's not quite a horror movie. It's more reminiscent of Buffy the Vampire Slayer than Friday the 13th, only instead of a perky blonde in lipstick and a crop top we've got a Latino antihero in permanent day of the dead makeup and a mariachi suit. Replace the vampires with Aztec demons, change Sunnydale to East L.A. and you're all set!
Wilmer Valderrama plays the lead character with Joel Moore as the a slightly annoying best friend (read Xander) and Angie Cepeda as the hottie girlfriend whose love keeps Muerto from crossing over to the dark side. The film is based on the comic series written and drawn by Javier Hernandez, "El Muerto, The Aztec Zombie", about a young man who dies on his way to a Dia De Los Muertos party and is resurrected as the Aztec God of Death and Destiny. Somehow true love turns him into a kind of super hero instead, albeit one who has to sleep in the cemetery and steal women's makeup in order to walk the streets.
Though the special effects were a little wimpy, there were a number of genuinely creepy parts, the highlight of which was the villain played by Billy Drago who looked like a cross between Brian Eno and Gandalf the wizard. Now that's seriously scary.
