Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017) User Reviews

Fantasy horror with a message

[Vartiainen · 6/10 · 9 October 2018]

In the slums of Mexico five young children try to survive the horrors of cartels, drug trafficking and outright kidnappings. Their most recent member, young Estrella (Paola Lara), has managed to gain three wishes, but like in many fairy tales, especially the darker ones, you have to be careful what you wish for.

I saw Tigers Are Not Afraid on a film festival. It was marketed as "The best Guillermo del Toro film he never happened to direct", which has some truth to it. The film has a lot of similarities with Pan's Labyrinth. The realms of fantasy mixing with the horrors of the real world, a young girl trying to survive and even thrive in such an environment and the overall mood being quite not as depressing as one would assume, given the subject matter.

First of all, I have to praise the child actors. All of them are terrific and more than manage to sell the horror, desperation and determination needed of them. Paola Lara as Estrella is of course excellent, but the best performance was without a doubt given by Juan Ramón López as Shine, the leader of the children. Especially the way he managed to sell the combination of toughness and vulnerability he can only show to Estrella and even then only under duress.

Unfortunately I was not so impressed by the fantasy elements. They didn't seem to have any reason or rhythm to them. The actual three wishes were just about perfectly handled, but everything else fell flat. For example, the children have this phone with a dragon on it. At one point the dragon takes flight and flies out to explore. Then, a few scenes later it comes back. And it's not on the background, either. The camera follows the dragon and the story is briefly paused for it to do so. But for what? Nothing it gained, it doesn't connect to anything and even the children's reaction is pretty blase. The whole film is full of little moments like that. Those things that stay on the background or are just there to be window dressing are perfectly fine, just world building, but quite often the film focuses our attention on them. And usually for nothing.

Tigers Are Not Afraid needs a bit polish and thought given to its elements to be a truly great film. As it is, it's worth a watch if you're a diehard del Toro fan and want something in his particular style.

A movie that gets its claws into you and won't let go

[mwilson1976 · 7/10 · 28 April 2020]

In this dark fairytale written and directed by by Issa López, a gang of orphaned children battle to survive on the streets of Mexico amid the devastating backdrop of that country's drug wars. The kids are armed with three magical wishes to help them escape the clutches of the cartel that murdered their parents. This uncompromising movie sees López create a world that recalls the early films of Guillermo del Toro, imbued with her own gritty spin on magical realism to conjure a wholly unique experience. This is a movie with a real social conscience, López elicits solid performances from her young cast (who are all incredible). It's touching but unsentimental and quite often devastating (bad things happen to these kids), and is a movie that really gets its claws into you and refuses to let go.

MODERN DARK FAIRYTALE.

[andrewchristianjr · 7/10 · 10 October 2020]

Gangster. Children. Horror. All in one. Interesting film, it literally plays like a modern dark fairytale. I loved how theu brought the fantasy and the horror elements into a what could've been a regular crime/drama. Well done.

Heartbreaking and fantastic

[Red_Identity · 8 November 2019]

This is a great and necessary addition to the horror genre, and is very much worth a viewing for those who think horror genre can't blend with realism and fantasy to create a metaphor of beauty.

"Once Upon A Time ....."

[Tee_Alee_Naqvi · 7/10 · 4 December 2019]

The film is a striking blend of realism and fantasy, it is the story of a pack of kids, orphaned by the drug wars, surviving in this underbelly of Maxico. Film's major cast is consist of child actors and they are mesmerizing to say the least.

The films follows a girl Estrella, who comes home from school, which closed early under emergency because there was gun-fight going in the neighbor. She comes home and finds out her mother is missing, to make things weird, in a good way, director added this flavor of fantasy to this. This girl has these three pieces of chalk that her teacher had given to her as three wishes she can ask for, just like in fairy tales as she tells her. So she asks for her mother to come back as her first wish, and then there's this line of blood constantly following her wherever she goes. Alone and scared she leaves home and finds a group of urchins, poor and destroyed, surviving on their own, she joins them. This group of kids is led by this small but tough-talking boy Shine, who somehow has got his hands on a pistol and a cell phone, that later plays a very important role in the film.

