Santa Sangre is a 1989 avant-garde surrealistic phycological horror film directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky and starring Axel Jodorowsky, Adán Jodorowsky, Teo Jodorowsky, Blanca Guerra, Thelma Tixou, and Guy Stockwell. The film tells the story of Fenix a boy who grows up in a circus and struggles with his childhood trauma as he escapes a mental hospital to re-join his armless mother who is the leader of a strange religious cult and is forced to kills people in her name as he becomes her arms. Santa Sangre is a sort of experiential art house version of Psycho showcasing how characters shape the protagonist’s phycology.
The film starts with the protagonist Fenix who is in a mental asylum were he acts like a monkey, as his Phoenix tattoos represents themes of the characters in the film, being immortality as he covers comes his trials and tribulations and survives at the end, resurrection as he life drastically changes twice once by his mother controlling him and once form his death, and life after death as phoenix in both of his symbolic character dies but still lives Just as a different individual. The film shows a bunch of boys sitting down shaking the hands of a bunch of prostitutes showing how important and holy women and sex are to men in society. A carnival parade then come through town parading the American flag as this otherworldly experience is contrasted with harsh reality such as Fenix’s dad Orgo being an alcoholic. The circus is shown as brutal with the human target woman doing the knife throwing act emotionally abuses Alma a deaf mute that Fenix is close to, as she flirts with Orgo as Fenix as their knife throwing act becomes sexualised.
As this occurs Fenix spots Alma who becomes the object of his desires which is shown in a pure childlike way as he kisses her hand as they bond through magic. This childlike innocence and wonderment of is childhood is shown through his perfective is juxtaposed with the reality of his mother Concha who is the leader of a religious cult that considers its patron saint to be a girl who was raped and had her arms cut off by to brothers. The film showcases the clashes of religious dominance and police dominance which is contrasted with a childlike innocence with the police clashing with a cult willing to die as Fenix just wants to be with his mum. The priest then arrives at a church that as a pool of blood, as it considers its patron saint to be a girl who was raped and had her arms cut off by her two brothers as she was left to die in a pool of her own blood which is what they built her church on. However, the Monsignor finds out that the blood is paint and deems them sacrilegious leaving angry as the church is demolished. They are a religious cult bathing in fake holy blood like a baptism as they then run away as the church is destroyed apart from Concha Fenix’s mum until Fenix gets her to leave. He then leads her back to the circus where she finds out about Orgo’s affair as he hypnotises her to be a child taking away control. Concha then has sex with a random person as Fenix watches this symbolically showcasing puberty blood as blood spills from an elephant’s trunk. A funeral then conducted by an elaborate brass band as they all dress in black as the giant coffin is dumped at the city tip were. Scavengers steal the meat. This is to contrast the surreal magical memories of childhood with grim harsh reality.
Orgo tries to make him a man by not feeling emotions as he Tattoos a phoenix onto his chest, this is symbolically shown to be his resurrection making him a man in his own image. Fenix and Alma then have a moment where she mimes his heart flying away longing to be free. Fenix and highlighting the themes of sexuality maturity in the film, as well as a sort of Oedipus complex from Fenix as Concha sees Orga and the tattooed woman sneaking off together. Alma finds Orga and the tattooed woman having sex and enraged; pours acid on Orga’s genitals, highlighting that his masculinity has been literally and symbolically destroyed. Since his life is destroyed, he decides to destroy hers literally and symbolically by strapping Alma to the target board and cuts off her arms symbolically and literally destroying her. He then slits his throat as his masculinity has been destroyed, Fenix locked inside the trailer watches the tattooed woman drive off with Alama. The film then cuts years later of Fenix now adult in a mental asylum due to physiological effects of his childhood trauma, as the film feels like Psycho with the pared crazed phycology of Fenix. They are then taken to the cinema, however a pimp intercepts them giving them cocaine and allows them to have sex with an overweight prostitute, highlighting the themes of sexuality and maturity in the film with in becoming a man in very weird way. Fenix then spots the tattooed woman and becomes consumed with rage linking to his phycological trauma.
