Not a Horror Movie: The Tax Collector (2020)

Is it just me being biased, or is The Tax Collector (2020) really good? What can I say, sometimes my judgment gets clouded when my Mexican culture is represented well, even if done via a violent crime/action movie, so I ask again, am I being too generous or is the film actually great? What was that? You have no idea of what I am talking about because it is not a horror movie (nerd!) and you can’t relate? What!? You haven’t even watched the trailer yet? Here, let me help you fix that:

So, full disclosure, I’ve re-watched the movie a couple of times because it makes me feel giddy and happy inside as I see my family in it, I mean, obviously not the criminal part (ew, how dare you!?) but the gente, the day-to-day stuff that Mexican families do, like gathering around to eat big meals, cocinando chiles y llenando la casa de humo, persinandose and praying, being loud, getting ready para los Quince Años, dancing, celebrating life, just good vibes all around. Maybe it’s just me being nostalgic for the good old days when I used to live near my family, but man, there is something so incredibly comforting about seeing scenes like this one:

[Side note: Ever since I watched 3 From Hell (2019) by Rob Zombie I felt so bitter by the way Mexicans were wrongly represented, like caricatures, with silly sombreros and big dresses, living in dirt and poverty. So yes, as soon as I watched a pretty damn accurate representation of my people even if that representation was for a small part of our rich culture—that of family values—I was like, Muchas gracias, The Tax Collector!]

The other aspect of the movie that I enjoyed quite a lot was the sense of humor from Creeper, I mean, honest to God, it was so refreshing seeing a badass like him making goofy jokes while also talking in a sober voice about the benefits of good nutrition and mindfulness – what a hoot! That Creeper guy was scary though, like, too intense for my taste but at the same time sort of, ahem, charming? Don’t ask me why the bad boy approach works, it just does, okay? By the way, I understand that the actor playing that role was not Mexican (everyone else was, yes?) but I have to say that it worked, it really did work for me and did not find him unbelievable or cringey, plus, I admired the fact that he got a real Mexican tattoo on his chest, just for this film.

Can we get serious for a moment? The main character, David Cuevas, was hands down the best role model in the whole movie as he embodied both the bad and the good, the senseless and the reasonable, the ‘collector’ and the protector, the criminal and the business man, the murderer and the family man, the heir and the forsaken. I think he, himself, said it perfectly when talking to Creeper about what it was like to be in his shoes:

“I love my family. I love God. God allows me to walk through darkness and come back into the light. I have two worlds. You can too.” -David

Before I close this post and go re-watch the movie again, I would like to quickly list just for fun all the other things I enjoyed about it, SPOILERS AHEAD:

The family con las hermanas y tíos / “The Mexican Kardashians” / L.A.’s gritty neighborhoods / meditating is “satanic” lol / actual unsettling satanic rituals / slow motion shoot-out / hardcore violence (way too much, way too many heads smashed #gross) / the bloody bathtub #romantic / buried money / motorcycle chic / chocolate bars with hidden messages / la fiesta con la cumbia / “That’s like the female you. You guys should get married and have evil babies and shit.” / important characters dying / the soundtrack & music score (Sneaking Into The Compound by Michael Yezerski) / the open ending

In Love and Fear,

-Marath

© 2016-2021

Worse Than a Horror Movie: Paulette (2005-2010)

Hi friend, I hope you are doing well, keeping safe and healthy. Today I would like to talk about a case that shocked me to my core but, since it involves children, I wanted to give you a heads-up before moving forward, so, if violence against that demographic is something you’d rather not hear about please click out of this post and look after yourself.

Last week, by mere happenchance while watching a random Mexican showbiz interview talk show, I heard for the very first time the name Paulette. Paulette? I thought to myself, who is Paulette and why is she being mentioned like that? So casually, yet, with a somber tone of voice… should I know about her? No, of course not, after all, the interviewer and the interviewee only mentioned the name and nothing else, but again, the mood in the room did change by that single name and those present seemed to agree with their silence. Paulette. Yes.

My gut feeling was right about Paulette, but my heart was not ready for everything I found online, on YouTube, and on the book ‘Paulette, Lo que no se dijo’ by journalist Martin Moreno.

Paulette was the four-year old daughter of Lisette Farah and Mauricio Gebara (a well-to-do couple with connections with the Mexican government thanks to Mauricio’s dad) & the sister of seven-year old Lisette Gebara Farah (the first born daughter shared the mother’s first name). This big sister, Lisette, was known by the live-in nannies, sisters Erika and Martha, for displaying aggressive behavior supposedly out of jealousy toward Paulette for all the attention she was getting from everyone, you see, Paulette was born at six and a half months with both speech and motor disabilities and needed supervision 24 hours a day.

On March 22, 2010 Paulette was reported missing from her high-security luxury home and nine days later (NINE!!) her lifeless body was discovered on her own bed (ON HER OWN BED!!), yes, her corpse was found in the little girl’s bedroom where dozens, hundreds of individuals came and went, where supporting friends and family members spent the night while the “kidnapping” was being investigated, where reporters sat along with the mother giving weird interviews saying her disappearance was to be blamed to UFO’s (not joking, she said that, it’s on tape).

The tragic nature of this event should be enough to make you feel outraged, right? Well, what if I told you that politics [allegedly] played the most important role in the story? Not the death of an innocent child but [allegedly] the Mexican government… Outraged? More like, enraged. Disgusted. Horrified.

