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Stars: Vania Accinelli, Sergio Gjurinovic, Vanessa Saba, Alexa Centurion, Maria Fernanda Valera, Nicolás Galindo, Carla Arriola, Guillermo Castañeda, Javier Valdez, Ismael Contreras | Written by Vanessa Saba | Directed by Frank Perez-Garland

In Face of the Devil, seven friends go on a remote jungle vacation where they are terrorized by a primeval spirit, but as they struggle to survive they come to realize that they brought the demon with them and evil lies within.

Face of the Devil, or La Cara Del Diablo if you want to use its original name, has taught me to add ‘remote jungle hotels run by a single creepy old man’ to my list of places where not to go on holiday. I’ve put it beneath ‘abandoned asylums’ and above ‘orphanages’ just so I don’t forget. It’s a Peruvian film and Spanish is spoken throughout and, unless you’re one of those people who are allergic to subtitles,...

Family dysfunction among the rich and incestuous is at the heart of Gods (Dioses), a dark new comic drama from Peru. Writer/director Josue Mendez’ exploration of the debauchery, desire, and social climbing of the Peruvian privileged class calls to mind the melodramatic films of Pedro Almodovar. Gods is an engrossing film with fine performances from a most attractive cast and is highly recommended.

Gods begins with sexy teen Andrea (Anahi de Cardenas), dancing to techno music with several men while her shaggy-haired slightly younger brother Diego (Sergio Gjurinovic) watches angrily from the sidelines, ultimately berating her first chance he gets. This unhealthy sibling relationship (made a bit more obvious in a later scene where Diego masturbates over her passed out body) is at the center of Gods, which focuses a family in Peru rounded out by the teen’s wealthy father Augustin (Edgar Saba) and his live-in ‘trophy wife...