We’ve decided to change things up and try starting the week with The Clubhouse rather than ending it, so Happy Clubhouse Monday, friends!

And not only is it still National Latine Heritage Month—it’s also Spooky Season! This week, we’re celebrating some quality horror films created by Latines. Count down to Halloween by checking out some awesome horror en español!

And we still wanna hear about your faves! Which Latine creators and public figures are inspiring you? Reach out to us here, or write to us at [email protected] and tell us all about them!

Lastly, since we had a glitch in sending out our newsletter last week, we’ve decided to extend our Inside Out 2 giveaway! Check out the details below and enter to win!

THE BEST IN LATINE HORROR

by Teresa Jusino

Early October is a great time to be a Latine who loves horror. From October 1 to October 15, Latine Heritage Month and Spooky Season collide. It’s a perfect opportunity to check out some awesome scary movies that were either created by Latine writer/directors or that center Latine characters.

TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID, 2017, Mexico (Spanish: Vuelven, lit. 'They Return')

Writer/Director: Issa López

This gorgeous, frightening, and emotional film tells the story of Estrella (Paola Lara), a young girl who, along with the other children in the city where she lives, is forced to grow up too fast thanks to the oppressive violence of the Mexican drug trade. She ends up finding community with a group of street children led by a boy named Shine (Juan Ramón López) as they get caught up in increasingly harrowing situations. Despite the horrors they experience, Estrella manages to keep a certain level of hope and childhood whimsy, and the film is tinged with both horror and fairy-tale fantasy. It also features an amazing cast of young actors who will blow you away with their performances.

HUESERA, 2022, Mexico/Peru (English: The Bone Woman)

Director: Michelle Garza Cervera; Written by: Michelle Garza Cervera & Abia Castillo

Huesera is an unsettling meditation on the physical and psychological effects of impending motherhood. When Valeria (Natalia Solián) learns she’s pregnant, she and her husband are thrilled at first. However, as her pregnancy goes on, Valeria starts to not only experience strange visions of a faceless woman whose bones constantly crack in disturbing ways, but Valeria herself starts compulsively cracking her knuckles and experiencing other body horrors, as well as psychological ones. Also, in addition to dealing with pregnancy, she’s also dealing with old feelings being stirred up when into an ex-girlfriend. The horror!

CRONOS, 1993, Mexico

Writer/Director: Guillermo del Toro

Vampire Grandpa…I’m sorry, Cronos, is Guillermo del Toro’s debut feature film, and from the beginning, he displays his facility with weird supernatural stuff and creepy-yet-badass little girls. This bilingual horror classic (which features frequent del Toro collaborator, Ron Perlman, in their first team-up) tells the story of an antiques salesman who comes across a 400-year-old scarab called “Cronos” which, when it attaches itself to someone, grants a person eternal life…and the desire to drink blood. That’s right, it’s a vampire maker! This movie is worthwhile for many reasons, not the least of which is its unique take on vampire lore.

PLANET TERROR, 2007, United States

Writer/Director: Robert Rodriguez

While Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror is the weaker half of Grindhouse, his double-feature collaboration with Quentin Tarrantino, this comedy-horror zombie flick is certainly the more fun film of the two. Rose McGowan stars as Cherry Darling, a go-go dancer in rural Texas who not only needs to deal with a zombie outbreak and getting her leg ripped off by a zombie, but who also needs to deal with a gross character (played by Tarrantino) forcing her to dance while threatening to rape her. Thankfully, Cherry exacts much-deserved revenge on him and lots of other people (and undead) with her iconic leg attachments, including an assault rifle.

THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, 1999, United States

Writer/Directors: Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sánchez

This late-1990s horror classic was co-written and co-directed by Cuban-American Eduardo Sánchez and inspired a generation of indie horror filmmakers. Three filmmaker friends go into the woods to make a documentary about a local urban legend known as the Blair Witch. They absolutely find supernatural shenanigans in them woods, but first the tension is already ratcheted up to eleven thanks to the cantankerous relationship between the three film students. This movie succeeds not just because of well-placed scares, but because of the well-crafted relationships between the three actors that make the viewer become invested in whether or not they make it out of the woods.

INSIDE OUT 2 GIVEAWAY!

Inside Out 2 is finally on Disney+, and we are totally filled with Joy! 

We are EXTENDING our giveaway of two digital copies of Inside Out 2 to give to two lucky subscribers! Whether you have Disney+ or not, if you want to own a copy of this amazing film, enter to win between now and October 15 (the last day of Latine Heritage Month) at 11:59pm Central Time.

How do you enter? Share this newsletter with folks you think would be into it!

All you need to do is click that button above and share The Clubhouse with the masses! That’s it!

Once the entry window is over on 10/15, we’ll tabulate the referrals and our TOP 2 referrers will each receive a digital copy of Inside Out 2. We’ll announce our winners in our October 21st newsletter.

Good luck!

ICYMI

Here are some recent posts over at TMS that you shouldn’t miss:

• Erika Ishii is rightfully blocking men on Twitter over ‘Ghost of Yotei’ outrage by Vanessa Esguerra

• Gigi, creator of Roblox sensation ‘Dress to Impress,’ is embroiled in a massive controversy by Alexandria Lopez

• 13 ways to volunteer in this election cycle on a scale of extrovert to introvert by Lauren Salerno

• ‘I was able to comprehend these things at a young age.’ Rachel Zegler speaks out about ‘Snow White’ backlash by Sarah Barrett

• This r.e.m. beauty x Wicked makeup collab is made of glitter Ozian magic by Vanessa Esguerra

INTERVIEW SPOTLIGHT

Have you seen these interviews? Make sure you’re caught up with the convos TMS is having with the folks behind our favorite stories!

Horror legends Robert Englund and Heather Langenkamp talk to TMS about the legacy of A Nightmare on Elm Street in its 40th Anniversary year!

And here are some other chats that aren’t to be missed:

• Actor Harold Perrineau talks about his iconic characters as well as S3 of From!

• TMS talks with director Alma Har'el about her vision for Apple TV+’s Lady in the Lake!

• Toks Olagundoye and Anders Keith talk to TMS about Cheers connections, multi cams, and Fraiser S2!

Thoughts? Ideas? Reply here, or write to us at [email protected] to tell us how we’re doing and what you’d like to see!