Sips and Scares: What To Watch (And Drink) During Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month
These last few years have taught me that I love two things; listicles and drinks. So, I thought it would be fun to combine both for Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month. Although, as horror fans, we should be celebrating these creators year-round anyway. I hopped on the usual streamers to look for horror movies in this category and started making a list of what’s currently streaming. I then asked my friends, Erick and Vivi of Shaken Not Scared Podcast, to create a few cocktails for some of their favorites on the list. The movies, and the drink pairings, have been a damn good time!
Cocktail & Movie Pairings
Coven of Sisters (or Coven) (Argentina, France, and Spain)
Written by Pablo Agüero and Katell Guillou
Directed by Pablo Agüero
Where To Watch: Netflix
To postpone their execution, women accused of witchcraft lure their inquisitor into witnessing the witches’ Sabbath.
Related: ‘Plaga Zombie’: The Pioneers in Contemporary Argentinian Horror Cinema
To pair with The Yellow Seagull
Ingredients:
- 1 oz Mezcal
- 1 oz Jalapeño Cucumber Infused Tequila
- Orange Juice
- Club Soda
Instructions:
Fill glass with ice. Add mezcal and tequila.
Fill glass halfway with orange juice. Top glass off with club soda.
Crimson Peak (America, Canada, and Mexico)
Written by Guillermo del Toro and Matthew Robbins
Directed by Guillermo del Toro
After marrying the charming and seductive Sir Thomas Sharpe, young Edith finds herself swept away to his remote gothic mansion in the English hills.
Where To Watch: Netflix
To pair with Beware of Crimson Wine
Ingredients:
- 1 oz Raspberry Sage Syrup
- 1 oz Hibiscus Tea
- 1/2 oz Vodka
- Red Wine
Instructions:
In a shaker, add sage syrup, tea, and vodka with ice. Shake!
Add to glass and top with red wine of your choice.
Luciferina (Argentina)
Written and Directed by Gonzalo Calzada
Where To Watch: Sudder, Tubi, and Vudu
A young woman travels into a jungle to find a mystical plant to help her dying father.
To pair with Eyes To The Soul
Ingredients:
- Campari
- Gin
- Vermouth
- 2 Maraschino Cherries
Instructions:
Place a ball or cube of ice in a whiskey glass. Pour equal parts campari, gin, and vermouth.
Stir with a bar spoon a few times and garnish with 2 cherries on one side.
Juan of the Dead (Spain and Cuba)
Written and Directed by Alejandro Brugués
Where to Watch: Starz
After the dead rise and start attacking the living, Juan starts a zombie-killing business, until he has to save his small band from being eaten.
To pair with Tu Ser Querido (Your Loved One)
Ingredients:
- 2 sprigs of Mint
- 1 bottle Topochico Lime
- 1 oz lime juice, freshly squeezed
- 1 oz apple pucker
- 1 oz simple syrup
Instructions:
In a glass with ice, place mint at the bottom. Add lime juice, simple syrup, and apple pucker.
Muddle mint 4 to 5 times. Add Topochico to the top of glass and garnish with a second sprig of mint.
Tigers Are Not Afraid (Mexico)
Written and Directed by Issa López
When a girl’s mother disappears leaving her on her own, she joins a gang of street children, leading to a tragic chain of events.
To pair with My Feelings Are Afraid
Ingredients:
- 1 cup Frozen Mango
- 1 oz Mezcal
- Black Vodka
- Grenadine
Instructions:
Blend frozen mango and mezcal.
In a glass, add a splash of grenadine.
Pour blended mixture into glass and layer black vodka on top.
But wait, there’s more! Here’s our full guide to horror films to watch this month in celebration of Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month.
Hulu:
Into the Dark: Culture Shock (United States)
Written by Efrén Hernández, James Benson, and Gigi Saul Guerrero
Directed by Gigi Saul Guerrero
A young Mexican woman crosses into the United States, hoping to find her American Dream. But, she quickly finds herself in an American nightmare.
