Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017)

After a shoot out in the street outside her classroom, Estrella goes home to find her mother gone. She waits for her return, but her mother never comes back.  Estrella’s teacher gave her three pieces of chalk to make wishes on.  She uses the first one to wish for her mother to appear. Soon she hears a whispery voice and sees something supernatural which may or may not be her mother.

Being fearful of staying at home due to the mysterious presence, Estrella goes looking for Shine, a young boy who is the leader of a small gang of boys. They’re orphans due to the drug cartel and gun violence in their city.  They steal food and sleep in tents on the roof of a building.

When the cartel shows up, the children run and Shine threatens cartel tough guy Caco with a gun. Caco recognizes this as his own gun and also realizes Shine has his phone. Everything starts spinning out of control as Caco vows revenge and the kids try to survive.

This film has been compared to work by Guillermo del Toro, whose films I enjoy. While this is a good film, I didn’t care for it.  Del Toro’s work is more removed from reality. Plus I’m not even sure if I would call this a horror film since the ghosts are more on the periphery. It felt more like a drama with supernatural overtones.