Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Chupa’ on Netflix, Spielberg Lite Done Right

There’s a new Cuarón movie on Netflix! No, not four-time Oscar winner Alfonso … his son Jonas is back in the director’s chair with Chupa. And good news for fantasy fans – this is a fun, franchise-free movie for the whole family. Whether you know the legend of the chupacabra or not doesn’t matter so long as you can connect to feeling like people can’t understand how the different parts of you all fit together.

CHUPA: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: The chupacabra, a mythical creature that looks something like a winged coyote, is on the loose in the Mexican countryside – and hunted by a sinister American government official (Christian Slater). Elsewhere, there’s a different kind of creature bridging two worlds … but this one’s human. The young Mexican-American boy Alex (Evan Whitten) must travel from Kansas City, where his single mother has to stay and work, to visit his extended family in Mexico. It’s a period of great confusion in the protagonist’s life where he feels accepted neither as Mexican nor American. His cousins, the wrestling-obsessed young Memo (Nickolas Verdugo) and too-cool-for-school older Luna (Ashley Ciarra), only make him cling closer to his American identity on the trip.

But their quiet rural home gets quite the shakeup when Alex encounters the young chupacabra, who initially scares him but eventually wins over his sympathy, friendship, and protection. With the help of grandpa Chava (Demián Bichir), Alex fights to protect his family – including the adorable Chupa – and learns who he really is along the way.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Hmm, a movie about a young boy reeling from having an absent father who meets a creature that can represent both what he is and what he misses, and that creature is also something he has to hide from encroaching government officials who mistake its protective nature for danger? Chupa is E.T. AF.

Performance Worth Watching: Demián Bichir is the true emotional heart of the film. As the benevolent abuelo who knows more than he initially lets on, Bichir’s Chava gets to convey both the gravity and levity of the film’s situations. After his improbable Best Actor nomination over a decade ago, it finally feels like the kind of role he deserves.

Memorable Dialogue: “You don’t have to be alone anymore,” Alex tells Chupa at their first tender moment of real bonding. “I can take care of you. We can be together. I’ll be your family.” In case there was any doubt, this touching line solidifies the film’s animating thematic grace.

Sex and Skin: Chupa is far too childlike in its gaze to have these elements enter its purview.

Our Take: Chupa is the kind of sweet, sincere moviemaking that’s missed at the multiplexes. Director Jonas Cuarón has crafted a sci-fi fantasy for the whole family that can speak widely because it drills in so specifically on Mexican culture and identity. The film never condescends or caters to an outsider’s gaze on folklore like the chupacabra or diversions like the luchador fighters. Because he feels their legacies so personally, he can translate how they are a localized expression of a wider phenomenon. People need larger-than-life figures to help them express feelings and longings they otherwise struggle to put into words. It’s a sturdy foundation onto which he builds a rip-roaring adventure that’s resonant for viewers of any age.

Our Call: STREAM IT! Chupa is one of the best imitators of Amblin-style ‘80s adventure to date. By recreating feelings and details, not just indulging nostalgia, Cuarón provides more than just a copycat. It’s a soaring adventure film that provides the kind of entertainment for the whole family that has recently been farmed out to franchises.

Marshall Shaffer is a New York-based freelance film journalist. In addition to Decider, his work has also appeared on Slashfilm, Slant, The Playlist and many other outlets. Some day soon, everyone will realize how right he is about Spring Breakers.

Watch Chupa on Netflix