Mexico Barbaro 2 — Mexico Barbaro 2( Blu Ray)
Mexico Barbaro 2 is a late 2010 Mexican horror anthology featuring seven stories. They move from tales of vengeful soldiers, children with sleeping problems, teen girl curses, and demented junky fare. Here from Unearthed Films is a recent region A Blu-ray of the film- taking in a few extras.
Mexico Barbaro 2 (aka México Bárbaro II) is from 2017. It features the work of nine Mexican directors creating the seven stories- each run between the ten and twenty-minute mark, and as you’d expect with this type of thing the quality is decidedly varied.
After the credits we open with Juan The Soldier- this was directed by Tijuana-born Abraham Sánchez- he has three other shorts to his name Antropofagus ( 2009), which regards a masked cannibalistic serial killer Sanguijuelas (2011) a Vampire Revenge Horror, and escaping from the zombie apocalyptic of Devastación (2016).
This is set back in 1836- where two on-horseback officers are dragging along a sack-headed soldier, he’s blamed for a crime he said he didn’t do- but they don’t believe him, so they untie him, he starts running, and is gunned down. We then switch to a hell-bound other world where a hoofed & horned figure grabs the gunned-down men. As we move on in the real world it’s declared the soldier is not guilty- but the officers show no guilt. This is a revenge-centred tale, and it’s ok- with the story ending showing that Juan is now worshipped in Mexico.
Next we Paidós Phobos- this was directed by Diego Cohen, he has six other directors credited to his name- these go from the following feature-length comedy-drama Amaneceres oxidados (2010), onto horror-thriller Honeymoon ( 2015), though to demonic possession horror Mark of the Devil (2020). This story regards a young woman having nightmares, with shadowy figures abound.
Next up we have Potzonalli- this was directed by Mexico city born Fernando Urdapilleta. He has thirteen other credits to his name- going for a couple of features Los Reyes del Juego (2014) thriller drama regarding a dead poker pro, and pop-punk comedy drama Estrellas solitarias (2015).
This regards a family pinning down and chopping up their pig-like father- who abused them all one way or another. The lopped-off limbs look a little cheap on this one, but I enjoy the dark comedy horror tone/ moments of breaking the third wall.
Story four is Fireballs- this was co-directed by Christian Cueva & Ricardo Farias- each has seven to eight director credits. This regards two men setting up to film an advert (I think) with two women acting in the lead roles- but fairly soon the first man is been sucked off, and the second is having sex on a bed with the other woman. It features layered glitching video/ psychedelic graphics and a blood/ fiery resolve. This one is not bad at all- having a nicely sleazy/ deranged air.
Next is Vitriol- which was directed by Mexico City-born Michelle Garza Cervera- she has eight other credits. These take in shorts, a couple of TV episodes, and one feature. The shorts go from Abismal (2017) regarding an office working being engulfed by an eerie darkness, onto music short Falha Comum(2020). With only feature is the drama horror Huesera: The Bone Woman(2023)
This one regards a fashion model who gets fed up with both her beauty and sleek photographer boyfriend. It’s for some reason split into three parts- the whole thing has a nice feeling of unease, as well as well as a few moments of jarring off-screen violence.
Story six is Do Not Sleep- this was directed by Sergio Tello- he had one other director's credit short T Is for Tamales ( 2011) which is revenge horror. This regards a young girl who has been traumatised by things her dead grandmother said to her before she went to bed. There’s a nice foreboding feeling to this one, with a great use of shadowy forms seen through glass.
The final story is It’s About Time, which was directed by Carlos Meléndez. He has twenty-five other directorial credits- taking shorts, TV episodes, and two features. The features are crime drama regarding a troubled boy After School (2014) and drama thriller regarding a manipulated architect Hysteria (2016).
This is more arty/ deranged horror fare regarding a female junky. There’s female cross masturbation with corpse paint on, blood drinking, awkward sex, and grim tripped-out graphics- this is ok, though it’s a bit of a mess.
I’d say my favourites here are Potzonalli, Do Not Sleep, and Fireballs. The whole thing runs at the one hour & twenty-seven-minute mark- though oddly it’s listed on IMDB as having a runtime of ten minutes longer, which I can’t quite believe- as Unearthed Films normally put out uncut fare. As a whole, it’s certainly not as extreme as some of the label's output, but there are moments of more intense gore & sex explicit matter.
On the extras side, each story gets a featurette- these run between two and nine minutes. A stills gallery, and trailer.
In finishing Mexico Barbaro 2 is just fine for a run-of-a-mill horror anthology. I was expecting something a bit more extreme & impactful with Unearthed releasing this…but I’d say if you enjoy the genre, and fancy it with a Mexican twist, this will be of interest.