Sundance Film Festival 2025 – Early in Platanero comes the line, ““If you really want to kill a werewolf, you have to shoot its shadow.” That’s quite a statement. While Platanero isn’t a straight-up werewolf movie, per say, it is quite a harrowing creature feature. The film’s second half transforms into a lean horror movie with a sense of foreboding.
Directed by Juan Frank Hernandez, the film is set in a Dominican shantytown. It follows two Haitian brothers, played by Irdens Exantus and Stanley Exantus. So desperate for food, and unable to find work, the brothers resort to stealing. They’re also joined by a larger group of thieves that encourages them to embark on an adventure to steal from a nearby plantation. Initially, everything goes according to plan. The group takes their share of produce, namely bananas. However, something quickly goes awry when they encounter a creature that guards the plantation.
Though the film is only 25 minutes, it takes its time establishing the setting, as well as the dire circumstances that cause the brothers and the rest of the group to rely on stealing to live. The desperation is evident within the first five minutes. The conditions are grim, and it’s not like the group doesn’t try to find work. By the second half, the tone shifts. That’s when this becomes a horror movie with a growing sense of dread.
Additionally, the cinematography by Benoît Jones-Vallée looks great, especially the sequences on the plantation. The natural landscapes and their awesome beauty are certainly captured, though there’s an ever-present sense of danger. Initially the creature, played by Jean-Mathieu Bérubé, isn’t fully shown. That’s reserved for the last few minutes. When it is shown, it looks like a towering beast of a thing. It’s also responsible for one brutal and shocking moment. The conclusion of the film touches upon colonialism and immigration, though this idea could have been fleshed out much more. The characterization, especially the relationship between the brothers, deserved more attention, too.
Overall, Platanero is an impressive creature feature that also looks great. There’s much here that could be developed further, and I hope that Hernandez gets the chance.