Film's imagery is absolutely stunning and heartbreaking, amazing metaphorical shots, some I could get some I could not but they were absolutely beautiful to look at. There is this stuffed tiger, talking, corp of Estrella's mother following her. Writer-director Issa Lopez has done a remarkable job at delivering the message of these underprivileged kids with utter realism and fantasy simultaneously. And all that with some very good performances from these are very, very young kids. If you have some free time, it would not be a bad idea to give this film a go.

There are no wishes.

[Pjtaylor-96-138044 · 7/10 · 15 February 2021]

Taking heavy inspiration from the work of Guillermo Del Toro (particularly 'Pan's Labyrinth (2006)' and 'The Devil's Backbone (2001)'), 'Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017)' mixes harsh reality with dark fantasy. It's a little uneven in its blending of its two core elements; nevertheless, it's an engaging and palpable experience throughout. Even when it's at its most fantastical, it always retains a level of sobering realism. It isn't afraid to get heavy. The affair is sometimes a bit inconsistent when it comes to tone, as it attempts to blend the inherent innocence of childhood with the vicious circumstances of its setting, but it hits the right notes when it needs to. A large part of why it's so successful is that its lead actors are remarkably good, especially considering their young age and lack of experience. They ground the already grounded experience and make caring for the characters actually rather effortless. Ultimately, this is a well-made and compelling drama. 7/10

Horrors are not unreal

[linkogecko · 9/10 · 15 November 2017]

How do you craft horror for an audience that knows a reality that is often scarier than anything they've seen on-screen before? If you're writer/director Issa López, you take that real horror and, by adding a little magical realism, you end up with a brilliant piece of on-screen horror where tangible humanity is scarier than ghosts could ever be. Set in a lower-class neighborhood of an unnamed Mexican city taken over by a criminal gang known as Los Huascas, who have left a trail of abandoned children in the wake of their many murders and executions, "Tigers Are Not Afraid" follows recently-orphaned Estrella as she tries to find a new family in Shine's gang of street children while supernatural forces seem to follow her.

The film is very much a homage to Guillermo del Toro's filmography, with a symbolic insect right at the start of the film, magical chalk, scary-because-they're-hurt ghosts, clear references to well-known fairy tale tropes, horror elements used more to reflect on humanity than to scare and the overall style of mixing brutal humanity and brutal fantasy in an oddly hopeful way. It is also very much its own thing as, while Guillermo del Toro has usually chosen wars (specially the Spanish Civil War) as the perfect setting to showcase the evil in all humanity, Issa López's focus is squarely aimed at the own brand of evil of an specific human demographic: Mexicans.

GdT's ghosts are often things of gory beauty; López's ghosts and corpses, covered in blankets and plastic bags are just savage (and savagely real at that), considering real drug cartels' penchant for dramatically using corpses covered this way to "send messages" and create their self-images in Mexico. López also tackles Mexican street children and their curse word-ridden slang, Mexican politicians and their unbelievable PR-cultivated images, Mexican police ineptitude and a number of other idiosyncrasies of this culture. The end result is a film crafted in a way that does not necessarily alienate those outside the culture, but is still very clearly made by and for people belonging to it. The way it is made is also worthy of note as López's approach to filmmaking is refreshingly total. She embraces set design, costume design (I particularly loved the character of Chino wearing what is now well-known in Mexico as a preppy "politician's vest" at a key period of the film), camera-work, music (some dramatic moments are clashingly scored with the most popular of popular Latin American music styles, to brilliant effect), acting and CGI to tell her story the best way possible. In these aspects, her unquestionable MVP is young newcomer Juan Ramón López, who plays Shine. In a movie full of surprisingly good child actors, Juan Ramón simply runs away with the movie in one of those on-screen debuts that captivates and makes the viewer hopeful for all future work by this force of nature.

