Culture Shock

I was really blown away by this entry. Once again Hulu's Into the Dark horror anthology series has spotlighted a director with real talent and something to say. Culture Shock may be the series best film and certainly the most important. The film tells the tale of a young pregnant Mexican woman trying to cross the border with a group of people. The first third of the film deals with the challenges she deals with on a daily basis and the past horrors she's endured. The second part has her caught by border police and she awakes in a beautiful colorful home with a house mother of sorts played by a wonderfully weird Barbara Crampton (From Beyond). As she explores the "traditional" American dream neighborhood she begins to discover imperfections and soon becomes aware of a hidden nightmare she's living. The performances are solid all around especially from lead Martha Higareda (Borderland) who gives her character a strength and vulnerability that's really impressive. The direction from Gigi Saul Guerrero (Mexico Barbero) is confident, creepy and informative but not in a preachy way. The movie gets its point across but still manages to be entertaining. I usually avoid political themed movies but I'm happy I gave this one a shot. It is a really great film with a unique perspective that needs to be seen.

4.25/5

I have enjoyed most of the episodes in this series up until now. I am very disappointed that Hulu has decided to inject the premises of the good and noble illegal immigrants vs. the evil Americans who don't support open borders. Note the misspellings in the "tweets" shown at the end, it's easy to miss ..... just so we all understand that people who disagree with open borders can't spell. Keep the damn politics on either side out of this series!

Culture Shock (2019) is an Into the Dark picture that I recently watched on Hulu. The storyline follows a Mexican family/group trying to cross the border and gets intercepted. When they wake up they're in a utopia of sorts where something seems a little off...could they have found salvation or are they part of a brutal experiment?

This movie is directed by Gigi Saul Guerrero (El Gigante) and stars Martha Higareda (Street Kings), Richard Cabral (End of Watch), Barbara Crampton (From Beyond), Felipe de Lara (Texas Rising) and Shawn Ashmore (X-Men).

This is actually one of the better Into the Dark movies, top 5 for sure. The premise and storyline for this was pretty unique. It reminded me of a unique take of Stepford Wives mixed with The Matrix. The colors, settings, attire, facial expressions and body language was very well done. The characters are easy to root for during the various circumstances. There aren't a ton of kill scenes but when they start, towards the end of course, it's very well done including some great stabbing sequences. The cartel is cool in this too and there's some unique science fiction elements also.

While this is far from a masterpiece it is entertaining and worth a watch. I would score this a 6.5-7/10 and strongly recommend it.

Yeah don't listen to the haters. Independence Day is about freedom and the "American Dream" so excuse us if we want to show some reality through the delusion. Good episode, good movie. Maybe it will shock some people into questioning what the American reality is for so many people who aren't rich or white, etc. Maybe it will challenge some stereotypes. But even without all that, I personally found it entertaining. Feel free to disagree.

Disappointing Black Mirror-like film. The story could have had a stronger plot twist but the director chose a bitter and weak ending. The representation of the Latino's characters and cultures is pretty accurate. The film could have kept on with the campy-like cultish nightmare (what I really was hoping for) but decided to turn into a more predictable, gory and vapid 'horror'. Still, it is okay to watch for those who enjoy psychological thrillers. There is true potential within Gigi Saúl Guerrero.