Pedita Durango

Director - Alex de la Iglesia (The Day of the Beast, The Last Circus)

Starring - Rosie Perez (Birds of Prey, White Men Can't Jump), Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men, Skyfall), and Harley Cross (Shriek of You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth, The Boy Who Cried Bitch)

Release Date - 1997

Genre - Crime/Horror

Format - UHD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     When Severin announced their March releases I was really excited for most of them.  I was really curious about Nosferatu in Venice because I had heard so many crazy stories about Kinski and the filming of it.  I was also curious about the 1995 horror comedy The Day of the Beast and the 1973 sexploitation flick A Scream in the Streets but I wasn't really interested in their release of the 1997 crime thriller Perdita Durango from The Day of the Beast director Alex de la Iglesia.  When I received the package from MVD I saw that they included Perdita Durango in the package.  I decided to wait to watch it last and it looks like I had saved the best for last.  This was, by far, the best film of the four releases.  I want to thank MVD and Severin for sending them this way.  

     The film follows Perdita (Perez) and her voodoo priest boyfriend Romeo (Bardem) who kidnap two American teenagers to sacrifice during one of his rituals.  However, the ritual is interrupted by a rival of Romeo's forcing him to take the captives with him as he smuggles fetuses across the border into Las Vegas with the authorities hot on his tail.

     Perdita Durango was the one that looked uninteresting to me when I first received these in for review.  The artwork is bland and boring but the film was anything but that.  I absolutely fucking loved this bat shit crazy flick and I can't recommend it enough to cult cinema fans.  The acting in this one is absolutely insane.  I've never been a fan of Rosie Perez.  My brother was twelve years older than me so when I was growing up he controlled the television until he moved out.  White Men Can't Jump was ALWAYS playing and Rosie irritated the hell out of me in that film.  However, she really delivers a fun performance here.  Her character is pretty typical of her other characters from different films but it does come natural to her.  With that being said, Javier Bardem is the star of the show.  I've liked him in every film I've seen him in but this is the craziest performance from him I've seen yet.  He's one of the most underrated actors in the business and this performance is unforgettable.  You should watch this movie for Bardem if nothing else seems interesting to you.  The supporting cast is great as well.  We get the legend Screamin' Jay Hawkins as a voodoo priest, James Gandolfini as a DEA agent, and Santiago Segura.  The story for this one is a lot longer than it should have been but the wild ride more than makes up for the lengthy run time.  The movie flows like a roller coaster.  We get some slower scenes before moving into some faster paced scenes with plenty of what the fuck moments scattered throughout.  It's very creative, violent, and entertaining.  Finally, the film has plenty of bloody deaths.  Most of the kills are gunshot deaths but the blood and practical effects look absolutely amazing.  Lots of blood and the deaths fit the film perfectly.  Overall, Perdita Durango is a fucking must see.  If you like the Once Upon a Time in Mexico series or anything from Tarantino then I highly suggest you fucking check out this crazy ass film.  The UHD release from Severin looks great but they should have opted for more eye catching artwork that would peak curiosity.  I highly recommend this release.