The Haunted World of El Superbeasto

The twisted mind of Rob Zombie has given us some of the most disturbing horror films of the last few years but The Haunted World of El Superbeasto manages to add a whole new layer of strange to Zombie's filmography. This animated, XXX-rated story of masked Mexican wrestler/superhero El Superbeasto is a bizarre combination of Saturday morning cartoon, Hentai anime and pop culture satire. Parents should be warned that this cartoon is not for the little ones. El Superbeasto's plot takes a backseat to its visual weirdness but what story there is goes something like this: while out clubbing, El Superbeasto (Tom Papa) falls for a stripper named Velvet Von Black (Rosario Dawson), who is subsequently kidnapped by the evil Dr. Satan (Paul Giamatti). El Superbeasto enlists the help of his sister Suzi X (Sheri Moon Zombie), who takes a break from fighting a legion of Nazi zombies in order to lend her brother a hand. The two siblings battle their way into Dr. Satan's lair to rescue Velvet, taking on all comers (sometimes literally) and saving the world in the process. You can't help but draw comparisons between El Superbeasto and Ralph Bakshi's classic X-rated cartoon Fritz the Cat, but without the social insight of Robert Crumb to guide the storyline Superbeasto never steps far beyond the booby and fart joke level. In the age of easy access, internet porn audiences who are not already desensitized to excessive sex and nudity will quickly become so, diminishing some of the film's shock value and leaving the whole experience a little limp. El Superbeasto is a genuinely unique film that will no doubt develop a loyal cult following due to its obscenely graphic nature. A large, constantly smoking bong is highly recommended to heighten viewing pleasure, and if that doesn't sound like something you'd enjoy then El Superbeasto might not be the movie for you. Though it stumbles more often than it shines, fans of absurd cartoons like Ren and Stimpy will find enough fun buried in El Superbeasto to make it worth their while, especially if they have an unlimited appetite for animated breasts.