Horror

A young woman's unplanned visit to an abandoned village awakens a deadly ancient evil in director Amando De Ossorio's eerie, graphic horror flick that spawned a trio of lesser sequels. While vacationing with a male friend named Roger (Cesar Burner), pretty Virginia (Elena Arpon aka "Helen Harp") runs into her old girlfriend, Betty (Lone Fleming), with whom she once shared an intimate experience. At Roger's insistence -- and to Virginia's annoyance -- Betty joins the couple on a train excursion. Virginia decides to jump off the train and camp out in the solitary village of Berzano. She discovers the place is a ghost town, but as night closes in, evil Templar knights rise from their graves to kill her and to drink her blood. The next day, Betty and Roger begin searching for their friend, but are shocked when a detective (Rufino Ingles) takes them to identify her brutalized corpse. Their investigation leads them to a local expert, Professor Cantell (Francisco Sanz), who explains the terrifying legend of the Templars: 13th century Satan-worshipping knights who were executed and had their eyes plucked out by crows. Meanwhile, Virginia's corpse rises from the dead and kills a morgue attendant before being torched by Betty's frightened assistant. Not wanting to believe Cantell's outrageous story, Roger and Betty meet with the professor's son, Pedro (Joseph Thelman), a suspect in Virginia's murder because of his criminal background. He agrees to help them stake out Berzano and find the real killer, but as night arrives, the blind Knights rise once again from their graves leading to murder and mayhem. Betty manages to escape and jumps on a passing train, but it's all for nought as the horse-riding Templars catch up to the train and continue their bloody rampage. ~ Patrick Legare, All Movie Guide

Spanish director Jaime Balaguero brings us this jet-black horror thriller. Claudia (Emma Vilarasau) and Marc's beloved six-year-old daughter Angela dies under mysterious circumstances. Flash forward five years, and Marc has left while Claudia wiles away her time watching family videos of happier times. Angela suddenly inexplicably calls saying, "They wanted you to believe I was dead." Claudia immediately calls an ex-cop, Massera (Karra Elejalde), to investigate the matter. To make matters worse, Claudia finds herself stalked by psychotic ex-boyfriend Toni, who simply radiates evil. As the movie progresses, Massera and Quiroga (Tristan Ulloa), a journalist who works for a magazine specializing in the occult, uncover a bizarre sadistic cult that sacrifices children. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

La Calavera Negra concerns a bunch of small Mexican town who must contend with a mysterious, disruptive figure known as the Black Skull. Many different people attempt to uncover the truth behind this frightening phenomenon. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

A reality television series crosses into deadly territory in this social satire. Patricio (Francisco Reyes) is a television executive who has created a new show, "Baja Tierra," in which a dozen people of different backgrounds and personalities are taken to a remote location high in the Andes, where they'll be kept in an underground holding area while cameras monitor their actions. As Patricio and host Rodrigo (Cristian de la Fuente) watch the proceedings, it becomes increasingly clear they're less interested in the welfare of the contestants than coming up with material that will draw an audience, especially since the show will be airing opposite a major soccer tournament. So far, Patricio is satisfied with the angry outbursts and illicit sexual encounters among his charges, which are attracting a large audience, but things take a disturbing turn when Miguel (Sebastian Layseca), one of the contestants, snaps and begins killing the other players, leaving Patricio to wonder if he should stop the violence or keep giving the viewers at home the violence they want. El Nominado was screened as part of the 2004 Los Angeles Latino Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A recently-rejected boyfriend finds that getting dumped is the least of his worries after falling prey to a beautiful vampire, and now it's up to his friends to help locate the bloodsucking fiend and return their friend to the mortal realm in director Eduardo Ortiz's urban tale of break-ups and bloodlust. When his girlfriend walked away, Jonathan was sure that he had just lost the love of his life, but when his friends take him out to the club and he falls into the arms of otherworldly beauty Gloria, Jonathan soon finds that his trouble have only just begun. After awakening in an empty bed with an insatiable thirst for blood, Jonathan must convince his friends to help him find Gloria and reverse the curse before the deadly rays of the daytime sun turn him to dust. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Hard-edged adult filmmaking combines with free-spirited rock and roll cinema innovation in this tale of one man's quest to become the ultimate rock superstar. Belcebu is a hedonistic heavy metal star of the highest order. In addition to being one of the most popular rock stars on the planet, Belcebu isn't above placing a few well-timed hidden messages in his songs to encourage the act of suicide in his more impressionable victims. When the Devil discovers what Belcebu has been up to up on the surface, he's more than willing to sweeten the deal for the unabashedly evil rocker by offering the gift of immortality in exchange for the continued harvesting of souls. The only problem is, Belcebu's buxom ex-girlfriend has caught wind of the deadly pact, and she more than willing to kill if it means that the souls of the innocent will remain pure. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide