Starring
Sofia Del Tuffo, Pedro Merlo, Malena Sanchez, Francisco Donovan,
Stefania Koessl, Marta Lubos. Directed by Gonzalo Calzada. (2018/114
min).
AVAILABLE
ON BLU-RAY FROM
Review
by Josey, the Sudden Catđ
"Seek
the devil, and he will come," reads the tagline of this
Argentine horror film. After seeing Luciferina, those
words could be considered a double entendre.
One
thing is certain: the climax - no pun intended - gets points for
audacity. Thank God Father Merrin never attempted to vanquish demons
through sexual healing, because...yecch. Without giving too
much away, the gonzo final act of Luciferina is definitely memorable,
though not necessarily for the reasons writer-director Gonzalo Calzada
intended.
Until
then, the film struggles to find consistent narrative footing.
Natalia (Sofia Del Tuffo) is a young nun who returns
home after her mother dies. Dad is severely injured and bedridden,
while semi-estranged sister Angela (Malena Sanchez) is about to
venture into the jungle with abusive boyfriend Mauro (Francisco
Sanchez) and some college buddies, where they plan on cleansing their
souls with a local shaman. The rite involves drinking a
hallucinogen taken from a mysterious plant, and Natalia reluctantly tags
along.
 |
| Lucifer's llama. |
Instead,
one of the kids, Abel (Pedro Merlo) becomes possessed by Satan and
violently kills everyone but Natalia, who's no ordinary nun. She is sort-of clairvoyant at times and can occasionally
see a glowing aura around certain people. But aside from providing
some surreal sequences, her gifts don't really figure into the plot, which is part of the problem. Luciferia is filled with
some wonderfully dreamlike moments, but seem to exist for their own
sake. The story is all over the place and often perplexing, at least
until it's made clear how the evil must be defeated.
 |
| "Can't we just play some Twister?" |
It's
at this point that we're pretty sure the film exists solely for its
sexually-charged climax, which is explicit, lengthy and, I have to
say, often unintentionally funny. Still, it's lively and certainly
something you don't see in a typical possession film. One only wishes
the film had enough tricks up its sleeve to make the proceeding 90
minutes more than run-of-the-mill horror. As it is, our interest in
the convoluted story ebbs and flows. There's a flashback birth scene
that's pretty disturbing and a few fairly graphic deaths. On the
other hand, there's a lot exposition that doesn't always make much
sense and, aside from Natalia, we've seen most of these characters in
countless other horror films. Exactly what is it about college
students stuck in the middle of nowhere that filmmakers
continue to find so fascinating?
While
well made and certainly watchable, Luciferina is
ultimately less than the sum of its parts. There are some effectively
chilling moments and haunting imagery leading up to its bonkers climax, but from a
narrative standpoint, the dots aren't connected as well as they
should be.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
TRAILER
KITTY CONSENSUS:
NOT BAD. LIKE CAT CHOW.
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