ChicRawIdol
A brilliant film that helped define a genre
Beystiman
It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.
Orla Zuniga
It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review
alexog
The Strange Son of the Sheriff is probably one of Almada's better made movies. The setting is worthy of any of Leone's films. The themes of any western are here, man versus something beyond himself. Either natural or supernatural. The film uses well the setting of the western to show the struggle of man to civilized what cannot be civilized. The script is also quite decent with well develop characters that are layered, at least the main characters. Sometimes it screams the motives of the characters but their acting allows them to show more nuance at many times. As a horror, the film suffers from the past of time. The cheese special effects are detrimental. Sure, I got freak out as a child but I have seen the movie a couple of times after that and the charm is gone. Frankly, in the horror aspect, less is more. The scene where the face of the child is reflected on the wall is ludicrous. Compare to the scene where the sheriff's best friend runs to hug the kid, only to find out he is hugging the ghost of the dead kid. Probably what sets this movie apart from the crap, is the questions that arise from it without knowing. It is clear that some aspects of the movie were made for the prudish Latino audience. Sorry for the term, we had and still have some cultural ideas. The dead kid is bad because he cannot just die. After his father kill him and throw him like an animal in a hole, what did they expected? It was only natural for the innocent child to become a demon. The doctor's mistake was to trust science more than God, really? for real!? The doctors actions, although clear and honest to the naked eye, also leave many questions and he is guilty of a terrible action, even if feeling guilty about it. The sheriff's moral core, at first strong and unshakable, clearly quite ambiguous. The father of the murderer using justice to quench his thirst for blood. The unedited ending, quite shocking and clearly amoral. Once the flimsy cultural values are taken away, we have a movie without redemption. The characters are only jokes of an attempt to civilization and the natural and supernatural plot against any form of justice. If only the creators had the strength to make the film as it should, undiluted by society's sense of right or wrong, this movie could have ended a masterpiece of its time. But it is not, so it only gets a 6.
insomniac_rod
Filmed in Durango and supported big time by the government of the state, "El Extraño Hijo del Sheriff" is the Mexican "Basket Case" version but with a few differences that I will explain later."El Extraño..." has a very interesting plot that deals with medicine, science, religion, and of course, evil.The movie deals with the town's sheriff's twins that were born with an abnormal physical feature : they were born glued. So the sheriff decides to tie with chains his twins in the house attic. Years after, he decides that it's time to get his sons separated. He hires the town's doctor and through a graphic but not grotesque scene, they get separated only by a scalpel. A hell of an effective doctor!In consequence, one of the twins tragically dies. The other one stays alive and lives a normal life... until his brother comes from the dead and seeks revenge against his father, the doctor, and anyone else who comes into the way.Local town's people hear about the murder of the other twin and decide to make a trial against the father who gets the death penalty condemn. The day of his execution, Erick (the believed dead twin) makes a demonic appearance that scares the hell out of people and by himself kills his father (he was hung up). People is convinced that the other twin never died and that he's roaming on earth with diabolical purposes.Then the movie gets somehow dull as some scenes do not get anywhere but we get lousy dialogs and inept scenes involving the dead twin making apparitions and threatening the people that had to do with his surgery. The doctor who is haunted by the event decides to apply science and through hypnosis he spells the evil twin out of the good twin's body and soul. But he made a mistake and suddenly in a super cheesy scene, he spells the good one. So the evil one takes the soul of the woman who took care of them and tells his brother that finally they will be together... again.Cheesy ending sure.The movie has good acting; specially by Erick del Castillo and Mario Almada. The twins (Only played by a boy!) deliver good performances but I didn't buy the "evil" inside one of them. The direction is not that bad because at some points, it looks like the movie was inspired by "The Evil Dead" (specially in the scene where the surgery is taking place and a demon wind enters the cabin and beats the sheriff and the doctor). Also, the execution scene and the "exorcism" sequence look really creepy with evil sounds in the background and a ghostly atmosphere. This is a Western with Supernatural/Horror elements. I recommend it for fans of Mexican Horror and demonic possession movies.Not that bad!
FloatingOpera7
El Extrano Hijo Del Sheriff or The Sheriff's Strange Son (1982): Starring Eric Del Castillo, Mario Almada, Rosa Gloria Chagoyan, Alfredo Gutierrez, Roberto Canedo, Alfredo Wally Barron, Alicia Encinas, Julian Abitia, Ramon Menendez, Blanca Lidia Munoz.....Director Fernando Duran Rojas, Screenplay Fernando Duran Rojas.From 1982, this Spanish film (Spanish language, Spanish actors), a product of Mexican cinema, is of special interest to foreign horror film fans. If you speak Spanish and love older films, this one may also be to your liking. Actor Mario Almada began his career with successful Western films in Mexican cinema through the early to mid 60's. In the 70's and 80's, he became well-known for his graphic, violent exploitation films dealing with crime such as murder, drug traffic, the Mafia and so forth. He made movies that were not for the faint of heart and were usually targeting a male demographic. Eric Del Castillo followed in his footsteps doing the same type of film and had begun his film career as a Western film star. This film is set in the Old West in Mexico. It's a cross between "The Omen" and a Western. Del Castillo plays the town sheriff Frederic whose wife dies giving birth on a particularly dark and stormy, full-moon night. The son is kept hidden for years for there is a dark secret the Sheriff is keeping from the rest of the town. Turns out his late wife gave birth to conjoined twins, considered a frightening anomaly in the 19th century and the more superstitious people believed them to be born of the Devil. Fred and Eric are chained and imprisoned in the Sheriff's home. Because the Sheriff hopes his sons can still live a normal life, he forces the town doctor to separate them in an unprofessional operation. One son, Eric dies. Fred remains alive but claims he can still communicate with the dead brother. Before long, the dead brother seeks revenge on the doctor and his own father. The town is clearly a stand-in for society and the conjoined twins represent anyone who is different. This film is a winner even if outdated in its effects and mood.
exoticopecado
When I watched this movie the first time, I didn't sleep for a week, I was 15, not very young, but enough to felt terrified by a diabolical siameses and a "towny" father, the Sheriff, which believed that the Devil was inside his sons and decided to open them "a la brava", in a little cabana where the doctor had to perform the surgery with no surgical tools but a knife. Mario Almada makes you feel impotence when he tries to convince the Sheriff (Erick del Castillo) to desist; but the ignorance of the Mexican town people is stronger. So, one of the kids die, but he comes back as a diabolical phantom to take back his death. The end is very awful but has a message: Never underestimate a different person.
