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Santa Sangre
Alejandro Jodorowsky's surreal, cult horror about a boy who escapes from the circus, reuniting with his mother to form a bizarre and murderous double-act.
Director: Alejandro Jodorowsky
Overview
The director's son (Axel Jodorowsky) plays the troubled young circus boy who witnesses all manner of strange and disturbing events before running away and starting a new life. Years later he's reunited with his armless mother to form a bizarre double act in which he becomes her 'arms', leading to a murderous spree.
Visonary Chilean director Jodorowsky first earned a cult following with his mind-melting acid western El Topo in 1970, one of the first films to to be exhibited as a 'midnight movie'. After many years struggling to raise financing for his singular visions, Jodorowsky partnered with Italian producer Claudio Argento (brother of Dario, director of Suspiria) who agreed to finance Santa Sangre on the proviso it appealed to the horror crowd. The result is an unforgettable combination of Jodorowsky's esoteric themes and motifs (religion, philosophy, rituals, circuses, dwarfs, mime) with highly imaginative scenes of graphic violence. Memorably described by Roger Ebert as "existing outside all categories", Santa Sangre is a genuine cult classic that will warp the mind of even the most jaded moviegoer.
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