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5.9/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.9/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Carne de fieras remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Honestly, you’ll probably know in the first five minutes if you’re gonna hate Carne de fieras or if you’re gonna be weirdly obsessed with it. It’s not for people who need their movies to be “technically proficient.” If you like things clean and coherent, turn back now. But if you dig movies that feel like they were dragged through a gravel pit before hitting the screen? Grab a drink.
The whole setup is simple: guy comes home, guy sees wife with lover, guy gets mad. It’s classic stuff, but the way it’s filmed feels like a fever dream. The pacing is all over the place, and there are these moments where the camera just seems to hang out in a room, watching people stare at each other, waiting for someone to actually say something interesting.
There’s this one sequence in the park that just feels bizarrely long. Like, did the editor fall asleep? Or did they just really love the way the light hit those trees? Either way, I was mesmerized.
The acting is… well, it’s big. Everyone is projecting like they’re trying to be heard in the back row of a theater that’s three blocks away. It reminded me a bit of the frantic energy in Money Madness, where you’re never quite sure if the actors are taking it seriously or just having a laugh at the script’s expense.
The dialogue is sparse, which is a mercy. When they do speak, it sounds like they’re reading off a napkin. But the shadows! Man, the shadows in this thing are doing more acting than the actual cast. There’s a scene where the husband’s face is just half-swallowed by darkness, and for a second, I thought the projector was broken. Nope. Just moody lighting.
I can’t tell you if this movie is 'good' by any standard metrics. It’s definitely not. It’s got that same weird, rattling quality I felt watching Where Is Coletti?—like the whole thing might just fall apart if you look at it too hard. 🤷♂️
Sometimes you don't need a masterpiece. Sometimes you just need to see someone get caught cheating in a room that looks like it hasn't been dusted since 1930. It’s not a meditation on anything. It’s just people being miserable, and honestly, that’s plenty.
