DANCE WITH THE DEVIL (aka PERDITA DURANGO) PLOT-In Mexico, a prostitute and a Santerian warlock kidnap a teenage white couple, with the intentions of killing and eating them. VIOLENCE-In addition to tons of gory gunshot wounds, body parts are hacked off with a machete, a knife is shoved clear through a person's head, two characters are hit by a car, a guy is repeatedly stabbed in the face with a broken bottle, and one unlucky bastard is run over by an 18-wheeler filled with human fetuses in jars. SEX/NUDITY-I counted at least 5 sex scenes, most of which showed a decent amount of skin. They are all rough and not that sexy (unless rough is your game). WHY I LIKED IT-After watching this, Alexander de la Iglesia is now one of my favorite directors. He manages to pull off one of the coolest and bloodiest crime films since RESERVOIR DOGS, but doesn't cop any of Tarantino's trademarks or try to duplicate that style. I loved the supernatural element, as one of the lead characters is a murderous witch-doctor that screams a lot and drinks blood. Plus, I couldn't get enough of the "hit by car" stuff (one guy flips in the air three or four times before hitting the ground). I was surprised at how much of a complete and total badass Rosie Perez was, but most of all, I was shocked that this was an A-PIX release. They usually put out crap, but this Mexican/American production turned out to be a classic. It's a relentless ballet of psychos and shotguns, with a twisted sense of humor and a gritty, almost surreal atmosphere. DOWNSIDE- Somebody like Miramax really should have picked this movie up for distribution. Because of A-PIX's cheapo duplication, this movie suffers from "direct-to-video" look and sound. MEMORABLE SCENES-Rosie Perez (Durango) has a couple of nightmare scenes that deal with a crazed bald-headed man in a mobile home. In a fit of rage, the man shoots his own children, then his wife, then himself. NOTES-The DVD version of this is unrated, letterboxed, and runs about 6 minutes longer than the cassette. The movie is in english, but when spanish is spoken, they have subtitles.