The movie is not perfect: some of the CGI, while brave, just doesn't work on either the technical or creative levels; the editing is a bit choppy at crucial moments; the script's usually high standard only makes the instances of bad plotting and dialogue stand out much more but these issues only hurt the end result minimally. While this is not Issa López's first movie (it is her third feature film as director), it does feel as something of an opera prima of a new stage of her career, one that "Tigers Are Not Afraid" suggests could be promising. As it stands now, to this Mexican cinephile, the film is a brilliant work that succeeds in making one confront and recognize personal and cultural demons, monsters, ghosts and tigers.

Good acting from that young cast.

[deloudelouvain · 6/10 · 6 June 2020]

The most impressive thing from Vuelven is the acting of the very young cast. They all gave very mature performances, it looked all very believable, and concidering their age that's not a given fact. Since the whole movie is mostly about them, it's a positive thing they found such talented youngsters. The story itself is something between a drama and a fantasy with a pinch of horror. It's entertaining enough to watch. Tigers Are Not Afraid isn't a joyful movie, but it's worth a watch.

Devastating

[dokrauss · 10/10 · 2 March 2018]

Wow. Just wow. A great movie about the destruction wrought by the Mexican drug trade on the innocent, in this case a group of kids left homeless and orphaned by a local drug gang. Not only do they murder the kids' parents with impunity, but they sell the kids into child sex rings. If it wasn't for the orphans' ten-year-old leader, Shine (wondrously portrayed by Juan Ramon Lopez) they'd all be dead or worse. Enter Estrella, a recently orphaned girl who brings with her three wishes, all of which devastate the orphans but bring a measure of justice, too. This is magical realism at its most tragic.

Tiger is more important than the Lion King

[wickedmikehampton · 6/10 · 27 December 2019]

There's darkness in difficult places. And we're drawn to it. Happy movies rarely win critical applause. Russian depression, German war movies and Asian family struggles are more likely to accomplish that. Below the USA, nothing's darker than Argentina's 'Embrace of the Serpent'. And Mexico gave us director Guillermo del Toro's who, early on gave us 'The Devil's Backbone'.

'Tigers Are Not Afraid' may not have the big budget but reminds me of Del Toro's 'Pan's Labyrinth'. Fantasy is used as a tool by children to cope with the horror of living in violence.

'Tigers' teaches us more about life than the 'Lion King'. Consequently, it's more important to watch.

Pan's Labyrinth Rip Off With the Depth of a Telemundo Daytime Drama

[boohoogland · 2/10 · 26 August 2019]

I went to see this movie after reading the endless good reviews on IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes. I think this will be the movie that finally weans me off of trusting aggregate review sites.

This movie has a wonderful premise and setting, to explore the horrors of the modern day drug war in Mexico through a magical realism thriller.

What this movie delivers, is a jumbled and confused mess of sophomoric metaphors, weak plot, and one dimensional characters. The movie struggles to connect one scene to the next sensibly, and plays out like a Telemundo soap opera, introducing increasingly lazy plot devices to propel the movie forward.

The use of children characters in such a violent and dark setting should have evoked a sense of extreme empathy and horror for their real life counterparts. However, the writing is so basic and underdeveloped that the movie uses youths in violent situations as a crutch and substitute for its lack of anything truly poignant or thought provoking to communicate about the situation in Mexico.

Overall, "Tigers Are Not Afraid" is one of the worst and most overhyped limited releases I have seen in recent history.

Excellent!!!

[deniro3 · 10/10 · 8 March 2018]

I've finished watching the movie and I'm crying with joy, horror and sadness. What a shocking, real, charming, innocent, evil and disheartening movie. A work of art of the genre made of everyday reality, where an inoperative government, corrupt and alien to its governed has allowed such a real atrocity in Mexico. A lacerating, outrageous, violent reality, without law or justice and a childhood torn, strangled and murdered by interests foreign to its purity. Beautiful allegory of innocence, camaraderie and revenge of a people whose citizens, fed up with corruption and impunity, shout justice even if it is from beyond the grave.

Modern day Monkey's Paw

[ssnake_z · 7/10 · 24 September 2019]

TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID RATING: 3.6/5

So right off the bat, let me say that this movie is definitely not like Guillermo Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth. Yeah, there's kids, the movie is in Spanish, and there's a supernatural element, but that's where the similarities pretty much stop. If anything, this is a modern day adaptation of The Monkeys Paw more than anything else.

