Satanás

Colombia, 2007
aka Satan

Director: Andrés Baiz
Starring: Damián Alcázar, Patricia Castañeda, Martina García, Marcela Mar
IMDB: 7.7

Satanás is the kind of movie that unfolds layer by layer to reveal its conclusion, and is best viewed with little prior knowledge to spoil the experience. With interweaving yet connected threads in the vein of Pulp Fiction, Satanás follows Eliseo, an ex-soldier who has returned home to Colombia and is living with his mother.

Making a living tutoring rich kids in English, Eliseo grows increasingly bitter with the hand that life has dealt him, and the attitude of the people around him.

Based on the book by Mario Mendoza, this is a brutal and challenging movie, featuring rape, murder, revenge, and downright anti-social behaviour. Baiz takes the time to introduce you to the characters and their motives, and in so doing delivers a powerful film.

Without giving too much away, if you enjoyed films with a similar theme such as Edmond, American Psycho, and Falling Down then you definitely should not miss this. It's well-paced, beautifully filmed, and features an excellent low-key soundtrack. There are also top performances from the cast who were all unknown to me, especially from Damian Alcazar who plays Eliseo, and special mention to the gorgeous Martina Garcia who I hope we'll be seeing more of soon.

Rating: 8.5/10

Screenshots - click to enlarge

Trailer