31 Days of Horror 2011: Day Seven "Santa Sangre"

Summary: An institutionalized man recalls his strange and grisly childhood in a circus before escaping and going on a bloody killing spree encouraged by his deranged arm-less mother.

When your mom is a jealous religious zealot/circus performer and your dad is a randy sequined hypnotic ringmaster, you KNOW you're gonna grow-up to be a psycho killer!

Our protagonist recalls his mother's brutal (and totally awesome) death at the hands of his father after she pours acid on her husband's penis upon catching him with another woman. His father, presumably figuring there was nothing left to live for after the loss of his junk, slits his own throat in front of his young son. The deaths put a wedge into the boys budding relationship with a deaf mute areal performer who's mother was the temptress which served as a catalyst to his parents demise... and that is just the set-up!

This movie was by far the best I watched in the month of October. Director Jodorowsky (el topo, holy mountain) perfectly choreographs off-kilter circus scenes, tracking his characters as they move through a surreal world complete with a dying elephant, a slutty knife-licking tattooed lady, a blood-obsessed religious cult, and an amazing mother+son performance in which he acts as her missing arms. I absolutely loved it!!