Pánico

Man, I stumbled on to this off of a torrent out of the clear blue sky whilst searching for something else. Bam the description hit me square in the face like a brick burrito. A Mexican Horror Anthology? I had no knowledge of such a creature and had to do so just for the unique experience. It's not a really good film,partially because it's budget is too low and the stories are strechted out a little too long but it was thoroughly entertaining and the stories were a little off kilter. THe first episode has no dialogue except for a few lines at the very end. A young woman having hallucinations is being hunted by a witch with a sharp knife. THe 2nd story is about two friends escaping a fever ridden village after buryiing a loved one. The last tale is a comic one and is loosely based on Premature Burial.All in all a good B effort from a very quirky film. Duke

First let me say how I was able to view this movie, which has very few votes on the IMDb at present . . . Believe it or not this movie was released on homevideo here in the USA on the Esco-Mex Video Production, Inc. label in 1987. The back of the video box actually gives an address in Beverly Hills, California where the label's supposed "headquarters" were. Wow. For the record PANICO is 'Esco-Mex 111'.

Now onto the movie itself . . .

It takes place in 3 parts. The first part has an attractive, nightgown-clad young woman fleeing through the forest with a witch in hot pursuit who's brandishing a very sharp knife. Why is the woman running? Why is the witch after her? And who are the three young men she keeps seeing in the woods as she runs? This segment is short and has a satisfying wrap up of what's going on.

The second part has two men fleeing a plague of some sort. They've just buried a young woman and have decided to leave the area by getting into a canoe and paddling down the river. Before long, however, the mind of one of the men starts playing tricks in regards to the woman they buried. They then get into a nasty fight which leaves the second man dead and the first man suffering even more hallucinations. Man #1 then buries Man #2. But is the other man really dead? Why does the first man begin to have "visions" of his former friend un-burying himself and stalking him in the woods? Far out stuff here; the end of this segment is most unusual.

Segment #3 has to do with a scientist and his cat who both ingest some chemicals by accident. This liquid gives the victims the appearance of being dead, but we quickly discover the scientist and the cat are merely paralyzed. But the scientist's wife and the family doctor can't find a pulse or heartbeat when they discover him. What to do? Have a funeral and bury the unfortunate scientist. Can the scientist wake up from his paralysis in time to avoid being buried alive? Lucky for the cat he was able to get up and walk away when the paralysis wore off! The ending of this final episode is hilarious with a conclusion you'd never expect.