Yeah, Halloween is around the corner and its imminent arrival always conjures up extravagant celebrations—as well as themed editorial efforts, of course. I mean, who doesn’t love Halloween? It’s the sexiest holiday of the year, by far. It might get scary at times (what with all the occult-ish-ness) but isn’t that the very same reason it’s so cool in the first place?
So, we decided to gather the craziest, bloodiest, and creepiest Latine music videos out there, just for you. Don’t get too excited, though. These are relatively old videos (this piece was originally written in 2013, after all). And while we were at it, we realized that Mexico shot a lot of these sorts of clips. Why exactly?
It’s no secret that Mexico is connected to mystical and pagan beliefs and even worships ‘Saint’ Death. A lot of music videos just seem to enjoy splashing blood all over the place; resorting to horrific witchcraft, rituals, sacrifices; or just capturing pure creepy shit. And this is why you’ll eventually feel like it’s mostly Mexican videos, but that’s Mexico’s fault. Don’t worry, there’s a little bit of everything from here and there.
Now, if you’re not going to hit up any Halloween costume parties or Day of the Dead celebrations, checking out all of these videos during Halloween night is a nice alternative. It’s not that they’re really scary at all, but they sure fit the special occasion perfectly and, maybe, will even get you in the mood for pagan partying.
Sour Soul’s latest work of art—and I call it that because calling it just a video would be unfair to the great artistic effort behind it—is just mind blowing. Its whole masonic-inspired art direction is insane. The story lasts seven minutes and it’s something Guillermo del Toro and Roman Polanski would totally dig, or even the late Kubrick (think of his last Eyes Wide Shut days)—if they listened to D.F. indie stoner rock, that is. Which is almost completely improbable.
GUADALUPE PLATA / “MILANA” [ES]
Now, this is probably one of my favorite videos of 2013. First of all, it features Spanish actress Silvia Vacas performing as if she’s the lead singer of Guadalupe Plata, then she just starts bleeding and puking on stage, and well…the rest of the video is utterly disturbing, yet incredibly awesome.
LATE NITE HOWL / “INSOMNIA” [MEX]
This video used to be great, a true collector’s item, too. (It no longer lives on YouTube). Especially if you’re into dark folk music, pigs, and horror stories that take place somewhere in the woods and include a girl running around naked. Gotta thank Tijuana’s Late Nite Howl for that gesture…
ARCA / “ASS SWUNG LOW” [VEN/UK]
Arca is Venezuela’s King Midas, he’s got that golden touch and there’s nobody out there that will tell you differently, not even Yeezus. If you add that Jesse Kanda’s work, you pretty much get excellence guaranteed, and this video featuring talking babies is evidence of all of the above. (This video is also no longer available on YouTube).
MANIQUI LAZER / “UNKNOWN CRYSTALS” [MEX]
Maniquí Lazer has always been creepy, mostly through their aggressive and haunting music. Until now. Even though the band is far from new, “Unknown Crystals” is their second official video so far, and it’s the type of story that develops in an old-fashioned Leatherface kinda way. Oh, and if you’re afraid of dogs, you’re screwed.
MUJERCITAS TERROR / “OJOS DE VIDRIO” [ARG]
If you’re an Argentine goth rocker, there’s probably nothing better than listening to Mujercitas Terror’s noise pop really loudly inside an abandoned castle in the remote city of Chascomús. The band probably thought the same, and that’s why they made this cool video. It’s a keeper!
MARIA Y JOSE / “CLUB NEGRO” [MEX]
Apparently, for this video, since Tony Gallardo was so busy finishing all the details of his last album, he let a director and friend of his, Joey Muñoz, do whatever the hell he wanted to do for his underground hit “Club Negro.” With that said, Muñoz did a weird video that could either be portraying Mexico’s growing violence and insecurity or just be about some fucked-up machete gangsters having fun in da club, ruidosón style. You decide.
MILLONARIO & W. CORNOA FT. CARTEL DE SANTA / “EXTASIS” [MEX]
Although it’s kinda similar to María y José’s “Club Negro” (yet older), this video is also the bomb. There’s something about Monterrey’s Millionario going all satanic and EDM with Cartel de Santa that just makes the whole visual experience something worth watching. No matter how much you might hate this hilarious narco-club song, the video inspired by MJ’s “Thriller” (wait for the end) and bad salvia trips, does deserve your attention.
EL COLUMPIO ASESINO / “TORO” [ESP]
Are you expecting vampire videos in this post? Well, I hate to break your heart, but there aren’t any. At least not traditional ones. Actually, I still have my doubts about whether or not the hot chick and guy featured in this video are vampire slayers or supreme vampires, because, well, they don’t seem to have trouble with daylight, but the girl does show her fangs at some point. It’s still a great video for the occasion.