This movie pretty much lives and dies depending on whether you like these homeless kids, because the special effects just aren't enough to really keep your interest since they're used so sparingly. That being said, the kids aren't bad. They're homeless because their families have been either murdered or kidnapped by the cartel, and they have no one else but each other. They have a camaraderie that carries them through the life they endure, which mainly entails scavenging and avoiding being kidnapped by the cartel. The main character joins these kids because her mom ends up missing one day, after she gets home from school and she doesn't know where else to turn. You'd think she'd tell her school teacher but instead, she turns to the homeless kids she sees in the neighborhood, and the story kicks into gear from there.

If i had to say anything bad about the film, it's that i don't think the lead actress is as strong as the supporting cast, nor as interesting. The boys kinda run circles around her as having more depth and charisma. Outside the monkey's paw she carries, which is 3 pieces of chalk for 3 wishes here, she doesn't really offer much else as a character. Her first wish opens her up to small supernatural omens which she can't make sense of until the end. It's a little predictable in that way, but then the kids get into legitimate danger with the cartel, adding a new element that stops things from getting too predictable. Oh, and occasionally the English subtitles wouldn't quite capture what was really said in Spanish, so some jokes didn't translate over, but the gist of it was there.

Overall, the film's okay. Nowhere near the level of Pan's Labyrinth, but still enjoyable for what it is. You definitely don't have to rush to see this, but if one day you find yourself with some free time on your hands, i don't think it's a movie you'd regret watching.

I must have watched another film...

[brightonxxx · 3/10 · 25 October 2020]

Reading the reviews, I am amazed how popular this film amongst the reviewers. For me, it was a massive, MASSIVE let down.

On average, I am very generous with my rating on IMDB. Usually I rate 1 point, if not 2 points above the rating on IMDB. Especially when it comes to horror / thriller genres, I am super easy to please.

This film gets 3/10 for me - and that is purely for the brilliant acting of the kids. They are spotless. The casting couldn't have been done better. But that is the only good thing about the film.

Above all, this film is not a horror film. Not even close. It is not a thriller either. It is simply a drama film, trying too hard to give a message to make the film feel like it is one of those "yeah, I didn't understand the film and that's why it's great 'cos I'm cool" reactions. Sorry, not for me.

Very, very disappointed.

Issa López's Breakthrough Feature Lives Up To Its Reputation

[CinemaClown · 15 October 2019]

Dark, brutal & heartbreaking yet pierced with an unfeigned tenderness, Tigers Are Not Afraid (also known as Vuelven) blends the elements of horror, fantasy & social realism into one passionately crafted & exquisitely narrated fairy tale that's tough & touching in equal doses, and is further bolstered by strong & sincere performances from its young, novice cast.

Written & directed by Issa López, the film paints an unflinching portrait of everyday tragedy unfolding in modern-day Mexico, brought upon by the cartel violence in the wake of the ongoing drug war, and captures it through the eyes of children who are left orphaned & traumatised by these day-to-day atrocities. López's direction is top-notch, and her documentary-like approach delivers the desired impact.

The tone & treatment of López's latest film bears striking resemblance to the works of Guillermo del Toro but there's also an uncompromising quality to it that gives the story her own touch. The interaction between the kids retains its childlike simplicity, the unity they exhibit as a group brims with an authentic feel and these child actors with no prior acting experience are surprisingly natural at articulating the necessary emotions.

The horror aspects are neatly carried out, for the film's deserted setting & uncanny aura reeks with terror, plus the jump scares are effectively carried out as well. But the spectral touches are still no match to the terrifying & harrowing barbarity that's perpetrated by the cartels in this picture. At well-paced 83 mins, the narrative isn't longer than it needs to be although there are a few hiccups as far as editing goes.

