Directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky | Mexico, Italy | 123 min
English language film
A former circus boy, now an asylum inmate, is haunted by childhood trauma and his fanatical, armless mother. Santa Sangre is a surreal eruption of madness, religion, and Freudian nightmare—equal parts performance and possession.
Jodorowsky’s cult classic fuses spectacle with spiritual crisis, turning horror into catharsis. It’s a fever dream of transformation and control, mirroring a deeply Mexican collision of trauma, identity, and myth.
Español:
Un joven criado en un circo—ahora interno en un manicomio—revive su traumática infancia bajo el hechizo de su madre fanática y sin brazos. Santa Sangre es una explosión onírica de violencia, religión y pesadilla freudiana.
El clásico de culto de Jodorowsky explora la locura, el control y la identidad a través de un horror surrealista. Encapsula la esencia de Mexsorcismo: una fusión profundamente mexicana entre el espectáculo y la espiritualidad, el trauma y la transformación. Es horror como catarsis—sangriento, hermoso e inolvidable.
Written & translated by Adrian G. Del la Peña.
Part of our Mexsorcismo Series.
In the spirit of respect, reciprocity and truth, we honour and acknowledge that this screening takes place on Moh’kinsstis and the traditional Treaty 7 territory, as well as the oral practices of the Blackfoot confederacy: Siksika, Kainai, Piikani as well as the Îyâxe Nakoda and Tsuut’ina nations. We acknowledge that this territory is home to the Otipemisiwak Métis Government of the Métis Nation within Alberta District 6. Finally, we acknowledge all Nations, Indigenous and non, who live, work and play, as well as help steward this land, honour and celebrate this territory.