‘Skull: The Mask’: The Violent Truth of Colonized Brazil
This article was initially published with Phasr Media.
Latin American horror films tend to come with rich backstories and mythology. Some explore their country’s folklore like Sol Moreno and J. Oskura Nájera’s Diablo Rojo PYT, while others dive into a nation’s history like Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña’s The Wolf House. But what happens when a film dives into both of these factors? We get a supernatural slasher film like Armando Fonseca and Kapel Furman’s Skull: The Mask (Skull: A Máscara De Anhangá).
What Is Skull: The Mask All About?
The film’s premise plays with four plot lines, all starting with the unveiling of the cursed Skull mask. This is done in a Grindhouse fashion akin to Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror and 1970s exploitation films with martial arts and over-the-top gore.
After the title drop, the first plotline begins. This thread revolves around a police officer named Beatriz Odbias (Natalia Rodrigues). Beatriz is on the search for missing Bolivian children in São Paulo, Brazil. As she runs around the metropolis of Brazil she comes in contact with Tack Waelder (Ivo Müller). Little does she know that Waelder is responsible for the child abductions. Tack Warlder’s is the second plotline. His goal throughout the film is to capture the missing Skull mask known as Anhangá. Within this hunt, his company intermingles with Beatriz and her objective as he tries to hire her.
Just as the first two plotlines are closely related, the same goes for the final two. The third and last human plotline focuses on the one true savior of Brazil, a lonely merchant named Manco (Wilton Andrade). Within the film’s first act, we learn his connection to the intro sequence and how his bloodline has been protecting Anhangá. The film doesn’t state why Manco and his family are chosen, but their relationship has to do with the Church.
The last plotline follows our supernatural slasher named Skull. Following El Santo and his footsteps, Brazilian wrestler Rurik Jr. steps onto the set with his mask. He gives the audience a fresh take on wrestling and horror as Skull. In the film, Anhangá overtakes the body of a worker. Bodies begin to fly, hearts get eaten and intestines are used as murder weapons. Truly, Skull: The Mask is a gore-filled wrestling event.
Anhangá and the Portuguese Conquest
As previously mentioned, Fonseca uses pre-Cabraline mythology for his theatrical splatter-punk gorefest. Anhangá is a spirit within Tupi-Guarani culture. In Skull: The Mask, their language conjures the evils of the Skull mask.
The story of the Tupi-Guarani and the Portuguese conquest is as rough as any pre-Cabraline history story involving the Spanish colonizers. As the Tupi-Guarani were one of the first tribes to come in contact with the Portuguese, there are numerous accounts of violence, rape, and manipulation. The Portuguese main area of focus was in the town of São Vincente which is within the state of São Paulo.
Brazilian academic Paulo Edson Alves Filho states how Jesuit missionary Jose de Anchieta is responsible for the modern iteration and translation of the Devil in his paper The Mixed Identity Of The Catholic Religion In The Texts Translated By The Jesuit Priest Jose De Anchieta In 16th Century Brazil. In an attempt to erase the Tupi-Guarani’s ancient religious rituals, Anchieta used the term Anhangá to translate to the devil. Keep in mind that the Tupi-Guarani believed Anhangá was a protecting spirit of animals and the surrounding jungle. This is just another account of manipulation that has survived centuries.
The Purpose Of Anhangá In Skull: The Mask
In Skull: The Mask, South American history isn’t for exploitation purposes. Instead, Fonseca uses the backstory to his advantage as he utilizes the spirit of Anhangá to seek revenge on the Catholic religion imposed on Brazil’s Indigenous people. Skull walks the modern streets of the concrete jungle using the same amount of violence and bloodshed the Portuguese once used.
Throughout the film, there are multiple instances where Manco disagrees with Padre Vasco Magno (Ricardo Gelli). Initially, Manco lost faith in The Order, a secret organization formed to protect humanity against demons. Manco’s father, who was once a part of The Order, left his artifacts and now Manco simply wants them back. Padre Magno declines because of Manco’s poor living conditions. The Padre believes it is best safe inside the church. Not much information is given until their second meeting. During this exposition-heavy scene, Fronseco makes it a point to focus on Catholic imagery with a slow pan shot.
At this point in the film, Manco believes the ritualistic deaths are performed for Tahawantinsupay (Tahaw for short), the cosmic entity controlling Skull. According to The Order, Manco would need the femur of Tahaw to lure Skull. The Padre, who lost all his faith in The Order, believes it could be some random maniac trying to recreate the deaths and refuses. After losing the argument against the stubborn Padre, Manco walks away. This scene ends exactly at the midpoint of the film. Skull’s religious revenge will soon come to an end by fighting against The Padre.
Religious Vengeance From The Tupi-Guarani People
The stylized fight between The Padre and Skull is easily one of the best scenes in Skull: The Mask. Following the atmosphere of the opening sequence, Fronseco reiterates his love for martial arts and exploitation films. In the vein of Beatrix Kiddo fighting the Crazy 88 in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill, the background switches to a stained glass religious relic. In the foreground both the Padre and Skull are in a black silhouette as black blood flies across the colorful frame.
The prominent focus of this shot is the cross in the center. Fronseco shines a light on forced Catholicism within the Indigenous tribe of the Tupi-Guarani. Skull leaves the Padre for dead with a final blow by breaking a statue on the Padre’s torso. Winning the blood-filled sword fight, Skull’s white jumpsuit is engulfed in blood. The crimson change signifies the revenge of the Tupi-Guarani people coming to an end.
Brazilian horror has indelibly left a mark on Latin American horror cinema. Some are terror-inducing enjoyable nightmares while others use the medium to focus on social issues. As Skull: The Mask’s ambitious narrative progresses, the chaotic mess is enough to satisfy the audience’s need for another contemporary slasher entry with an abundance of practical gore. But the over-the-top violence is both gratuitous fun and speaks on Brazil’s conquered past.
Categorized:Editorials Horror En Espanol
