Movies
It Came From Streaming: Hispanic Heritage Month

On October 5th, 2020, my best friend Jonny and I started a podcast, ¡Uy Que Horror! A Latinx Horror Movie Podcast. It focused on the expansive world of Latin American horror films. Three years later, we have accrued over 150 episodes. This means we’ve watched over 150 movies (holy shit) all coming from a Latin American country, starring a Latinx person, or directed by a Latinx person. Does that make us horror experts? Film experts? Latin America experts? I’d love to be humble and say no, but I’m a Taurean only child raised by a Virgo dad, so I say YES. Lucky you, Jonny and I have used said expertise to compile a list of Latin American horror movies you should watch. After all, Latinx Heritage Month and Spooky Season (the most perfect double feature you could ask for) is right around the corner.
Best Movies to Stream During Hispanic Heritage Month
In my list, you’ll find the things I enjoy most in horror: fabulous outfits, goop and glop, weird plots, feelings and emotions, PERFORMANCES, silly goofs, and wrestling (Yes, Santo is on the list). So, who’s got two thumbs, is Latina, loves a spooky time, and has a list of awesome Latine horror movies you can watch? THIS GUY. *points two thumbs to herself*.
Mas Negro Que La Noche (1975)
HOLY SHIT DO I LOVE CARLOS ENRIQUE TABOADA (CET). The man knows how to tell a classic ghost story. Do yourself a solid and watch as many of his movies as possible (Veneno Para Las Hadas and Hasta el Viento Tiene Miedo are high up on the list for me too). Mas Negro que la Noche has the best stuff CET has to offer: independent women wearing FABULOUS 70s outfits and hair, an inherited spooky old house that comes with a black cat, and an ominous feeling that someone is watching you. It made me want to put on a mini skirt, style my hair a la Brigitte Bardot, and search a dark library on a stormy night.
Mas Negro Que La Noche (Darker Than Night) is streaming on Shudder.
Los Parecidos (2016)
I was never a Twilight Zone Girly, but man, do I love a weirdo movie, and Los Parecidos is a big ol’ weirdo that feels like it came right out of Rod Serling’s brain. I love that it’s basically a bottle film, held in a bus station plagued by a torrential downpour for most of the film’s duration. We have a little bit of everything: strange phenomena, a creepy kid, a little Mexican history, and it just looks so good. I don’t want to say too much because it’s SO weird that it would take away from the bizarre discoveries you’ll get as a viewer. Should I be watching The Twilight Zone?!
Los Parecidos (The Similars) is streaming on Screambox.
Mangue Negro (2008)
The feature film directorial debut by the Tom Zavini of Brazil, Mangue Negro is a SLOPFEST. This low-budget wonder feels incredibly Brazilian to me (I lived there for 15 years, so it hits me right in the feels). Can you tell this is Rodrigo Aragão’s first movie? Sure! But that’s what makes it great! The practical effects are delightful and gory and gloopy. Plus, it’s a unique take on the zombie movie, my favorite genre in horror, and its loving references to Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead make me happy. GOOP AND GLOP FOREVER!
Mangue Negro is streaming on Plex.
Bestia (2022)
When I’m not watching horror, I’m probably having a snack to refuel and then taking a breather with some animation. I’m a sucker for stop motion, and this Chilean stop motion short film checks both my boxes. Over on the podcast, Jonny and I have discovered that Chilean horror cinema can be a pretty tough watch because it’s often based on the VERY REAL terror brought on by the garbage person that was Pinochet and his monstrous regime. Bestia is set during that troubling time in Chile, but it focuses on a woman known to torture people in unspeakable ways. The film looks phenomenal, and the stop motion never dilutes the horror and shock you feel.
Pro tip: Have a feel-good movie on hand after it ends.
Bestia is streaming on Vimeo.