Netflix:
No One Gets Out Alive (United Kingdom)
Written by Jon Croker and Fernanda Coppel
Directed by Santiago Menghini
Desperate and without documentation, a woman from Mexico moves into a rundown Cleveland boardinghouse.
The Platform (Spain)
Written by David Desola and Pedro Rivero
Directed by Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia
In the future, prisoners housed in vertical cells watch as inmates in the upper cells are fed while those below starve.
Vampires vs. the Bronx (United States)
Written by Oz Rodriguez and Blaise Hemingway
Directed by Oz Rodriguez
A trio of friends discovers a sinister plot to destroy their neighborhood.
Shudder:
The Nightshifter (Brazil)
Written by Dennison Ramalho and Cláudia Jouvin
Directed by Dennison Ramalho
A technician in a morgue who can talk with the dead puts his loved ones in danger when he learns some secrets from one of his departed acquaintances which he uses for revenge.
Good Manners (Brazil)
Written and Directed by Juliana Rojas and Marco Dutra
A mysterious and wealthy woman hires a lonely nurse named Clara to be the nanny of her soon-to-be-born child. When a full moon brings about the birth of a werewolf, Clara makes it her mission to care for the monstrosity and protect it from others.
La Llorona (2020) (Guatemala)
Written by Jayro Bustamante and Lisandro Sanchez
Directed by Jayro Bustamante
Alma is murdered with her children during a military attack in Guatemala, but 30 years later when the general who ordered the genocide is found not guilty, Alma comes back to the world of the living to torment the man.
The Funeral Home (Argentina)
Written and Directed by Mauro Iván Ojeda
(Also on Amazon Prime, Tubi, and Vudu)
An undertaker and his dysfunctional family have learned to accept the mischievous supernatural entities that visit daily until a new menace makes itself known.
The Untamed (Mexico)
Written and Directed by Amat Escalante
A couple in a troubled marriage locate a meteorite, initiating an encounter with a mysterious creature. Their lives are turned upside down by the discovery of the creature, which is a source of both pleasure and destruction.
Deadtectives (United States)
Written by Tony West, David Clayton Rogers, Mark Riley, Cris Rice
Directed by Tony West
A team of hapless reality TV ghost hunters experiences true paranormal activity for the first time while filming a make-or-break episode in the most haunted mansion in Mexico.
Belzebuth (Mexico)
Written by Emilio Portes and Luis Carlos Fuentes
Directed by Emilio Portes
Agent Emmanuel Ritter investigates a series of homicides on the border between Mexico and the United States. To stop this madness, Ritter will have to start by facing his own demons.
Starz:
The Orphanage (Spain)
Written by Sergio G. Sánchez
Directed by J. A. Bayona
A woman brings her family back to her childhood home, which used to be an orphanage. Before long, her son starts to communicate with an invisible new friend.
Tubi:
The Grotto (Brazil)
Written and Directed by Arthur Vinciprova
A young man is the sole survivor of a serious accident in a forbidden cave. Four bodies are found in the cave, and forensic examination reveals that the same man killed them. He denies it and asks a nun for help.
Madre (Chile)
Written and Directed by Aaron Burns
(Also on Amazon Prime and Vudu.)
A pregnant woman becomes overwhelmed with her autistic son. After hiring a gifted caregiver, she notices an improvement in her son’s behavior, but she suspects that the caregiver is using voodoo to influence him.
The Wolf House (Chile)
Written Cristóbal León, Joaquín Cociña, Alejandra Moffat
Directed by Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña
(Also on Shudder.)
In this animated feature, a young woman takes refuge in a strange house in the woods after escaping from a German colony in southern Chile.
If feature-length movies aren’t your thing, then HBOMax has been building a collection of shorts that deserve some attention, too!
Let me know if I missed any movies streaming for Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month at @misssharai. If you like the drinks, then you should check out @shakenscaredpod because they have a ton of tasty drinks inspired by horror movies they cover on their show.
Categorized:Editorials
