Tigers Are Not Afraid

What a great movie. As horrible as the story is (and I did cry at the end), this movie is really great. I can warmly recommend it. Very good acting, which is a huge compliment because I am not a fan of child actors, but this was brilliant.

“Tigers Are Not Afraid” is at once heartbreaking, horrifying, and brilliant. The movie follows Estrella, a young girl caught in the middle of the Mexican drug war who, after being taught about fairy tales in school, is given three wishes. But on her return home, she finds her mother missing and must strike out on her own, meeting up with a group of boys whose families have also gone missing or been killed. As she uses her wishes, she finds that they each come with a catch. Now in possession of a gangster’s phone and being tracked by the gang’s leader, the group must run for their lives, all while Estrella continues to see fantastical images and encounters with the dead.

Comparing this film to “Pan’s Labyrinth” or even “The Monkey’s Paw” is not unfair, both in terms of how the story is told and the general theme, that of escaping into fantasy to distance oneself from the horrors of the world, and of being careful what you wish for. The imagery is not quite as fantastical as “Pan’s Labyrinth” and is actually more akin to that of a modern horror film than a fantasy epic.

The acting is decently done, especially for a movie that focuses primarily on the children. You can feel an enormous uncertainty expressed by these kids, which matches the feeling of children being cast out into the world on their own with no idea where to go or what to do. At the same time, watching what these kids go through is not easy.

This can be a difficult film with challenging themes and imagery. I know that there are some out there that may not be able to stomach some of the themes and events depicted, so be warned. But if you can, it’s a rewarding experience, which is a testament to the film and the talents of those involved. If the audience doesn’t FEEL a film like this, then it wouldn’t be worth your time. With the kind of emotion this film invokes, though, it’s definitely a must see, in my opinion.

Fans of Guillermo del Toro will no doubt appreciate this, as there is a huge influence shown here. It's a fantasy horror drama set in Mexico, dealing with crime, death, ghosts, loss and hope. We follow a group of kids who have all suffered loss as they try and fight their way through the gangs and cartels via fairy tales and magical realism. There are some choreographed moments in the final act that are a little too convenient, but the performances of the children are very decent, and there are a couple of violent acts I didn't see coming.

This won't be for everyone; I found it to be "interesting" at the most but somewhat difficult to follow, especially the conclusion. It almost had the feel of a docu-series but then you had the weird phantom stuff that appeared early in the film. (At first glance, I thought it was a trickle of blood pouring in behind "Estrella", until it started running UP the wall... After that, I kind of just shrugged my shoulders and went with it.) So, yeah, it's a very provocative film, very emotional, and you definitely feel for the children but in the end, I was left wondering what it was all about and what I had just watched. I'm still not sure. I'm not sorry - not by a fraction - that I watched it but again, it won't be for everyone.

It's amazing how the kids in this had no acting experience at all prior to working on this film and yet they're still better than 90% of the child actors you see in US movies.

I might have been a bit too tired to watch this one but still I really enjoyed it! The child actors were great, I loved the way the film was shot, the story was alright, some brutal stuff happened which I did not expect to see, the ending was a bit to fairy tale but still enjoyable.

Tigers Are Not Afraid is a great start for Issa López and it made sure that I will follow her work from now on.

Ps. the run time is only 83 minutes so be sure you catch this one on Shudder!

Reading the reviews, I am amazed how popular this film amongst the reviewers. For me, it was a massive, **MASSIVE** let down.

On average, I am very generous with my rating on Trakt. Usually I rate 1 point, if not 2 points above the rating on Trakt. Especially when it comes to horror / thriller genres, I am super easy to please.

This film gets 3/10 from me - and that is purely for the brilliant acting of the kids. They are spotless. The casting couldn’t have been done better. But that is the only good thing about the film.

Above all, this film is not a horror film. Not even close. It is not a thriller either. It is simply a drama film, trying too hard to give a message to make the film feel like it is one of those “yeah, I didn’t understand the film and that’s why it’s great ‘cos I’m cool” reactions. Sorry, not for me.

Very, very disappointed.