Apocalipsis Voodoo

I found this DVD in my house (unopened), and the back cover sounded like the most amazing SBIG movie ever.

Two years later, I finally got around to watching it and it is pure genius-- particularly if you like SBIG movies of the 1970s and early 1980s, as this movie is essentially a tribute to (parody of?) those films that is hugely self-aware, and does it near perfectly, and you know it from the very beginning.

It's not nearly as cheap as one of those films, but this is also a case where the filmmakers leaned into what they had to work with, and for as ambitious (ish) as a plot it has, they did a really great job.

If you haven't watched a lot of those movies, or watched a lot of YouTube "reviews" of those movies, I could see missing the point entirely. On the other hand, fans of YT channels that review a lot of 1970s and 80s genre movies will probably adore this.

What I assume a lot of people missed is that this is essentially a movie made in (I assume) Mexico, though it takes place largely in LA, with Hispanic (literally, Spanish-speaking as a first language) actors playing American characters (each an arch-/stereo-type of an American character from those movies) the exact inverse of so many American movies of the time (where Burbank Airport was "Mexico Airport"). Seeing the deliberate interpretations of American accents and affects is very entertaining to me and the degree to which they're off is that much more funny. The actors also knew what they were doing and how to play it. A lot of it is really subtle, also, like (not a spoiler), the two cops who are in a few scenes are named Kowalsky and Guttemberg, and while not a reveal but a subtle detail, White Chocolate's actual name is Rocco Fratelli (never spoken in the movie, it takes a keen eye)-- while all those actors are Mexican with pronounced Mexican accents. (How you know the filmmakers had good sense about what they were doing is that the Kung Fu Master, Master Win, is played by a genuine Chinese man).

This is very definitely a movie made by people who had a deep love for (and grasp of) those exploitation/detective/kung fu/horror movies of the late 70s (VHS boxes for a few such movies actually appear in the amazing opening credits, as well as a later scene-- a detail you'd have to look for).

Given this 2018 movie's cover and synopsis, I must admit that I was hoping for a bit more than what "Apocalipsis Voodoo" actually turned out to be.

Writers José J. Ramallo, Sergio G. Ramos and Vasni Ramos just didn't really managed to cut it with the storyline that they conjured up collectively. Sure, "Apocalipsis Voodoo" was watchable, but it was mostly because of the feel of an old movie it had, and also because the entire movie was so far out there. The storyline itself was just really, really mundane. Nay, it was actually boring.

The acting in the movie matched the movie pretty well, so on that account director Vasni Ramos managed to get something right. And I will say that "Apocalipsis Voodoo" definitely had a colorful array of characters throughout the course of the movie.

Actually, it was the strange and weird characters that carried the movie a great length of the way. But with the lacking storyline, there was just only so much that the actors and actresses could do with these characters.

Overall, then "Apocalipsis Voodoo" was just too bland and too uneventful. I mean, a movie as far out as this 2018 movie turned out to be just couldn't sustain itself with the lack of a properly written storyline.

I managed to endure the movie to the end, but believe you me, it was a struggle at times. My rating of "Apocalipsis Voodoo" lands on a mere, but generous, three out of ten stars. This is hardly a movie that I would recommend. But hey, we are different people with different likes and dislikes, so who knows, "Apocalipsis Voodoo" might just be something right up your alley. This is by no means a movie that I will be watching a second time.

It's SO bad it's Awesome!!! If your a true fan of 70s Grindhouse you will love it.

A wonky, crazy, ridiculous great time! It was everything I hoped it would be!

If you haven't watched this movie yet, watch it. I bought it cheap thinking it was going to be terrible and wanted to watch it to laugh at it but ended up laughing with it the whole way through. Funnier than almost all blockbuster comedies. Incredible what they were able to do with such little budget. The cinematography was awesome as well as the post processing effects used to make it feel like a classic 70s action movie. Will definitely be watching it again and if you ever get the chance to pick it up, do so and share this incredible spectical with your friends and family. So glad I got the opertunity to see this hidden gem.