Wednesday, February 08, 2023

Remote Viewing: Savageland (2015, US) a mockumentary/horror film

 Savageland (2015, US) is currently free on Tubi, with ads. It is listed on Tubi as a 'mockumentary'. While that might give you the impression that it is a comedy, that's not the case. Whether it uses the tropes of True Crime programs and undead horror to look at social and political issues along the US border, as well as racial prejudice and unequal criminal justice.


One night, over 50+ people, men, women, and children are savagely killed in a small Arizona-Mexico border town. The only survivor, a non-documented Mexican handyman, Carlos Olivares, is arrested and convicted on circumstantial evidence for the entire event. No other suspects were considered by local law enforcement. A short time later, before the trial a roll of film, taken by Carlos the night of the event. It appears to show in the often motion-blurred photos of other individuals attacking the residents and perhaps eating them. The photos were not allowed to be admitted by Defense counsel and claimed by the local sheriff that they were doctored by someone to clear the suspect.

The film uses interviews, "news reports" and a walkthrough of the crime scene, along with some crime scene photos and videos. The thirty-six photos taken by Carlos are also shown. Some of the crime scene photos and photos taken by Carlos are graphic, so be warned

Not your typical horror film, but rather it uses that as a way to look at the history of racism, including the Klan, in Arizona and the attitudes of many in the local area to the border issue. Easy to tell when this was filmed, as we see several photos of the Wall as it then existed.

An interesting film, if perhaps a bit too long over an hour and twenty minutes.

By the way, I didn't recognize him at the time, but the late comics writer Len Wein (Swamp Thing, X-Men, etc.) appears as a character interviewed in the film, according to IMDB.com. Love to know more about that. 



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