Overview
A haunting exploration of trauma and revenge unfolds in the shadows of a twisted past.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- surreal
- grotesque
- psychedelic
- cult horror marathon
- arthouse horror night
What critics said
Critics broadly regard Santa Sangre as a provocative, highly personal, and visually powerful work of surreal psychological horror, though its violence and excess can overwhelm unfamiliar viewers.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The family circus, clowns, tattooed performers, religious ceremonies, and staged murders create a deliberately theatrical nightmare.
Fenix's childhood exposure to mutilation and suicide shapes his asylum confinement, hallucinations, and subsequent murderous actions.
The Santa Sangre church, its martyred figure, and Concha's religious fanaticism turn sacred imagery into an engine of violence.
Fenix believes he becomes his armless mother's arms, blurring his agency, memory, hallucination, and maternal command.
Films like Santa Sangre, and why
The Holy Mountain
surreal psychological horror, grotesque religious imagery, and visionary formal excess
Mandy
trauma-driven horror, ritualized violence, and disturbing symbolic imagery
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
nightmarish circus atmosphere, theatrical grotesquerie, and psychologically fractured identity
Possession
hallucinatory horror, sexualized violence, and transgressive exploitation aesthetics
Movie Details
- Director
- Alejandro Jodorowsky
- Release Date
- 1989-11-24
- Runtime
- 122 min
- Rating
- 7.2 / 10 (526)
Cast
- Axel Jodorowsky
- Blanca Guerra
- Guy Stockwell
- Thelma Tixou
- Sabrina Dennison
- Adan Jodorowsky
- Faviola Elenka Tapia
- Teo Jodorowsky
- Jesús Juárez
- Gloria Contreras
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, Philo, Night Flight Plus, Fandor Amazon Channel, Screambox Amazon Channel, FlixFling, Eternal Family, Cineverse, Midnight Pulp, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Troma NOW, Midnight Pulp Amazon Channel, Bloodstream, Chilling, Cineverse Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, FlixFling
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, FlixFling
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Santa Sangre about?
- A traumatized circus performer becomes the living instrument of his mutilated mother's murderous revenge in Alejandro Jodorowsky's psychedelic horror nightmare.
- What is Santa Sangre like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Santa Sangre as measured, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Santa Sangre violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Santa Sangre as graphic.
- What did critics think of Santa Sangre?
- Critics broadly regard Santa Sangre as a provocative, highly personal, and visually powerful work of surreal psychological horror, though its violence and excess can overwhelm unfamiliar viewers.
- Which films are like Santa Sangre?
- Films with a similar feel include The Holy Mountain, Mandy, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and Possession.
- How long is Santa Sangre?
- Santa Sangre runs 122 minutes.
- Where can I watch Santa Sangre?
- In United States, Santa Sangre streams on Amazon Prime Video, Philo, Night Flight Plus, Fandor Amazon Channel, Screambox Amazon Channel, FlixFling, Eternal Family, Cineverse, Midnight Pulp, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Troma NOW, Midnight Pulp Amazon Channel, Bloodstream, Chilling, Cineverse Amazon Channel.
