Natás es
Satán
[Natás is Satan] (Prods. Zay-Re/Golden King/Columbia, 1977*) Exec Prod: Joe Zayas, Anthony
Reyes; Prod: Joe Zayas, Anthony
Reyes, Miguel Ángel Alvarez; Dir-Scr: Miguel Ángel Alvarez; Story: Joe Zayas; Photo: Larry Revene; Music: Carlos Ramos; Dubbing Dir: Jaime Sánchez; Film Ed: Al Nieves; Makeup: Ricardo Reyes * copyright Joe
Zayas
Cast: Miguel Ángel Alvarez
"El Men" (Natás),
Frank Moro (Víctor Ramos), Perla
Faith (Jéssica Ramos), Ramón
Peña "Cartucho" (El
Grande, little person bar owner), Eddy Díaz (lieutenant), Anthony Reyes (bar owner), Rosa Ramos (Rosa), Marty Cruz (David), Raúl Marrero (lawyer), César Córdova (police superintendent), Jimmy del
Río (desk man), Tomy Vargas (detective), Ramón Morales (dog trainer), Elizabeth Reyes (policewoman), Natividad Reyes (little girl), Geraldo Cruz (Chinese man), Rosa Sambrana (Margarita), Lloyd Steier (dog owner), César Núñez and Otis
Aracena (bouncers), Héctor Luis
Ortiz (detective), Mike Camacho
(woman in red), Laura Santiago
(woman in white), Pablo Cabaza
(woman in maroon), Ramón
Isquierdo (doorman), Ángel
Valent-? (bomb squad man), Pedro
Díaz (drunk), Pablo Mirabal and
Hugo Marte-? (male
nurses)
Notes: Natás es Satán received wider
distribution than most other "pure" Nuyorican movies (i.e., not
co-productions), probably due to the presence of two stars with
significant international exposure, Miguel Ángel Alvarez and Frank Moro
(although Moro's career in Mexican telenovelas and movies was really
just beginning). Perla Faith was
another semi-"name" performer--with roles in Tigresa, Adiós New York,
Adiós, and
Prestemela esta noche to her
credit--but she never achieved the status of Alvarez or Moro. Columbia Pictures distributed the film
theatrically, and it has been reasonably available on commercial video and
DVD over the years. A
"dubbing" credit, plus the fact that the end credits (and the
coda "Stay Alert, Natás May Return") are in English, suggest an
English-language version may have also been released or at least
prepared.
A sort of precursor to The Bad Lieutenant and Unlawful Entry, Natás es Satán was written and
directed by its star, Miguel Ángel Alvarez (who had directed at least
three other PR features). Alvarez,
nicknamed "El Men," was best-known in Puerto Rico as a comic
actor, but in an ironic twist most of his film roles were dramatic
and--ironically--villainous. As a
director, he seems to have assimilated the "zero degree" style
prevalent in Hollywood, since Natás
es Satán is slick and professionally made, with few if any
self-consciously "arty" touches or (conversely) the awkward
long-take master shots prevalent in low-budget cinema. Cinematographer Larry Revene worked on
numerous adult features shot in New York and the early sequence of Moro
and Perla Faith making love is reminiscent (in a very soft-core way) of
"classy" or "couples" porn, with soft lighting and
romantic music. Various members of
the cast and crew also worked on other Nuyorican features, including Larry
Revene (
Yeyo), Al Nieves (Toño Bicicleta), Perla
Faith
(Tigresa), Anthony Reyes (Yeyo), Tomy (= Tommy) Vargas (Toño Bicicleta), Cartucho (Yeyo), Frank Moro (Adiós New York, Adiós), but this
was actually made rather late in the cycle of 1960s-70s
features.
One bonus pleasure of NY-PR cinema is
the location shooting which serves as a time capsule of New York City in
the 1960s and 1970s. In Natás es Satán, audiences can
enjoy evocative shots of actual businesses such as "Dreamland
Furniture," and "The House of Deadly Dogs" Dog Training
Academy. The producers seem to have
gotten the cooperation of the police department (at least the car they use
looks real) but the office of the police superintendent was probably
not the real thing (unless the actual superintendent has a
collection of toy robots in his office!). The New York of Natás es
Satán is--like Texas in many Mexican movies shot on location--a place
where Hispanics predominate and Spanish is the lingua franca: there are a
few snatches of English heard (the only significant scene being one in
which Jéssica shops for a shirt), and the police hierarchy (for example)
is entirely Latino.
