Mexican Werewolf in Texas

{{Short description|2005 American film directed by Scott Maginnis}}

{{Infobox film

| name = Mexican Werewolf in Texas

| image = Mexican Werewolf in Texas cover.jpg

| caption = Promotional artwork

| director = Scott Maginnis

| writer = Scott Maginnis

| starring = {{Plainlist|

Erika Fay
Gabriel Gutierrez

}}

| released = {{Film date|2005|09|18}}

| runtime = 88 minutes

| country = United States

| language = English

}}

Mexican Werewolf in Texas is a 2005 American direct-to-video horror film directed by Scott Maginnis and executive produced by Randy Mermell.{{cite web |title=Mexican Werewolf in Texas Reviews |url=https://www.tvguide.com/movies/mexican-werewolf-in-texas/review/2030191944/ |website=TV Guide |access-date=6 April 2023 |archive-date=April 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406045634/https://www.tvguide.com/movies/mexican-werewolf-in-texas/review/2030191944/ |url-status=live }} The title is a reference to the 1981 horror comedy film An American Werewolf in London, which is in turn a reference to An American in Paris and Werewolf of London. Despite its name, Mexican Werewolf in Texas does not feature a werewolf, but the chupacabra or "goat-sucker" of Latin American folklore, which one character compares to a hairy wolf.{{cite book |last1=Newman |first1=Kim |author-link=Kim Newman |title=Kim Newman's Video Dungeon |date=May 2018 |publisher=Titan Books |isbn=9781785657474 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VMNUDwAAQBAJ |access-date=6 April 2023 |archive-date=April 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406045701/https://books.google.com/books?id=VMNUDwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }} It is one of a number of chupacabra-themed horror films released in the early 2000s, including several in 2005 alone. It received negative reviews. Critics felt the movie commented on racism in the United States.

Plot

In Furlough, a small Texas border town and self-proclaimed "goat capital of the world," the mythical chupacabra has begun to terrorize the populace. At first it drains the blood from goats in the town, then starts targeting people with animal blood on them. As the deaths escalate and police dismiss the attacks, a group of townspeople decides to fight back. The film is narrated by Anna Furlough, a teenager who longs to escape the small town; other residents include her boyfriend Miguel Gonzalez, a computer nerd and son of veterinarian Manny; her best friend Rosie, a straight-A student who hopes to attend the University of Texas at Austin; her father Brad, an undertaker and former town scion; Jill Gillespie, the bubbly girlfriend of farmer's son Tommy who flashes the monster while on a hunt; and Cabot Speers, an eccentric "alien hunter" whom the teenagers hire to capture the creature and earn a bounty.

The chupacabra continues to prey on the town, killing Tommy, Manny's daughter Maria, and Rosie (who brings a bag of raw meat on a monster hunt). Meanwhile, Anna's father, who disapproves of her relationship and harbors racist resentment against the town's increasing Mexican-American population, plots to kill Miguel and frame the chupacabra for the death. Brad dresses up in pelts to disguise himself as the chupacabra, wielding a meat-fork whose tines are meant to resemble the creature's fangs, and stalks the couple. Miguel, mistaking him for the actual chupacabra, shoots him upon Anna's urging.

Cast

{{castlist|

Erika Fay as Anna Furlough
Gabriel Gutierrez as Miguel Gonzalez
Michael Carreo as Tommy
Martine Hughes as Rosie
Sara Erikson as Jill Gillespie
Louie Cruz Beltran as Manny Gonzalez
Mark Halvorson as Brad Furlough
Leslie Marshall as Carol Furlough
Randy Mermell as Bob Gillespie
Courtney DuBois as Sandy Gillespie
Wolfgang Metzger as Cabot Speers
Sandy Malcom as Virgil Furlough
Alan Rackley as Enis Furlough
Brandon Hudspeth as Adam Furlough
Mark Twogood as Sheriff Sam Burry
Chuck Loring as Deputy Stan Newton
Elizabeth Del Sol as Maria
Larry Brister as Jan Strauss

}}

Critical reception

The film received largely poor reviews by horror writers.{{cite web |last1=Condit |first1=Jon |title=Mexican Werewolf in Texas (2006) |url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/reviews/4564/mexican-werewolf-in-texas-2006/ |website=Dread Central |date=January 10, 2007 |access-date=6 April 2023 |archive-date=April 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406045701/https://www.dreadcentral.com/reviews/4564/mexican-werewolf-in-texas-2006/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Strauss |first1=Eric |title=Mexican Werewolf in Texas DVD Review |url=https://www.horrordna.com/movies/mexican-werewolf-in-texas-movie-review |website=Horror DNA |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804082734/https://www.horrordna.com/movies/mexican-werewolf-in-texas-movie-review |access-date=6 April 2023|archive-date=August 4, 2020 |date=March 12, 2009}} Nevertheless, critic Kim Newman noted that "for a cheapie, [it] has more going on in [the] acting and scripting department as usual," author Barb Karg called it "an eccentric lycan flick worthy of B-movie status,"{{cite book |last1=Karg |first1=Barb |title=The Girl's Guide to Werewolves: All You Need to Know about the Original Untamed Bad Boys |date=18 August 2009 |publisher=F+W Media |isbn=9781440513756 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YsnrDQAAQBAJ |access-date=6 April 2023 |archive-date=April 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406045702/https://books.google.com/books?id=YsnrDQAAQBAJ |url-status=live }} and University of New Mexico professor Jesse Alemán, in an overview of folklore creatures in horror movies, called it "the better of the numerous Chupacabra films to crop up over the past few years."

{{ill|Lexikon des internationalen Films|de|Lexikon des internationalen Films|fr|Lexikon des internationalen Films}}, a German-language reference work on all theatrical films and many direct-to-video films that have been released in Germany since 1945, said Mexican Werewolf in Texas "can easily be read as a paraphrase of everyday racism in the U.S., which is questioned through a 'Romeo and Juliet' story. (...) that uses the genre framework for thought-provoking entertainment."{{cite web |url=https://www.filmdienst.de/film/details/527476/mexican-werewolf |title=Mexican Werewolf |language=de |quote=Vordergründig ein Horrorfilm, ist der Film unschwer als Paraphrase auf den alltäglichen Rassismus in den USA zu lesen, der durch eine ‚Romeo und Julia‘-Geschichte hinterfragt wird. Interessante Independent-Produktion, die den Genre-Rahmen für nachdenklich stimmende Unterhaltung nutzt. |access-date=2023-04-07 |publisher=Filmdienst |work=Lexikon des internationalen Films |archive-date=September 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927223301/https://www.filmdienst.de/film/details/527476/mexican-werewolf |url-status=live }}

Themes

Alemán discusses the film's treatment of anti-Chicano racism and tension over the changing population and faltering economy of Furlough; he likens the chupacabra to "an embodiment of racism and social oppression that terrorizes the town." The name of the town's founders, Furlough, carries a double meaning of job loss, and Alemán argues that Brad Furlough turning himself into the monster is an outward expression of his racial and class resentment.{{cite book|last1=Alemán |first1=Jesse |chapter=Days of the (Un)Dead: Vampires, Zombies, and Other forms of Chicano(a) Horror in Film |title=Latinos and Narrative Media: Participation and Portrayal |date=7 November 2013 |pages=49–69 |isbn=9781137361783 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wRxEAgAAQBAJ |access-date=6 April 2023 |archive-date=April 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406045633/https://books.google.com/books?id=wRxEAgAAQBAJ |url-status=live|doi=10.1057/9781137361783_3|editor-first1=Frederick Luis|editor-last1=Aldama }}