“Chupa” (Netflix) Movie Review by Rafy Mediavilla (@Rmediavilla) #Netflix #ChupaMovie
Shy 13-year-old Alex (Evan Whitten) flies from Kansas City to Mexico to meet his extended family for the first time. There he meets his grandfather and former lucha libre champion Chava (Demián Bichir), energetic, wrestling-obsessed cousin Memo (Nickolas Verdugo), and fearless, hip cousin Luna (Ashley Ciarra). But just as Alex begins to get his bearings, he discovers a mythical creature living under his grandfather’s shed: a young Chupacabra cub, which he recognizes from stories of the feared, full-grown Chupacabra, fabled to feed on farmers’ livestock. Alex soon learns that his new friend “Chupa” has a secret history with his family, and that dogged, dangerous scientist Richard Quinn (Christian Slater) is hunting the misunderstood creature to try and harness his powers. To protect Chupa from impending danger, Alex sets off on the adventure of a lifetime, one that will push the bonds of his newfound family to the brink and remind him that life’s burdens are lighter when you don’t have to carry them alone.
With that long-winded synopsis out of the way, I must admit that me being from Puerto Rico, and the legend of the Chupacabra being born here I was more than anything curious to review this film mainly regarding what direction the writers and director Jonás Cuarón took to use the name of the Chupacabra to write a story for. And honestly while is not perfect, I came out pleasantly surprised at what this movie is all about.
At its core, Chupa is a story about family, friends, and Mexican culture. Driven by visuals where we can clearly see that director Jonas Cuaron used the Jurassic Park movie as inspiration, even the script from the antagonist side, the way their motives were written can be tied into the Jurassic Park movie. And this is something I truly enjoyed about the movie. Story wise The Chupacabra is not meant to be seen as a monster in this movie, more than anything Chupa was used as the platform to being an abuelo and grandson together, which is something that played out perfectly as if was written.
The performances are good, with Demián Bichir leading the pack and followed by the excellent chemistry he had with young actor Evan Whitten who played his grandson. The whole story behind them embracing each other and their culture help in carrying this film as a family-driven adventure. Abuelo (Bichir) embracing the luchador within him and Alex (Whitten) understanding he is not alone played out as a great message for the story, What did not work for me was Christian Slater character Richard Quinn who as the main antagonist his motives weren’t fully developed, and while he did what he could with the role, his character never menacing enough.
In the end, Chupa is just the title of the movie, and the Chupacabra is used a tell a charming story about family and Mexican culture it may not resonate with everyone, but a movie that I can recommend for a one-time watch with the whole family after dinner or an evening watch. Is heart-warming, entertaining, and fun and not at scary as the whole Chupacabra legend is said to be told.