Businessman Víctor is leaving his
store with his wife Jéssica when patrolman Natás spots a pistol on the
man's belt. Despite Víctor's
protests that he has a permit to carry the weapon, Natás arrests the
couple. David, the young partner of
Natás, tries to convince his friend to drop the case, but Natás falsifies
a report claiming Víctor threatened him. When an investigation clears Víctor, Natás is suspended for a month
without pay and loses his chance for promotion. In revenge, the corrupt cop (we see him
taking a pay-off at a bar) covers Víctor's car with garbage and stalks
him. Visiting police headquarters
with a lawyer, Víctor and Jéssica lodge a complaint but cannot prove
anything (Natás breaks down in tears in a meeting, claiming
innocence).
Warned off again, Natás enlists the
aid of Rosa, who telephones Jéssica and claims to be having an affair with
Víctor. Jéssica is tricked into
believing Víctor is unfaithful--Natás hires an actor to impersonate her
husband and allow himself to be seen with Rosa, women's clothing is hidden
in Víctor's car for Jéssica to find, etc.--and she moves out. Víctor, in turn, is lured to a park to
meet his absent wife, but is instead stabbed and beaten by three
"women" (transvestites).
The film's most bizarre sequence
follows: in his apartment, Natás watches a porno film (holding the
projector on his stomach), smokes dope, puts on a life preserver (!), then
greets David and the three transvestite-assassins. The scene concludes with Natás embracing
and kissing David as the "women" watch! [Earlier, Natás had remarked that
David's good looks would make him a favorite of the ladies, "but you
don't like women." The
relationship between the two policemen is--aside from the kissing
scene--not overtly homosexual, but there are certainly homoerotic
overtones.]
Jéssica reconciles with Víctor as he
recovers from the assault, and they decide to purchase a guard dog. Natás obtains a bomb from a contact in
Chinatown and sends it special delivery to Víctor at work as if it were a
present from Jéssica. However, a
fortuitous phone call from Jéssica alerts Víctor to the ruse and the bomb
squad takes the device away safely. Natás decides to simply enter the Ramos house and shoot the couple
to death, but Víctor and Jéssica spend the evening on the town celebrating
Víctor's birthday, and thus do not arrive home until late. Natás, meanwhile, has entered the house
to wait, but is killed by the guard dog. David, tears in his eyes, drives away. The final shot of the film is a closeup
of a little devil trinket Natás carried with him.
Natás es Satán is an interesting
film which, surprisingly, is not quite as outrageous as it could have
been. Natás, for example, almost
never crosses over the line into caricature or super-villain and his
schemes for vengeance are generally pretty believable. [The film does cheat a bit in the matter
of Víctor's "double," by having Frank Moro play him until the
"unmasking" shot; instead of just having someone who
resembles Víctor, we are supposed to believe the actor Natás hired
was such a master of makeup that he could become his subject's
exact double.] And the
reactions of Víctor and Jéssica are also realistic (hiring a lawyer,
buying a dog) rather than fantastically complicated or melodramatic.
The film leaves some things
unexplained, which is not the same as having loose ends. For instance, Natás visits "El
Grande," a little person who warns him that the cop's desire for
revenge could pose a threat to some (crooked) business they are involved
in. The relationship between Natás
and Rosa, and Natás and the transvestites is also left open (presumably a
NYC cop has many acquaintances).
The performances are all fine. Miguel Ángel Alvarez, as noted above,
resists the opportunity to overact (for the most part), and is convincing
as a high-strung, angry, bitter man, while Moro and Faith are satisfactory
as his victims. Faith was not an
especially talented dramatic actress--although she was very good at times
in Tigresa--but she's attractive
and does an adequate job here. Marty Cruz is fine as David (although the actor probably should
have removed his wedding ring if he was going to play a sexually-ambiguous
character), and the supporting performers (although their roles are all
minor) are adequate.
The "Miracle Pictures" DVD
of Natás es Satán is marred by
numerous jump cuts in the latter half, as well as tape rolls,
"sparklies," and other technical flaws in the source print and
transfer. This is not the worst
example of the shoddy Miracle Pictures product, but these problems do
hinder one's enjoyment of the movie somewhat.
Review posted 7 January
2008 by D. Wilt. HTML errors fixed 10 Feb 2022.
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