Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Tigers Are Not Afraid Blu-ray Movie Review

Estrella's Labyrinth.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III May 29, 2020

Released back in 2017, the delayed domestic home video debut of Issa López's Tigers Are Not Afraid is no indication of low quality or audience disinterest. Championed by fellow Mexican director Guillermo del Toro and international critics, the film balances hard-hitting events -- many involving young children -- with fantastical escapism, including plenty of imaginative visual effects. It clearly owes a lot to earlier productions like del Toro's own Pan's Labyrinth and The Devil's Backbone, as well as Fernando Meirelles' City of God -- not only is this a Spanish-language drama with "dark fairy tale" dressing and a young female protagonist, but its crumbling urban setting adds a great deal of mood to the proceedings. Although Tigers Are Not Afraid wears its influences a bit too proudly, this is one bleak trip worth taking.

Our story follows Mexican student Estrella (Paola Lara), whose city has been decimated by an ongoing drug war. Crime runs rampant, and even a peaceful day in class is interrupted by gun violence that closes her school indefinitely. During the incident, Estrella's teacher -- who happened to be leading a creative writing lesson about fairly tales at the time -- gives her three pieces of chalk with the promise they'll grant her wishes. She'll need them, too: not only has Estrella's mother disappeared, leaving her an orphan for the time being, but it's most likely tied to a human trafficking ring run by the Huascas gang, whose rampant criminal activity is usually spoken of in hushed tones.

Estrella's first wish is for her mother to return, but the results are horrifying.

With no guardian and nothing close to a stable home life, Estrella attempts to join a group of four neighborhood boys -- fellow orphans led by brash young "Shine" (Juan Ramón López), who recently stole a gun and phone from drug runner Caco (Ianis Guerrero). The boys are reluctant to make Estrella part of the group, instead insisting she prove her worth by shooting Caco with his own stolen gun...but Estrella can't bring herself to pull the trigger, so she decides to use her second wish instead. This too doesn't go exactly as planned and, once more connections are made to both Estrella's mother and a local politician, the kids are soon in over their heads but press forward anyway.

The film's supernatural moments and claustrophobic atmosphere strengthen its somewhat conventional plot, even if some of Tigers Are Not Afraid's most "unique" elements seem awfully close to those found in other films. Nonetheless, this is a solid effort for the writer-director and features terrific child performances, great use of its crumbling urban locations, and more than a few sobering moments, many of which are paired with effective use of CGI elements that, for the most part, add a somewhat surreal but organic layer to the story. Nonethtless, Tigers Are Not Afraid would have felt much fresher if not for the considerable shadow of those earlier linked films; although it certainly has its own voice and fuses influences skillfully, much of this territory feels too familiar to hail it is an entirely new experience.

RLJ Entertainment's new Blu-ray offers plenty of additional support for Tigers Are Not Afraid including a great A/V presentation, very well-rounded bonus features, and attractive Steelbook packaging to boot. Overall, it's terrific treatment for a low-budget import that otherwise might have gone completely under the radar.

Tigers Are Not Afraid Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

RLJ Entertainment delivers yet another very good transfer for this digitally-shot production, one that's bathed in pitch black darkness and low-lit interiors. While persistent noise and blooming are clearly visible during many of these sequences, they seem to be either baked in to the source material or a stylistic choice. Black levels are deep with trace amounts of crush (for perhaps the same reason) but relatively good shadow detail. Less debatable are a handful of stray compression artifacts and light banding on harsh gradients, although these are symptoms of the format. As a whole, it's capably encoded and runs at a decently high bit rate, displaying no obvious signs of aliasing, excessive noise reduction, or other problems. Daytime scenes and well-lit close-ups fare extremely well, color saturation appears even and natural, and the sporadic visual effects blend in well with the "regular footage" -- except for one snake, which doesn't look convincing at all. Overall, though, this is more than adequate treatment with very few drawbacks.

Tigers Are Not Afraid Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Equally impressive -- if not slightly more so -- is the default DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track, presented in the original Spanish. (Lossless 2.0 dubs are also offered, including English, but you don't want those.) Depth and clarity are strong during much of this journey, which features good dynamic range and very clear dialogue that's mostly confined to the center channel. Of course the more supernatural moments give this surround track plenty of room to grow and stray action scenes, including a thrilling climactic chase sequence, are loaded with panning effects and really create a palpable atmosphere. Overall, a very solid track that balances intimate and tense moments extremely well.

Optional subtitles, including English (SDH), are included during the main feature and several key extras.

Tigers Are Not Afraid Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This combo pack arrives in Steelbook packaging with a glossy, reflective finish that features nice cover art and interior graffiti designs featured prominently in the film. Plenty of extras are on board, so I'll just embellish a few highlights:

• Audio Commentary - A very sporadic track featuring director Issa López.

• The Making of Tigers are Not Afraid (43:28) - This cinematic behind-the-scenes piece features the director, producer, and other members and the cast and crew, along with lots of candid production footage.

• Video Interview (63:26) - A long-form chat with filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and Issa López recorded during last year's Toronto International Film Festival, which concludes with a brief Q&A session with the audience. This covers a lot of ground including the director's former career as an archaeologist, early films, audiences at home and abroad, the Mexican film industry, facing description, the script, and much more.

• Casting Sessions (3:58) for the five main kids.

• Deleted Scenes (7:32) - Several very short sequences presented in 1.85:1 format.

• Photo Galleries for concept art, the graffiti art, and general behind-the-scenes stills.

Tigers Are Not Afraid Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It looks unconventional at first, but Issa López's Tigers Are Not Afraid is a familiar fusion of drama and psychological horror... especially for fans of Stephen King or Guillermo del Toro, both of whom are quoted on the packaging of this Blu-ray. That's not to say it's disappointing, but this could've been an even more rewarding experience if bigger risks were taken. That said, the child performances are excellent, the story is compelling, and most of the VFX serve the overall experience in a big way. It's time well spent for those who loved Pan's Labyrinth, City of God, or any number of related films, and RLJ Entertainment's well-rounded Blu-ray offers plenty of support including a solid A/V presentation, thoughtful extras, and Steelbook packaging to boot. A pretty decent blind buy, all things considered.