ALEXICO / “MIS AMIGOS Y YO TE AMAMOS” [MEX]
Want to see girls dancing in a white room with blood splattered all over the place? This Alexico video is what you’re looking for. We found this in our dusty archive in the basement and had to kill a few mice down there, too. But it was worth it. I’m still wondering why we missed this video back in 2011 when it came out…
DAVILA 666 / “ESA NENA NUNCA REGRESO” [P.R.]
This video is pretty much just about “a creepy, goth garage dance party. Perfectly suited to the primal cadence of this reverby track, this haunting video is like playing beach blanket bingo on the Night of the Living Dead. With a killer soundtrack of course.” So, there you have it, enjoy. It is a cult classic.
This is more of a sexy rather than scary music video. But it is dark, and the main character is The Devil himself, along with Monterrey’s trap star, Ezekiel, and his always hot girlies, of course. The whole video is lusty as hell, and to be honest, it does seem like the greatest scenario to throw the perfect Halloween party.
The Salazar Brothers’ Swedish protégé is so dope, she makes Catrina de la Posada make-up and chola styling look f’ing cool in Scandinavia. Nothing creepy or scary about this video, but the whole cultural mash-up is worth the inclusion. Your BFFs will love it, too.
BONSAI BABIES / “PIGOPAGO” [MEX]
So, Tijuana’s cutest witch, Dani Shivers, directed this video for the Hermosillo band. And when you see two white witches using a Ouija board, you kinda get the point: she knows her stuff and how it works. So it’s probably legit. Besides, the video has a bloody twist that makes the whole video a true horror gem.
MUERAN HUMANOS / “MONSTRUO” [ARG]
Argentina’s acid humor duo, Mueran Humanos, is awesome. They got cojones and you can tell immediately just by their name, and even though this video only features a bunch of floating creepy heads and taxidermic monsters over and over, it’s a great pick for any Halloween playlist.
LOS VIEJOS / “PROUD TO BE” [MEX]
I know, there’s nothing scary about this video (except for the skateboarding stunts). But going out for a ride with your homies, wearing creepy masks and holding flares while leaving smoke bomb trails behind sure sounds like a hell of a Halloween night out. Just be sure to wear a helmet!
LA MINITK DEL MIEDO / “YO TE QUIERO CALAVERA” [COL]
If you speak Spanish, you probably should watch this video five minutes before midnight, just for La MiniTK del Miedo’s lyrics’ sake. In all honesty, I don’t understand what the video is all about but I’m sure there’s a creepy story behind all those VHS glitches. After all, these guys are considered the creators of “Gothic Cumbia.”
If you’re looking for something really weird and creepy, you can always go ahead and try Mexico’s witchouse enfant terrible, Ritualz. A crazy bloke who’s part of the Negative Youth collective and has a net label called Maligna. Be it illbient or evil trance, Ritualz is your best bet for odd.
SEBASTIAN / “LOVE IN MOTION” [FR/ARG]
I know what you’re all thinking: “This isn’t a Latin music video.” No, it isn’t, but the director is. He’s the genius Gaspar Noé and he’s from Argentina, in case you didn’t know. So that’s the reason we included it. And, well, because it’s ridiculously disturbing and has a young girl wearing devil horns that will make you question Noé’s sanity.
TRON / “WINI COOPER” [MEX]
Remember Brujeria’s distorted basslines and how everything about them used to give you the goosebumps? Well, Mexicali’s Tron has the exact same effect on me, especially after watching this disturbing video where a poor, cute baby pig becomes just another taco al pastor. Yup, it’s not for animal lovers at all. But don’t worry, no pig was hurt during the creation of this very raw video.
UPDATE!
So, ever since we posted this feature our readers and friends began sending us more videos and we couldn’t be happier about it! Thank you very much for sharing your personal findings with us. Check out our three favorites from the videos we’ve received so far.
THE MUERTOS / “LA MOMIA” [PER]
How did we miss this peruvian horror gem? I mean, the song alone is wicked and great to rock to on Halloween. But the video, OMG! It’s definitely not for those who can’t stand watching people with their guts out in the open or hardcore terror surf/garage music. This is a cult classic, indeed. Kudos to our reader Gustavo de la Torre for sharing this horrific beauty!
FBOM / “Jansen (DJ Sliink Remix)” [USA/MEX]
When Chicago’s DJ Sliink remixed Austin’s FBOM “Jansen”, Mexican director Adrián Mendez decided to take the result even further by making this video where a group of b-boys act like ghosts and dance to the ‘King of Jersey Club’s speedy beats inside an alleged haunted house located in DF’s notable Colonia Roma.
What would you do if Zombie Apocalypse hits the world while you’re inside a stoner rock show? Don’t think about it too much, just watch Mexico’s fuzz band Yokozuna “Caliéntame” video to get an idea.