Mal de ojo

A mythological Mexican legend of the witch who feeds on children! January has brought us two decent horror genre films so far. The first one is the surprising slasher Sick and the second surprise is this Mexican spooky tale, which just reaffirmed my fondness for witches and creepy grannies. Isaac Ezban has already made a decent mindfuck called The Incident, so he's not a complete newcomer, and technically Evil Eye is very good, which is always one of the mainstays for me, because underfunded horror films just don't do it for me anymore. The story is about two sisters who go to visit their grandmother. Their parents are trying to find a cure for the youngest sister and so they spend a torrid time with the grandmother because not only is she mean, grumpy, strict and unpleasant, but she's also a witch. The film has a slower pace but it doesn't get significantly boring, there are a few scares (nothing that would induce a heart attack but they are there), the atmosphere and the grandmother herself are the most impressive, she is simply creepy (she looks great stripped of her skin, that's where the makeup artists went all out), and the story of the nanny to the kids is also impressive and pleasantly creepy. Good for me, I can take this Mexican Folk fairytale. It could have been more intense and brutal, but I like witches better than ghosts and demons, so I'm satisfied. 7/10 (31.01.2023)