Issa López, Filmadora Nacional Peligrosa

Genre: Horror, Crime, Fantasy

Age: Adult

Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017) follows a band of orphans in Mexico, whose mothers have been killed or kidnapped by the drug cartel. Most of these children are quite young, being under the age of twelve. Their ages are important, as their youth sets up the primary tension within the film – their innocence versus the violence going on around them and, eventually, happening to them.  

The film follows main character Estrella as she navigates life alone after her mother is kidnapped by the local drug cartel. When Estrella runs out of food, she joins up with a group of four orphan boys who live on the streets, led by the headstrong and charismatic Shine. Shine steals and schemes and plans to get revenge on the leader of the cartel, Chino, regularly handling guns, stealing phones, and following cartel members for info.

While originally more passive, Estrella soon becomes determined to find her mother. She uses three pieces of “magical” chalk to help, but the chalk backfires, making her first wish come true in a horrifying way. Filmmaker Issa López uses the chalk to weave in elements of horror and dark fantasy. Estrella begins hearing her dead mother’s voice and seeing her dead mother’s shadows on corners and walls. She sees the magic of the chalk running in a line of blood across the floor, around buildings, and up to her shoes, a reminder that now that she has entered this world of dark magic, she won’t be able to break free. This magic helps the children find Chino and his warehouse, where the bodies of the women he has killed are stored so they, and the ghosts of those Chino has killed, may finally seek vengeance.

This movie was a tough watch. It uses Estrella’s knowledge of fairytales (a lesson she was learning in school before her mother disappeared) to structure the plot. But the fairytales she knows about aren’t the kind with happy endings. They are dark and violent and mirror the world she enters, a world where violence happens not only to the adult characters but to children, as well.

López cites Guillermo Del Toro as one of her inspirations, and much of Del Toro’s style can be found in this movie – the dark, fantastical setting; the soft, innocent main characters who learn hard lessons; the allegory to fairytale; the themes of loss, sacrifice, and justice. Tigers is more similar in tone to Del Toro’s The Orphanage than Pan’s Labyrinth, although the latter is what I see it compared to most. Pan’s Labyrinth keeps its violence focused on the adults in its world, pulling into fantasy when the child characters are at risk. Tigers is the opposite. It doesn’t pull away. It doesn’t even flinch. López does this purposefully. This kind of violence happens to children across the world all the time. Most of us push it away, but López does not allow that here. These children’s tragedies must be witnessed, and they stay with us long after the film is over.

I enjoyed the moments of fantasy in this film – the stuffed, toy tiger brought to life; the magic line of blood that leads Estrella to her destiny; the death butterflies that dance and flicker; and even the scene where Estrella finds her mother’s corpse, only for it to reanimate in a haunting moment to say goodbye. While the plot can wander and some of the slow, drawn-out scenes make the movie’s pace feel jerky, the themes, performances, and setting more than make up for it.

This is not one I would watch again, not because of the quality of the film (which is high), but because it is so dark and difficult to sit with. Still, it has an important message and should be seen by any film lover at least once.

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Review By Chelsea Catherine
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