No Voltees (2024) (Mexico)

aka Don’t Look Back (that’s the English translation but like most English translations, it’s way less sexy)

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Childhood homes always have trauma in the kind of cinema I prefer to spend my time with. It seems every building you grew up in should be torched to the foundation once you manage to free yourself of it. But alas, instead of breaking the shackles of the past, horror protagonists always manage to make their way back “home”. Two estranged siblings, Aurora and Martín, with a ton of baggage (naturally) reluctantly return home after their senile mother’s elderly caretaker (maybe a stretch, a neighbor who checks in on her) suffers a fatal fall off of a stool. They rarely talk about the risks of grocery placement and cabinet repair but now you know. Aurora notices that every picture in the home has had their father’s head cut out of them but she doesn’t seem all that upset by it, so I’m guessing he was a piece of shit. This probably explains why Aurora now finds herself with another abusive piece shit as her boyfriend. Mom’s diminishing mental state has Martín floating the idea to his sister that their mother come live with her. He claims she can’t come live with him due to his “roommate’s” cat and mom’s allergies. Me thinks Martín has learned to be closeted and has had a few “roommates” in his life. Repression of youthful memories raises some questions as to just how bad things got before papa passed on, quick flashbacks intruding on the present are equally unsettling. As is the mother’s insistence that dad is there even though dad’s been dead for decades. The siblings are going to discover that mental illness explains some things but the supernatural may be the actual answer as to just how bad everything has gotten. Both are equally disturbing and depressing. Martín feels he needs to confront the past he can’t remember in order to be a better person but Aurora seems to just want to leave that past buried which, considering the glimpses and hints we’ve been given, may not be best for her mental health but is completely understandable. Dad’s weird-ass household rule gives the film its title and also may have assisted in his untimely (but much-deserved) demise. Pity he had to go and fuck up his kids. A well-crafted slow burn first half offers some suitable spookiness sticking to the background and a crumbling home serving as a proper setting but more importantly placed in the capable hands of Paulette Hernandez and Alan Alarcón who manage to present the familiar charisma of siblings and remain sympathetic throughout. When the deceased father’s evil presence takes hold things get a little silly and you know I am completely fine with that. Emotional trauma in the form of evil specters is nothing new and this is a perfectly fine tread through familiar waters with a vicious streak and a climax that gets weird enough to be memorable.