As Boas Maneiras (2017)
To quote Mariah Carey, “YOU’ve got me feeling emotions!” This movie was a revelation for me. It’s a dark fantasy horror film with musical elements, a small animated segment, gay stuff, and as a cherry on top, werewolves! But if you’re a Sensitive Sally like me, who cries at the drop of a hat, bring a box o’ tissues. The lead actresses in this Brazilian film are ACTING, and they are fabulous. It’s a beautiful fable that’ll have you wanting to hug your mom after.
As Boas Maneiras (Good Manners) is streaming on Tubi.
El Esqueleto de la Sra Morales (1960)
Mexico’s Golden Age of Cinema is unparalleled. We should all be watching those gorgeous movies at all times. The drama! The looks! The language! Jonny and I always say, “You can eat it with a spoon”. And this movie has all of that. A puritanical, bitter wife drives a sweet, good-natured taxidermist to murder. Simple right? But every scene is a meal, every moment is delivered with gusto, and you’ll never hate a villain more. Dessert please!
El Esqueleto de la Sra Morales (The Skeleton of Mrs. Morales) is streaming on Amazon Prime/Mubi.
Santo vs. Las Mujeres Vampiro (1962)
I end this list with the hero we all know and love, Santo El Enmascarado de Plata. There are a few horror-themed Santo movies (he’s spanned all film genres), and we’ve covered some of them on the podcast (Vs Los Monstruos and Vs Las Momias de Guanajuato). But Santo vs Las Mujeres Vampiro is a campy, vampy time. Chock full of goofs, awesome luchador fights, and 60s fabulousness, our hero has to save a girl from being seduced by a coven of lady vampires who want to marry her off to the devil. I mean, doesn’t that sound great?! Throw in some flying elbows and the coolest cars you’ve seen, and you got yourself one hell of a good time. I highly recommend playing this and any other horror-based Santo movie in the background of your Halloween party. A conversation starter for sure.
Santo vs. Las Mujeres Vampiro (Samson Vs the Vampire Women) is available to watch here in English or here in Spanish.
Check out part 2 (coming soon) for Jonny’s list of favorite Latinx horror movies! Then pop on over to ¡Uy Que Horror! on your favorite podcasting platform (subscribe!). We talk about so many more Latin American movies for you to watch: good, bad, and VERY bad. If it’s Latinx horror, Jonny and Aileen will watch it.
Feliz Latinx Heritage Month y Spooky Season a todxs! ¡Adios!
Movies
[INTERVIEW] Celebrating ‘The Coffee Table’ on Father’s Day with Caye Casas

The Coffee Table hit the U.S. streets in 2024 and imprinted itself on the brains of Horror fans (I am Horror fans). If you have not seen it, I can guarantee it’s like nothing you’ve seen before. The film follows a couple, Jesus and Maria, who have just become parents, and decide to buy a new coffee table. This decision has unexpected consequences. I highly recommend checking out this movie; you will be changed. You can catch it streaming (at the time of this article) on Tubi, AMC+, Shudder, and VOD. When I watched it for the first time, I rented it, and it was worth every penny.
I contacted Casas’ team and sent over a few questions about his inspiration for The Coffee Table and a memory with his dad. Please note that the responses have been translated from Spanish to English.
An Interview with Director Caye Casas
Jazzmin Crawley: What was your inspiration for The Coffee Table?
Caye Casas: I hadn’t filmed anything in five years, and I hadn’t come up with any projects. I thought I’d never be able to make another film. But I wanted to try to make one last film, one that would be powerful and that anyone who saw it would never forget.
I had the script for The Coffee Table in a drawer, written years ago. I knew I could do it on a tight budget, and a friend let me use her apartment for free, so we dove in and shot it in only 10 days. I wanted to tell a great tragedy with touches of dark humor, and based on some real news stories about these types of accidents, so we wrote the film.
We wanted to make a terrifying film, but not a typical horror film. Here, there’s only a dining table and a cruel fate, and a tragedy that can happen to any of us.
What was your favorite part of making this film?
My favorite part was getting back to filming after so much time. It’s something I needed at the core. I always say that having a passion for filmmaking is a curse, since it’s so hard to get the money, and life goes by, and you shoot very little. And if you ask me specifically about this film, my favorite part was shooting the kitchen sequence with Maria’s (Estafanía de los Santos) laughter. It was very funny, and I think it’s a sequence of cruelty and dark humor.