On an overall scale, Tigers Are Not Afraid is an unadulterated depiction of the loss of innocence that's as gripping as it is disturbing, and as intelligently executed as it is deftly layered. Steered by Issa López's no-nonsense direction & excellent writing, strengthened by its raw camerawork, menacing score & impressive use of genre(s) elements, and all the more uplifted by stellar work from its novice cast, this Mexican horror lives up to its reputation for the most part, if not all. A definite must.

her new guardian angel

[killercharm · 7/10 · 27 August 2020]

A little girl is left alone in her city apartment in Mexico when a drug cartel's gang picks up her mom in one of their many raids. She finds she has to join a gang of street urchins because she doesn't even know how to feed herself and the school is closed for the interim due to the shooting that just happened that day. She is thrown into this rough world but has two things going for her. While in school, when all the students have flattened themselves on the floor upon hearing the first reports of the day's gunning in the halls her friend gave her three wishes, that and her dead mother is her new guardian angel, and she's no dainty doily, she has teeth.

nice movie,something different

[realart_ds · 7/10 · 21 September 2019]

Difficult for me, to give a Mexican movie a round of applause, I think this movie deserves it in a way, when I saw it at the festival, I thought it would be another one, same plot as always, poor, criminals, and authorities (what that is lived daily in Mexico and what it seems is the only thing that is produced filmically in Mexico), more than ready to give my harsh criticism in the first minutes where everything seemed to be the usual, but after a few minutes, it I notice the difference, and that is appreciated, without a doubt Issa Lopez not only knew how to structure the script, but also managed to take the film, in certain aspects if I would have liked a better photograph, the assembly is too subtle, I miss more, the production and postproduction It was well taken, the use of 3d is inperceptible, which is good. Child performance was somewhat fair, even if having achieved a little more feeling from the children would have been grateful, for thematic and type of narration I think it was a decent delivery.

Sad, Powerful, and Beautiful - Amazing

[folide1 · 10/10 · 19 February 2020]

This movie is marketed as a horror flick but it is way more than that. It exposes the horrors of a lawless land where orphans fend for themselves. It has beautiful intertwined fantasy. The last 20 minutes had me in a place I had not been in a movie in a long time. Very powerful and beautiful at the same time. One of the best 20 movies I have ever seen. It should of had a larger release.

Pans Labyrinth lite

[billcr12 · 7/10 · 17 September 2021]

Paola Lara is Estrella, the central character in this Mexican ghost story. The influence of Pan's Labyrinth is clear but Vuelven is nowhere near Del Toro's masterpiece. A group of street kids struggle to survive within the violent culture of Mexican gangs who kill for no apparent reason. Estrella searches for her missing mother and she and her fellow orphans must confront the ghosts of the vanished. Lara is excellent in the lead and her supporting cast are also very good. Overall, a watchable film.

Pans Labyrinth meets City of god

[ghoultalk-06867 · 8/10 · 18 September 2019]

I went into this with metered expectations despite hearing good things. I was very happy with the movie. Heart breaking and brutal this is a great film about orphaned children in Mexico with great dark fairytale elements thrown in. The whole movie you wonder what is actually happening and what is the children's imagination. The childeren are fantastic. I do have to warn you, this movie pulls no punches. It covers very dark subject matter. If child death scenes are a trigger for you this is not the film for you. Other than this, watch it! This is a great story that really needed to be told

Fantastic!!

[paulclaassen · 7/10 · 16 September 2019]

Oh, wow, what a good movie! The film features mainly child stars, and they are fantastic! The visuals are good and there are a few very scary moments.

'Tigers are not afraid' has a distinct 'Pan's Labyrinth' feel to it, yet it is very different. The film depicts the sad and dangerous lives of young orphaned children during ruthless drug wars. It so effectively illustrates how these children - despite their circumstances - can still find joy and beauty in trivial things that might go unnoticed to the mature eye. They are ultimately just kids still.

The film soon spins out of control as the kids are being hunted by drug lords, and every day is a battle for survival. The climax is brilliant. This is a very disturbing film, yet also so beautiful. Awesome!!

Meh

[pensacolacomputer · 5/10 · 14 September 2019]

Meh, not horrible, but not great either...Not a whole lot happens in the movie...I could sum it up in a couple of sentences...More of a drama, its not really a horror movie

Tyger Tyger, burning bright,In the forests of the night; What immortal hand or eye, Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

[morrison-dylan-fan · 10/10 · 14 April 2020]

Mentioning to a friend that I recently signed up for free 30 days of Shudder, he did a post online asking people what the best exclusive films are on Shudder, and he told me that a Mexican one kept popping up at the top. Having had some fantastic Mexican Horror viewings last Halloween,I excitingly got set to meet the tigers.

