Director: Issa Lopez
Writer: Issa Lopez (Screenplay)
Starring: Paola Lara, Juan Ramon Lopez, Nery Arredondo, Hanssel Casillas, Rodrigo Cortes, Ianis Guerrero, Tenoch Huerta
Plot: A dark fairy tale about a gang of five children trying to survive the horrific violence of the cartels and the ghosts created every day by the drug war.
Runtime: 1 Hour 23 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Tigers Are Not Afraid starts when a young girl Estrella (Lara) returns home from school, only to find her mother not return, given no help, she finds herself needing to fend for herself, joining a street gang with El Shine (Lopez), Morro (Arredondo), Tusci (Casillas) and Pop (Cortes) who look to fend for themselves in the Cartel run streets.
Estrella is left in a position where she is given three wishes, the first one is to have her mother return, only she is haunted by a ghostly figure of her. Soon Estrella will learn the power of her wishes, in a world that isn’t forgiving for children, where the violence takes control.
Thoughts on Tigers Are Not Afraid
Thoughts – Tigers Are Not Afraid is a horror that will blend the reality of living in the shadows of cartels, with the loss of losing a loved one, through the eyes of a child, needing to learn to survive in the violent streets. Issa Lopez brings us a horror that will leave use genuinely terrified with both sides of the story, while giving an important message about the innocent victims of street crimes. The five child stars are fantastic, with Paola Lara being a revelation, as her character must deal with the supernatural side of the film too. Tigers Are Not Afraid is a film that doesn’t hold back and try to give us a happy side, while using the fantasy elements, much like Pan’s Labyrinth to show the reality of the world in innocent eyes. Tigers Are Not Afraid, might well end up becoming one of the hardest horrors to watch, knowing the real world consequences that children would go through, for something out of their control.
Final Thoughts – Tigers Are Not Afraid is a heart breaking horrific horror movie.