Creepy crawl house. Rotting witch’s corpse. David Dastmalchian searching for his air fryer. A type of issues shouldn’t be just like the others, however Muchas Mas Releasing’s “Rosario” is a supernatural horror flick you’ve principally seen earlier than. “The Late Night time with the Satan” actor seems in a supporting function right here for the function directorial debut of filmmaker Felipe Vergas. Dastmalchian’s slippery presence because the super-weird Joe — a clammy neighbor who perhaps shouldn’t let an outdated lady borrow his kitchen equipment subsequent time — each undercuts and strengthens this unusual script from Alan Trezza.
Doomed to amuse audiences by means of funniness or concern, perhaps ceaselessly, Dastmalchian can awkwardly hover in a hallway like no different performer. Nonetheless, there’s greater than his function as a possible pink herring in Vergas’ witchy take a look at heritage and grief to suggest it. Actress Emeraude Toubia stars because the title character, who goes by “Rose” as an alternative of “Rosario.” The movie opens with an unsettling reminiscence from her childhood — establishing the place she, her late mother (Diana Lein), her still-living dad (José Zúñiga), and her someplace in-between abuela (Constanza Gutierrez) come from culturally and spiritually.
Draped in wealthy colours and plush manufacturing values, “Rosario” boasts a hanging visible language with extra to say in regards to the Mexican American expertise than a lot of its characters. We meet little Rose and Grandma Griselda at a celebration that inexplicably sees the aged lady smeared in blood and lurking in a again room. Leaping ahead in time, her stylish Wall Avenue dealer granddaughter is now semi-estranged from most of her kin. This pale try at a fancy feminine lead advantages from Toubia’s exact efficiency however makes a nasty first impression with a sterile spin on the Manhattan woman boss rendered in numerous shades of grey, black, and white. The visible adjustment appears supposed to ascertain Rose’s emotional distance from her household. As an alternative, it suggests a noncommittal persona that doesn’t match the remainder of the weirdness on this movie.
When Rose finds herself trapped inside a grimy New York condo along with her grandmother’s useless physique, sturdy creature results (rendered by means of a mix of sensible and digital means) collide with a handful of really sharp line deliveries to make one thing akin to a lesser “Drag Me to Hell.” Like Alison Lohman’s naïve banker from the 2009 movie earlier than hers, Toubia’s fairness dealer begins out as a well-intentioned lady who isn’t actually making an attempt her greatest to be type. Begrudgingly answering a cellphone name from her grandmother’s landlord Marty (Paul Ben-Victor), she goes from watching inventory costs rise to learning magic sigils etched into human pores and skin over the course of a snowstorm.
Evoking the dirty regalness of “Evil Lifeless Rise” and “The Curse of La Llorona,” “Rosario” comingles blood-red gore, eerie green-gold lighting, and complex earthy patterns in shades of burgundy and terracotta to create a genuinely compelling world close to the corpse. Maggots bubble beneath each floor and the stench of ritualistic sacrifice hangs within the air as Rose slowly unravels, researching the traditional observe of Palo Mayombe (an actual custom rooted in compelled migration and the slave commerce) and theorizing that the useless lady put a curse on her for betraying the Fuentes household. Even Joe — who, for the love of all that’s holy, simply needs his goddamn air fryer again — can’t assist however level out how little Rose has visited.
After discovering her personal bloody tampon on an altar in her late grandma’s dwelling, Rose is sensible sufficient to try to guide it out of there. And but, “Rosario” can’t discover a single compelling motive to thwart that try. Throwing inclement climate, assault canines, and extra neighborly weirdness on high of core thought, Vergas doesn’t come throughout as afraid or insecure together with his first function, as an alternative struggling to show that he has good style when pairing doubtlessly discordant concepts. First rate jump-scares and an intimate unpacking of the guilt Rose feels having deserted her household mimics “Hereditary” and final 12 months’s “Exhuma” successfully however loses its crispy readability someplace alongside the hunt for Dastmalchian’s air fryer.
Bursting with effulgent eagerness, Toubia (who, it have to be stated, appears to be like rather a lot like Charli XCX?) fights exhausting and will get in some strong scenes that might’ve been labored out on one other director’s remix. “Rosario” is price seeing for her and is in any other case mired in fairly good issues to have. An imperfect hidden gem price ticking off for style completionists, it’s additionally an acceptable choose for Mom’s Day 2025 — one that may remind true horror myrmidons why the most effective springtime releases so usually lurk in mess.
Grade: C+
From Mucho Mas Releasing, “Rosario” is in theaters Friday, Might 2.
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