The design of the coffee table is interesting! Was it created for the film, or was it something you found? Is there a story behind this design?
We didn’t have the money to create a table, but we knew we wanted it to be kitsch, ugly, and different. Luckily, an antique dealer friend had this table in his warehouse. We asked him if he’d sell it to us at a good price, and he gifted it to us! We painted it gold, added the “unbreakable” glass, and it became the star of the movie.
Now I have it in my house, but without the glass.
I’m writing this article for Father’s Day. Do you have a memory with your dad you’d like to share?
Honestly, my best memory of my dad is when he used to take me to Camp Nou to watch FC Barcelona play. I’m a huge Barça (short for FC Barcelona) fan, and that’s thanks to my dad. My greatest passions are Barça, movies, and retro toys…in that order!
You have a history of working in the comedy and horror genres. Why do you like this medium?
Dark humor is my brand; it’s what defines me. I like to mix genres and put dark humor into a great tragedy, like life itself. Life isn’t just one genre, it’s many. I always use the example that sometimes you’re at a funeral, and humor comes up. Life can be contradictory, and the same thing happens in my films.
That’s why I’m passionate about mixing those two genres; for me, it’s really fun.
What would be your dream project?
Shooting the next film! I have various scripts written, and I’m looking for financing. There are multiple projects. Aside from that, I’m developing a script for a U.S. film. I hope something comes out of all this! You never stop chipping away at the stone in this business, at least in my case. My dream project is to make films for a living.
If you can talk about this, what’s next for you?
As I’ve told you, I have my own projects, some commissions, but nothing’s confirmed. We’re working on it, looking for money, investors, you know, that tedious phase of looking for money under every rock. But I assure you, the films made will be as talked about, if not more so, than The Coffee Table.
End of Interview
It was great to get an opportunity to ask Casas questions and get insight on this darkly funny project. The Coffee Table will live rent-free in the minds of Horror fans everywhere. We must fund and support independent filmmakers. If Casas could make something like The Coffee Table on such a small budget, imagine what he could do given ample funding.
Independent filmmaking is where some of the most unique ideas live. I hope we are able to see what Casas has in store next. If we want to see new and refreshing films, we have to support the teams behind them.
Movies
This Queer 2015 Slasher Desperately Deserves A Cult Following
Dive into “You’re Killing Me,” a 2015 queer horror slasher that’s equal parts romance, comedy, and bloody thrills. Follow Joe, a budding serial killer, as he navigates love and West Hollywood’s apathetic social scene in this vibrant, satirical coming-out allegory. A must-watch for queer horror fans!

This Pride Month on Horror Press, one of our main missions is to spread the word about queer horror movies that have actually, explicitly queer characters. Throw your queer theory textbook out the window today and put away those notes about the subtext of Fright Night. Today we’re diving deep into an example of one of my favorite movie genres (slasher) that features one of my favorite human genres (queer people). That’s right, we’re here to talk about 2015’s You’re Killing Me, a movie that celebrates the 10th anniversary of its OutFest premiere in July and desperately needs to have developed a proper cult following by the 20th anniversary, if there is any justice in the universe. Or the 15th anniversary. Or hell, the 11th.
The Queer Classic That Is You’re Killing Me
In brief, You’re Killing Me is a romantic comedy about social misfit Joe (Matthew McKelligon) meeting George (Jeffery Self). The pair fall in love and Joe insinuates himself with George’s West Hollywood friend group, including George’s co-star in his online videos, Barnes (Bryan Safi). It’s all very sweet, except for one wrinkle. Joe is a budding serial killer, and every time he talks about coming into his own as a murderer, his new boyfriend – who is too busy thinking about his favorite subject, himself – just assumes that he’s kidding.