Fenix then hears his mother calling out for him and escape as the film showcases the characters parental trauma like psycho, as he escapes to his mother who is shown at first in this scene like a traditional caring mother, however she just ends up picking her up and they leave. The film contains themes of psychosexual abuse as a mentally disabled soldier pays the ex-circus performer turned prostitute and pimp to have sex with Alma but instead, he cradles her like a baby which freaks her out and she escapes, as a guy peels off his ear and attacks Alma with it treating her like a demonic whore. The knife thrower assistant pimp woman is then stabbed to death with a throwing knife, showcasing the films thematic similarities to Psycho with psychosexual killings, as Alma then finds the throwing knife pimp dead. Fenix now wanders the streets dressed as a magician where he comes across Aladdin where he performs a show with Conacha with him being her hands, this again showcases the characters psychology with is mum manipulating him, as she tells the story of Adam and Eve. His mother uses and controls him and his hands as he has no life of his own. A woman ends up taking a liking to phoenix as she performs an act where she strips as a schoolgirl as men rip her clothes off and an old guy strips as phoenix watches this, linking to the themes of psychosexual trauma where sexuality is a perverted showcases in the warped minds of the characters. They meet phoenix looking like his dad and a woman looking like the tattooed woman as they engage in the same knife throwing act. However, his controlling mother throws a knife at her with him being her arms. This links to the psychosexual themes of the film with the film being like Psycho were as he is ultimately controlled be his mother and manipulated by her to kill. He then buries the bodies painting them white like ghosts as a bird flies out of it like their souls.
Fenix is then dressed like a woman as his mum controls his hands as his being haunted by the people he killed. He is also haunted by his past with the elephant as he is also naked dripping blood from his nose and like the elephant is a poor defence creature. He fears death as his dreams are shattered by the harsh reality of his mother controlling his arms controlling him, as he does her hand movements her like a mime. The invisible man is shown to be his hero as the film is like an arthouse psycho with his dominant mother controlling him. he can’t play the piano as well as her as his phycology breaks as he sees chickens picking at a dead arm showing that his freedom is dead. In a dream sequence he is surrounded by dozens of roosters as he is strung up like Jesus of the cross in the barn as the rosters starts to fall on him. He is a sacrificial lamb to be used by his mother. The roosters link to a crow peaking a Jesus’s eyes in the bible symbolling him to me metaphorically dead. He then sees a swan symbolising Alma, symbolising beauty. Fenix is shown to want the affection of his mother as he is still a little boy, his hero is shown to be the invisible man as he is symbolically invisible as he watches it, has the poster, and dresses up like him as he re-enacts the movie, he unravels his head like the invisible man as when he drinks the liquid he starts to freak out like the film.
His mother controls his arms and therefore controls him. Fenix dresses up as the invisible man and buys chemicals to try and make him invisible from a pharmacy as it seems a woman likes him. He sees a statue of a crossdressing wrestler and freaking out as he wrestles with a snake buts its in his mind as he wrestles with his sin, as the disabled prostitute tries to find Fenix. Fenix comes across the crossdressing wrestler who beats everyone up sometimes without touching them like a god, Fenix becomes infatuated with her wanting her. This demonstrates the films’ themes of challenging sexuality and Fenix’s inability to explore it due to his domineering mother. He then puts on a show were a mummy in a sarcophagus turns into his mum dressed like a princess ordering him to kill the wrestler which he does. This links to the psychosexual elements of the film as like Psycho he is stunned sexually as his mother controls and manipulates his warped fractured mind. Alma looks for Fenix where she finds doves symbolising peace and freedom as Concha’s statue is like a saint, she the paints herself in mime makeup becoming what Fenix loved in his youth.
Fenix after burning the body is haunted by the ghost of the women her murdered. They are shown naked wearing veils with one on a horse. This demonstrates that Fenix is haunted by the sins of his past not enjoying the murders and feeling guilt. It is revealed that concha died being maimed by Orgo and Fenix has been keeping a mannequin of his armless mother and persons on stage at home which is shown to be his house. This links to a Psycho like twist reveal as it showcases Fenix’s decaying psyche as his trauma creates hallucinations making him kill. Fenix and Alma reunite in a romantic moment, where Concha then appears and controls Fenix to kill Alma but Fenix Kill Concha with his own hands as she sates that he will never be free of her, showing that his trauma runs deep, and his past will never be forgotten. It is confirmed that concha died of blood loss when Orgo cut off her arms, as it is then relived that Concha was a puppet. He throws the puppet away in a theatrical clown like way and breaks it up in anger as Alma burns the puppet. She removes the nails, and the clowns vanish being hallucinations. He is led outside by Alma as she mimes his heart flying way showing that he is literally and metaphorically seen. They then come outside to the police who orders him to put his hands up which he does happily. It is then that he realises that he is finally free gaining control of his hands bringing him joy and peace as Fenix metaphorically rises form the ashes as his own induvial human in control of his own destiny.
Santa Sangre showcases the warped phycology of a character being controlled and manipulated by others. It demonstrates how a person can rise above there past trauma and be in control of their own destiny.