This case has been on my mind for the entire week as I could not simply shake off the death of Paulette, of her being manhandled, desecrated, taken, returned like an object and placed in between the mattress and the bed frame, of her terrible demise being the symbol of everything that is wrong with Mexico, that is, that justice toward a victim is nonexistent if the perpetrator is a person in power, or, at least, a person with connections to a person in power. At first, I blamed the potential ineptitude of those officials handling the case (police, detectives, forensics, etc.) but thanks to Moreno’s journalistic effort, I learned that I should have been blaming instead the corruption of those who were clearly meddling in the case, protecting the obvious suspects. To me, Paulette’s case went from a horrible tragedy to an unfortunate instance of [corrupt] politics vs. justice.  

It was an ugly image, that of a supposed “kidnapping” at a high-security luxury home with no evidence of forced entry, with no ransom note, or call, nothing at all. It was poor optics, that of an unemotional mother blaming UFO’s and who, on top of everything, happened to spend the weekend in Cabo with her [alleged] lover. And it was certainly in bad taste, that of the unknown true perpetrator(s) returning the little girl—dead for five days, as per autopsy report—nine days after having been taken from her own bed, to her own bed.

The “official” report concluded Paulette got stuck in her bed and her death was ruled an accident, moreover, it stated that had someone noticed her in time, her faith might have been different. Poor parents. Poor nannies. Poor policemen. Poor detectives. Poor forensics. Poor reporters. How embarrassing for them all, maybe “next time” they will have more “common sense” and look in the most conspicuous places, just to be safe. 

Well friend, I know that by now you know when I am being facetious and read that last part in my sarcastic tone of voice, I mean, gone for nine days? Found on her own bed? No one noticed the body? No one was held accountable? Sounds good to me. *eye roll*

If you are still interested in Paulette’s case and would like to know the play-by-play of the events, I highly recommend you watch this video which, luckily, you can enjoy with YT’s auto-translate if you do not speak Spanish. Need more content on the subject? Go to Netflix and watch the limited series Historia de un Crimen: La Búsqueda aka The Search for a sobering time.

In Love and Fear,

—Marath

© 2016-2021

Not Too Deep, Only Sin Deep — Tales from the Crypt (1989–1996)

Only Sin Deep (S1:E4) was the first ever episode from Tales from the Crypt (1989–1996) that I remember been exposed to. I was a child when I watched it and it made a mark in my psyche, I don’t know if it was for the worse or for the better, nevertheless, here I am today, ready to vomit into the internet void the reasons why I hold Sylvia Vane’s story dear to my heart.

GRIT – Sylvia Vane was a 21-year old prostitute who had great looks, a badass attitude, a sharp tongue, and most importantly, a goal. Sylvia knew what she wanted and was willing to do everything in her power to get it, even if that meant to get rid of a pimp to reclaim her freedom out of the business.

THE DIRTY WORK – In her defense, all Sylvia really wanted was to teach the pimp a lesson by robbing him so she could have enough money to get out of the streets, however, she ended up pulling the trigger, leaving behind her not only an illegal past but also an even more illegal crime. Sylvia was a murderer now and she needed to cash in her bounty.

THE DIRTY TRADE – When Sylvia took to the pawn shop the stolen jewelry she could not sell it as it was apparently too ‘hot’ as told by the establishment owner, however, if she really needed the money, he said there was another option… $10,000.00 in exchange for a mold of her face, excuse me, her beauty, a mold of her beauty. Sylvia took the offer with the knowledge that she had four months to redeem her beauty if she wanted it back.

OBJECTIVE – With a purse full of cash, a polished makeover, a new expensive wardrobe, and an even more expensive frame of mind, Sylvia infiltrated effortlessly a party of the man she had put her eye on back in her ‘working’ days. Remember that sharp tongue of hers? Well, she used it like a weapon, a sexual weapon, against her target, Ronnie Price, and it worked wonders. She made it. She was in.

NAIVETY – It was four full months of bliss and happiness and Sylvia was truly living her dreams, dreams that got shaken by a weird occurrence on her face; was it acne, skin cancer, a genetic illness, voodoo? Whatever the reason, it was making this young and vibrant-looking woman to suddenly—and rapidly—start losing her perfect magnetic glow.

REDEMPTION – Sylvia was many things but stupid was not one of them. She demanded the pawn shop owner to give her back her beauty, even when the deadline was past due. If her beloved lover, Ronnie Price, had taught her anything was that everyone had one, a price, that is. Sylvia went back to their luxury apartment and grabbed all the jewels that Ronnie had gifted her so she could pay off her debt when, horror of all horrors, Ronnie arrives home and since all he sees is a strange woman stealing from him, he threatens to call the cops and—bam!—gets shot by the girl of his dreams.

CONSEQUENCES – This was the end of the road for Sylvia. Yes, she had enough valuables to buy back her beauty, but would she want to risk being back to her normal self and get recognized by the police as Ronnie’s killer? As the pimp’s killer? Being faced by two bad options was the last thing she wanted, but freedom still meant more to her than anything so she chose to walk alone, on the street, with not a single dime to her name, defeated, but this time with her beauty not on her face, but on her arms.

To me, Sylvia Vane’s story represents hope for a better future, hope in the knowledge that if you want something and put your mind and energy into it, you can get it. Maybe not forever. But at some point.

In Love and Fear,

-Marath

P.S. Wanna date and have twenty-seven minutes to spare? Here honey, enjoy:

© 2016-2021