View on the film:

Spending time rehearsing the largely non- professional cast in workshops and not showing any of the young cast a complete script, writer/director Issa Lopez presents magnificent performances, via keeping the camera level with the orphans, and also skilfully knowing when to hold the camera back,and allow Estrella's friendship with Shine room to breath.

For the first non-Comedy movie she has done, writer/ director Lopez & cinematographer Juan Jose Saravia seamlessly blend the wisely limited use of CGI bringing the kids supportive plush toys to shining life, with the horror of Mexico's drug cartels, which are opened in fantastic long corridor tracking shots staying next to the kids in the hidden back alleyways of the cartels turf.

Bringing magical realism into the air when Estrella's teacher passes over three pieces of chalk that will grant her three wishes as they lay on the floor avoiding drug war gun fire, the screenplay by Lopez refreshingly does not sugar coat the orphaned children's dialogue, chopped up roughly of pieces from their homeless streets living and daily fights to avoid being killed by cartel gang members.

Haunted by the disappearance of her mum, Estrella's friendship with Shine is built by Lopez on the harsh light their families have suffered as cartel victims, bound up by the help of plush toys opening the cages to freedom for these brave tigers.

The saddest horror movie I've ever watched

[gedikreverdi · 7/10 · 24 January 2021]

There was a shooting near the school and classes are suspended. Estrella's teacher gave her on the floor during the shooting three pieces of chalks each representing a wish. She went back home but her mother was missing. Haunted by his mother she went out and couldn't get back home and wanted to join the kids living near her house on a roof. Shine, pop and lil morro and others were homeless kids living there. At first they rejected her but then she joined them and they wanted to killed caco with the gun and the phone stolen from him. Estrella wanted to kill him by herself to prove herself for the gang and for her mother but when she went in he was already dead because she wished she wouldn't have to kill him and her wish was granted. But she lied to the gang saying she killed her. Chino the cartel criminal actually killed him because he shot a video of him killing Estella's mother and one of the kids took the phone. They moved to an abandoned huge apartment complex with gold fish on the floor and a even a theater stage. The criminals found them there and they killed morro. They got to escape with morro's body. In front of a circular window it looked like a dark fairy tale. The two in the gang wanted to get help from the police but shine said police are the worst and he was right. They just drove away when they watched the video chino killing Estrella's mother. Everyone in the society failed them. They buried morro in a box and threw his body on the water beneath the building. Morros ghost and his tiger toy was there at the funeral too. And like every other victim of the huescas, Estrella could see and talk to his ghost too. They decided to contact chino to give the phone back and he'll stop the killings in return. They met at an abandoned building of baths. When he took the wrong phone he just killed the guys with him and wanted the kids to get away. But he then noticed it's the wrong phone he killed shine and Estrella could escape and found the room in which the bodies wrapped in plastic sheet dumped. She locked him up in with the dead as her mothers ghost wished and said goodbye to the ghost of shine and saw the real tiger roaring in the entrance. She opened the door and walked into a beautiful prairie. It was one of the saddest films I've watched and the kids were great actors all of them. The details were so perfect like shine wanted to erase his burned scar in his face as one of the wishes of Estrella and his background story about the huescas set his house on fire and took his mother.

Kinejin: Good performances lost in a poorly directed film

[kinejin · 5/10 · 30 August 2021]

The child actors in this film are very good to excellent, however the plot and direction are an utter mess. Almost every shot using the pointless "floating camera" technique which is distracting and serves no purpose. Apparently, tripods are too much to ask for? The final battle boom shot shows that the director knows how to properly direct, but why wait until the end to do so? The film is a mix of "Children of Men" or a Satyajit Ray street urchin film with the fantastical elements of something from Guillermo del Toro, but to little effect. Less than 90 minutes in length, it felt much longer.