The movie is based on Javier Hernande...z's el Muerto, the Aztec Zombie (a mini comic is also packaged with the DVD). Diego de la Muerte dies in a car accident and finds himself in Mictlan, the Aztec realm of the dead. He is sent back as The Chosen One, a minion of Mictlantecuhtli, the Aztec god of the dead, to bring the end of the world. But will Diego use his powers for evil, or for good? El Muerto kind of came out of left field and was an interesting surprise. It opens with a good homage to its source material - the opening credits morph between the live film and black and white line drawings, as if the film is lifted directly from the comics. And it continues to develop well - it's a decent story, and the film has good production values. I was expecting the signature look of some independent films - you know when you see a film that has bad lighting, poor camera work, and sloppy editing. I wasn't expecting to see something that had the polished look of a professionally-made, big budget film. It plays out as mostly serious (though nowhere near as dark a film as The Crow), but in the last fight, it seems like it attempts to pick up a bit of the lightness of the comic. That falls a bit flat because it seems wedged in, but it's easily overlooked. As far as the story goes, it does keep pretty close to the comic's origin (incidentally, a digital version of the complete first comic is included on the DVD - a pretty good bonus). As a whole, it's an enjoyable story - I wasn't sure what to expect, so I didn't set the bar too high, and I was pleasantly surprised. See it if you can enjoy a decent comic book movie without expecting Citizen Kane. Don't see it if you're expecting something more than a decently written, well-acted indie film.
EXCELLENT FAMILY MOVIE. A GREAT MO...VIE FOR HALLOWEEN. IT'S A MEXICAN CULTURAL TRADITION THAT IS PRACTICE IN MEXICO AND HERE TO HONOR THE DEAD. IT'S A MOVIE ABOUT A MEXICAN LEGEND. IT DID NOT HAVE GREAT SPECIAL EFFECTS BECAUSE IT WAS DONE LIKE A COMIC BOOK. IT ISN'T SCARRY, SCARRY. I LIKE COLLECTING MEXICAN MOVIES THAT ARE CULTURAL, MYTHS ETC AND I LOVE HALLOWEEN SO THIS IS A GOOD MOVIE TO WATCH FOR THE HOLLIDAY. IT'S IN ENGLISH. IT HAD GOOD ACTORS IN IT. I ALSO BOUGHT IT BECAUSE IT HAS MARIA CONCHITA ALONSO WHO IS A GREAT ACTRESS AND ALL HER MOVIES ARE GREAT.
I enjoy this movie because of ...the Day of the Dead. Enjoyable To share with people of other cultural back grounds. Decorating graves, crosses and grave honoring.
Not to bad.... actually, it was pretty decent. The ...guy can really act. Definatly worth seeing again !