Cinepocalypse starts strong with Emilio Portes’ Mexican supernatural horror Belzebuth, which feels like an unlikely mash-up of Sicario and The Conjuring. When it comes to supernatural horror I tend to jump at the chance to check out foreign entries in this sub-genre, because it’s fascinating to see how local customs and beliefs influence these all too familiar tropes. Given this very Christian premise, its interesting to see a culture that is still very conservative in their religious beliefs tell this story. It’s something that I think would lack the reverence and impact from an American filmmaker, given how cringeworthy and hokey faith-based cinema is here in the US. Imagine if, instead of making corny inspirational flicks, churches here put their money behind a Blumehouse-type faith-based horror film and really leaned into the fear of God.
That’s exactly what you have here.
Taking place in Mexico, the film begins with the murder of a delivery room full of newborns and the tragic introduction of our protagonist Detective Emmanuel Ritter (Joaquín Cosio), whose son was a victim in that slaughter. The film then jumps to five years later, as yet another tragedy befalls the same town as a classroom of kindergartners are killed in a school shooting, with Detective Ritter now assigned to the case. To further muddy the lines between the real and supernatural, the US sends agent Ivan Franco (Tate Ellington) of the Paranormal Forensics Division to partner with the Mexican officials to conduct their own investigations. When both parties discover an ex-communicated priest (Tobin Bell) has been sighted at both locations in the days leading up to the killings, they not only discover the mass murders are related, but there are several more to come.
Belzebuth is a terrifying film that starts out as one thing and transforms the narrative in the second act. Tobin Bell as the ex-priest is the linchpin here, and he does a pretty fantastic job at taking the audience through this transition and ushering in the new narrative that somehow ups the stakes. The film does this by laying the groundwork in the first act, which is more or less a very real procedural taking place in a bleak impoverished country where the cartels are law. Slowly, it amps up the more supernatural elements, feeding that feeling of dread that hangs over the film, until it pulls the rug out from under the audience. It’s when these threads finally coalesce that the film hits its stride and incorporates everything it has laid out into an extremely effective horror film that genuinely has something to say under the surface.
Belzebuth is a film that sadly might have trouble connecting to American horror audiences because it is mostly subtitled, but it is definitely worth seeking out for fans of supernatural horror. It makes some interesting choices with its subject matter thanks to its origins, and their beliefs give the overall film a unique flavor. Personally it’s easily one of the better new horror films I’ve seen this year and excels thanks to its reverence of its subject matter. I would compare it to how the Indonesian Satan’s Slaves gave the haunted house genre a fresh feel. Director Emilio Portes really harnesses Tobin Bell’s ability to create these almost otherworldly characters to bring all of this home thanks to its lead, Joaquín Cosio, who turns in a truly heartbreaking performance as the heart and soul of this piece. Belzebuth is a captivating dissection of faith, loss, and death that is hard to shake even after the credits roll.