilar) and Claudia (Irene Ferreiro). In one tiny Spanish town, the three girls make Sara’s (Laura Galán, remarkable) life utterly miserable. Like worse than Carrie White’s.
The filmmaker complicates every trope, all the one-dimensional victim/hero/villain ideas this genre and others feast on. Redemption doesn’t come easily to anyone. Pereda also seamlessly blends themes and ideas from across the genre, upending expectations but never skimping on brutal, visceral horror.
3. The Coffee Table (2022, Spain)
On Shudder, Prime, Tubi, AMC+
A remarkably well written script fleshed out by a stunning ensemble becomes utter torture as you want so badly for some other outcome. Co-writer/director Caye Casas ties threads, builds anxiety, plunges the depths of “what’s the worst that could happen?” and leaves you shaken.
David Pareja and Estefania de los Santos craft indelible, believable, beautifully flawed characters so convincing that their experience becomes painful for you. Casas salts the wounds with dark comedy, but the tenderness and tragedy collaborate toward something far more crushingly human.
2. The Wolf House (2018, Chile)
On Prime, Tubi, Plex, Fawesome
Another Chilean horror, so you’re safe in assuming it has something to do with Pinochet. This breathtaking, incredibly creepy stop motion animated wonder tells of a true cult, Colonia Dignidad. One of its inhabitants escapes into the woods, has a near-miss catastrophe with a wolf, and hides in an abandoned house.
Directors/animators Cristobal León and Joaquín Cociña pull you into Maria’s dreamlike world, as her thoughts and reality blend before your eyes. Sets are painted, built, melted, and destroyed on the screen as Maria’s thoughts and the dangers she faces come and go. It’s an eerily beautiful and unforgettable fairy tale rooted in reality.
1. When Evil Lurks (2023, Argentina)
On Shudder, Hulu, Max, AMC+, Prime
Just when you thought no one could do anything fresh with a possession movie, Terrified filmmaker Demián Rugna surprises you. When Evil Lurks does sometimes feel familiar, its road trip to hell detouring through The Crazies, among others. But Rugna’s take on all the familiar elements feels new, in that you cannot and would not want to predict where he’s headed.
This is a magnificently written piece of horror, and Rugna’s expansive direction gives it an otherworldly yet dirty, earthy presence.
The inexplicable ugliness – this particularly foul presence of evil – is handled with enough distance, enough elegance to make the film almost beautiful, regardless of the truly awful nature of the footage. And Rugna never lets up. Each passing minute is more difficult than the last, to the very last, which is an absolute knife to the heart.
Horror Movie Reviews from the Fright Club Podcast and Ginger Nuts of Horror
For horror fans seeking the ultimate guide to the genre, look no further than the horror movie reviews on Ginger Nuts of Horror. Our platform is the premier destination for in-depth horror film analysis, curated by our dedicated team of critics from the Fright Club Podcast.
Why Trust Our Horror Movie Reviews?
Our horror movie review team is powered by the seasoned expertise of the Fright Club Podcast, featuring Hope Madden and George Wolf from Maddwolf.com. This collective brings a relentless passion for the macabre to every critique. The Fright Club Podcast experts dissect the very fabric of fear in film, going beyond simple plot summary to analyse the unsettling cinematography, masterful sound design, thematic depth, and cultural impact that define both modern classics and hidden indie gems.
Discover Your Next Favourite Fright
Whether you’re a casual horror viewer or a dedicated aficionado, our reviews serve as your essential compass. We cover the full spectrum of the genre—from mainstream horror blockbusters to groundbreaking independent horror films. The Fright Club Podcast team’s insights reveal layers of meaning and directorial intention, enriching your viewing experience and helping you discover underrated horror movies you might otherwise miss.
Stay Ahead of the Horror Curve
The Ginger Nuts of Horror review website is your frontline for upcoming horror releases and emerging genre trends. Our critiques, fueled by discussions on the Fright Club Podcast, offer more than just a rating; they provide a comprehensive discussion that prepares you for what’s lurking in the theatrical and streaming shadows.
Deepen Your Horror Journey with the Fright Club Podcast
Exploring our horror film reviews is a vital step toward a deeper, more nuanced appreciation of horror. Let Hope Madden, George Wolf, and the Fright Club Podcast team guide you through the nightmares. Bookmark our section for the best horror movie reviews and join a community dedicated to the art of fear.
Ready to get scared? Browse the definitive collection of horror movie critiques on Ginger Nuts of Horror, and don’t forget to listen to the Fright Club Podcast for even more terrifying insights.
