**_Five youths inadvertently unleash Xipe Totec_**

This is an Italian film, shot in Italy with a (mostly) Italian cast & crew; one glance at the credits verifies this. Yet the production company was American, which supplied a budget of $15,000 and not $300,000 as cited on IMDb. Everyone got paid except for the two writers, one of which was also the director, Samuele Breschi. So, this is a spare change indie, but it’s so proficiently made you wouldn’t know it.

Like “Body Count” from 1986, it’s a wholly Italian production, yet the story takes place in America. As such, the characters’ interactions and general happenings come across more surreal than real since it’s an Italian interpretation of life in America. While a little stock footage of America is used in place of second unit work, everything else was shot in Italy and glaringly so no matter how the director tried to hide it, which is amusing.

In any case, the ambiance is successfully moody and brooding with the director wisely avoiding overstuffing the proceedings with wordage. As for the non-CGI monster, it is well done and effectively terrifying, reminiscent of a more diabolical Skeletor. Meanwhile Italy’s version of Judd Hirsch shows up for the second half, and I like how the final act perks things up with something unexpected as far as environment goes.

Light brunette Martina Capaccioli works well on the feminine front with her interesting face, somewhat similar to Elizabeth Olsen. And dark-haired Sofia Pieroni is decent in a secondary role. Unfortunately, the director didn’t have a clue on how to shoot women (not talking about nudity or sleaze).

At the end of the day, this is slow burn Italian horror that puts to shame practically any film with 7x the budget and is just as watchable as any with 40x the resources.

Released in Jan 2024, it runs 1h 42m and was shot in Tuscany region, which is located 2-3 hours’ drive northwest of Rome.

GRADE: B-