Not only is You’re Killing Me a movie jam-packed with queer characters, it tells an entirely unique queer story through the allegory of Joe’s murders. Its true intentions may be hidden behind rivulets of blood, but it’s a coming-out story, too. It’s a rather unique “hero killer” story (to steal a phrase referring to movies that have their killer as the protagonist from Brian Collins, who may – in all fairness – have stolen it from somebody else). While the story does have a strong dash of Dexter to it, it’s got a much more focused coming-out metaphor, about trying to self-actualize and live one’s truth while surrounded by people who aren’t pushing back but rather could not give a shit about anything beyond the surface level of a person or a situation.
A Slasher With Heart
While the movie clearly has a lot of affection for the characters that it is lovingly satirizing, it harshly critiques their inability to connect with Joe properly, and their punishment for not listening to him is an increasingly deadly rampage. Joe mistakes their lack of processing as actual encouragement, and his self-actualization is allowed to spin wildly down a destructive path. However, by making the scenes where Joe commits his murders more lush, colorful, and beautiful than everything else, the movie hints that the character is much more alive than the dead-eyed WeHo-ites who surround him, by dint of actually living his truth.
While I’m not saying the movie justifies murder, per se, it definitely calls out the evil inherent to apathy, and that’s another way that it is much more queer and textured and interesting than the average slasher movie. So why isn’t it a cult classic just yet? You tell me! It just boils the blood. But I’m trying to build said cult here, so allow me to continue my pitch.
The Queer People Behind You’re Killing Me
As much as there is ample queerness to be seen in You’re Killing Me, there is just as much offscreen. Just like the West Hollywood culture the movie heavily satirizes, this group of gay people has a strong tendency to trend white, cis, and male (though longtime ally and LGBTQ+ advocate Mindy Cohn is also floating around the cast!), which, sure, could be a knock against it, but let’s take a quick journey through who we have here!
Director/Co-Writer/Producer Jim Hansen
Jim Hansen (not to be confused with the muppet pioneer of almost the same name) is primarily known for his work in the costume department of various major projects, including being the costume designer for Another Gay Movie and a costumer for Bring It On, Kill Bill Vol 1 & 2, and Wizards of Waverly Place.
He is also the co-creator of The Chloe Videos, which feature Drew Droege (who also appears in You’re Killing Me) in drag as Chloë Sevigny. Currently, You’re Killing Me is his final directorial feature, because the moral arc of the universe does not bend toward justice. However, his career is still ongoing, and more recently he has been the costume supervisor for shows like One Day at a Time, Bunk’d, and Happy’s Place.
Co-Writer/Star/Producer Jeffery Self
Comedian, actor, and writer Jeffery Self is best known to me as Liz’s gay cousin from 30 Rock, but he has a wide range of credits under his belt. Star of Search Party, author of the young adult novel A Very Very Bad Thing, host of the MTV aftershow Scream: After Dark, writer of salacious Fire Island recaps where he details the fact that he used to date one of the stars… this man has done it all. He’s also currently in theaters playing a supporting role in Christopher Landon’s Drop!
Notably, his Self-insert character (so to speak), George, is perhaps the most wicked person in this movie about a serial killer. This speaks to a willingness to make oneself the butt of the joke that is refreshing in screenwriters providing parts for themselves.
Star Matthew McKelligon
McKelligon is a mainstay of YouTube web series turned Logo TV web series turned Netflix series EastSiders, which was created by Kit Williamson and co-starred Constance Wu!
Star Bryan Safi
Actor and general man-about-town Bryan Safi played a major role in You season 3, but he is perhaps best known as the co-host (with Erin Gibson) of the LGBTQ+/women’s news comedy podcast Attitudes! (formerly Throwing Shade).
Supporting Cast
In addition to Drew Droege, of course, You’re Killing Me also features notable queer supporting players including Matthew Wilkas (star of Gayby and thus former onscreen love interest for Adam Driver, as well as being a former real-life love interest for gay Olympian Gus Kenworthy), Jack Plotnick (who has lived the gay dream, starring in both Gods and Monsters and Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and Sam Pancake (gay character actor extraordinaire who you’ve seen everywhere from Friends to Arrested Development to Search Party to Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde).