Wetiko

Hallucinogenic jungle toads become the new Maltese falcons in the wacko cult-noir Wetiko, written and directed by unusual auteur Kerry Mondragon. Luz (Dalia Xiuhcoatl) is a member of the Empire of Love spiritual group located in the Mayan jungle. She is trying to buy toads that produce a vision-inducing venom, which, if milked correctly, can be used in magic rituals. She goes to the store where Aapo (Juan Daniel Garcia Trevino) works, but his mother will allow the sale of those toads only to Mayans. Aapo knows the leader of the Empire of Love, the shaman Zake Zezo (Neil Sandilands), is a white man.

Luz argues that Zake was trained by the region’s proper Mayan shaman, so he deserves access to the toad juice. Aapo makes an arrangement for a fistful of cash for a sorta toad rental, where he is to return with the toads once the ritual is over. He has to steal a Honda bike from a tourist to get to the strange jungle paradise. There, he finds strange characters, like Goddess Sasha (Barbara de Regil) and Franky Whiteout (Jordan Barrett). All are pilgrims who have journeyed far to partake in the toad ritual. All that has to happen is for everything to go smoothly as planned. It doesn’t, and what does happen will make you jump to the closest astral plane.

The most magical thing in movies is when exploitation films tackle the subject of exploitation. In this case, Mondragon uses the vocabulary of a 70s jungle exploitation film to highlight the exploitation of the jungle. The ending could have come straight out of one of Corman’s big doll houses or bird cages. If Jack Hill had kept making movies, he might have made something close to Wetiko. On top of the Hill topping, this cinematic sundae has generous scoops of Herzog with a hot fudge Bava sauce. While the material is right out of one of Herzog’s indigenous rainforest epics, it is lit like an Italian horror movie, with candy colored Bava-like blues and reds sprucing up that bush.

“Aapo makes an arrangement for a fistful of cash for a sorta toad rental, where he is to return with the toads once the ritual is over.”

Mondragon’s takedown of the newest Livingstons invading the jungle is right on target. Wetiko demonstrates how mystic online influencers can usher in the latest incarnation of white colonialism, 21st century style. Mondragon also takes up the opportunity to make a cult movie based on an actual cult. I have always thought cult movies to be utterly appropriate methods of exploring crazy worlds with crazy filmmaking. Thanks to the hyper-stylized lighting and strange rituals, your head will soon smash through the same clear windowpane that the subjects onscreen have. You will be dry tripping, brother, unless you took something beforehand, which isn’t a bad idea.

The performances by the talented cast conjure up real ritualistic magic. Sandilands is absolutely diabolical as the corrupt cult leader. What is so sinister is that Sandilands can turn off the charisma like a faucet, showing how inhuman humanity can get. It’s like Cain from Robocop 2 being rediscovered hiding in the jungle, like the Hulk. The spellbinding special guest star role is filled beautifully by the spectacular de Regil. She makes sure Wetiko has an ultra-zesty The Lost Empire vibe that rockets to the top of the midnight movie mountains.

The only thing that keeps Wetiko from being flawless is that the promise that was raised during the moth in the ear sequence was never fulfilled. When that bug goes in, the screen explodes with swirling lights as the moth flies into the vortex. This and the hallucinogenic subject matter set up hopes for more tripping made flesh with more wild visuals. While we do return to the moth, we do not fly any further into trip town. This is far from a deal breaker, as this is one of the more visionary works of weird art to ever hit the screen. Instant cult movie royalty and a must-see for the torn fishnet crowd.