Santiago Segura Movies

A clown and an abusive sociopath vie for the attentions of a beautiful woman in this metaphorical drama from filmmaker Álex de la Iglesia. In 1938, civil war is raging in Spain, and the performers with a traveling circus are confronted by a band of Partisans who want them to fight against Franco -- or else. While the circus artists fight bravely, they're no match for the fascist leader's army, and many meet a bloody fate while others, like the Stupid Clown (Santiago Segura), end up in prison. The clown asks his young son, Javier, to avenge him someday, and in 1973, Javier (Carlos Areces) becomes a clown himself, working with a traveling carnival alongside Sergio (Antonio de la Torre), a man with an ugly and violent nature. Sergio has a girlfriend, a lovely trapeze artist named Natalia (Carolina Bang), who lives under his constant threats and abuse, and Javier soon falls for her. While Javier hates Sergio for what he does to Natalia, he has a hard time working up the courage to stand up to the bully, much as his father was hard-pressed to stop Franco's violent minions. Balada Triste de Trompeta (aka The Last Circus) earned Álex de la Iglesia prizes for Best Screenplay and Best Direction at the 2010 Venice Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Fifteen-year-old CIA operative Cody Banks (played by Malcolm in the Middle star Frankie Muniz) is back in action in this comedy adventure, which sends the youthful secret agent to Old Blighty. Banks returns to Kamp Woody, the CIA training center disguised as a summer camp, where he's given a new partner, the bumbling but sharp-witted Derek (Anthony Anderson), and a new assignment, to track down a sinister double-agent who has made off with an experimental mind-control machine. The villain has made his way to Great Britain, so Banks is enrolled in an upscale private school in England, where he's forced to join the school band despite his lack of musical talent and finds himself working alongside Emily (Hannah Spearritt), a fellow teenage espionage agent. Keith David, Daniel Roebuck, and Cynthia Stevenson all return from the first film, while British filmmaker Kevin Allen takes over as director. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A cop sets out to find a man who has been delivering too much of a good thing in this offbeat comedy. Police detective Martinez (Jesus Ochoa) has been handed a most unusual case -- a number of local prostitutes have been murdered, and it's up to Martinez to bring in the killer. What makes the case truly unusual, though, is the manner of death; it seems the hookers all died as a result of having orgasms so powerful they were literally fatal. Teaming up with cultural anthropologist Onofre (Daniel Giménez Cacho), Martinez hits the streets looking for clues, and eventually gets some unexpected help from Father Gorkisolo (Santiago Segura), a priest with a unusually deep knowledge of sexual matters. Asesino en Serio was the first feature film from director Antonio Urrutia; noted Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro served as executive producer. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Once again tampering with mother nature to disastrous results, Dr. Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) continues his research in director Brian Yuzna's second sequel to the 1985 splatter classic Re-Animator. Currently serving time in a maximum security prison for his previous exploits, West's limited prison-cell experiments are suddenly interrupted by the arrival of Howard Phillips (Jason Barry), the new prison doctor and the brother of the girl who suffered from West's experiments 13 years earlier. Knowledgeable of West's previous experiments and eager to assist the mad doctor in continuing his studies, the naive Phillips discovers that West's continued studies have revealed a more effective means of bringing back the dead -- the removal of an individual's Neuroplasm, or soul, and the injection of it into a newly reanimated corpse. An electrical phenomenon discharged at the moment of death, with the discovery of the Neuroplasm West may have finally discovered the missing link to effectively bringing life to death. Or not. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Four years after scoring a box-office touchdown with Blade (1998), actor Wesley Snipes returns to portray the Marvel Comics character again in this sequel that teams him with Mexican horror director Guillermo del Toro. A half-vampire, half-human hybrid, Blade (Snipes) is a merciless vampire hunter bent on destroying the bloodsuckers that feed on humanity. The keys to Blade's success are a serum that allows him to resist the urge for blood and an array of inventive, deadly weapons, both of which were once supplied by his mentor, Whistler (Kris Kristofferson). Since Whistler's death, Blade has relocated to Prague and recruited the pot-smoking slacker Scud (Norman Reedus) to take the place of his father figure, but then he discovers that Whistler's not dead after all: He's been infected with the vampire virus. Reunited with Whistler, Blade is dealt an even bigger surprise: His greatest enemy, vampire leader Damaskinos (Thomas Kretschmann), wants to make peace with him. It seems that the vampires are facing a greater threat than Blade and hope to persuade him to fight the Reapers, a mutated super-race of vampires on a rampage of murder, indiscriminately killing both humans and their fellow bloodsuckers while sucking their victims dry. Blade agrees to a truce and joins the Bloodpack, an elite squad of commandos originally formed to fight Blade himself. Soon, the vampire soldiers discover that the virus responsible for creating their enemies is spreading rapidly and can be traced back to a mysterious "Patient Zero." Blade 2 (2002) co-stars Ron Perlman, Leonor Varela, Donnie Yen, and Matt Schulze. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Directed by J.J. Bigas Luna, Son De Mar (Sound of the Sea) follows Ulises, a young man who moved to a small coastal city just as summer was coming to an end. Though he arrived in order to teach literature at a local academic institution, he finds himself with much more than he had bargained for, including a newfound appreciation for the smells, sounds, tastes, and women of the Mediterranean. Eventually, he falls in love with Martina, one of his students. Enchanted by his stories and historical know-how, Martina returns his feelings, and is crushed when he mysteriously disappears. The film features Jordi Mollà, Leonor Watling, and Eduard Fernández. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

Recalling the darkly surreal world of Terry Gilliam, director Daniel Monzon debuts with this delirious film about a teenager shifting between grim reality and the much more alluring world of fantasy. The film opens with the muscle-bound Beldar (Joel Joan) and the vivacious Sonja (Neus Asensi) decapitating monsters and interpreting ancient languages in a dank labyrinth as they hunt for a legendary gem called the Heart of the Warrior. Without it, Beldar is cursed. Just before the dynamic duo meets their demise, Ramon (Fernando Ramallo), a pimply teenager, awakes from a dream. We learn that Beldar and Sonja are characters in a Dungeons and Dragons-style role playing game that Ramon plays along with Victor (Juan Diaz) and the perpetually horny Javi (Jaime Barnatan). As the film progresses, Ramon's intense fantasy world begins to bleed into reality. A one-eyed midget (Javier Aller) who Javi spies on the subway becomes the guardian of the evil Netheril (Santiago Segura), who in real life is a sleazy TV psychic. The fictional character Sonja, who Ramon is in love with, finds her real world incarnation as streetwalker Sonia (also Asensi). Soon Ramon begins to confuse fiction with reality when he bursts into the building of a prominent politician and hurls a sword at him, prompting a nationwide manhunt. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Two struggling filmmakers land a big star for their next production the hard way in this dark comedy. Benito (Santiago Segura) wants to direct movies, and his friend Carolo (Pablo Carbonell) is a would-be actor who dreams of starring in Benito's productions, but their careers in show business are going nowhere fast. Benito has an idea for a new film, A World For Us, and is convinced Carolo would be perfect for the male lead -- and that screen siren Amanda Castro (Ariadna Gil) is just the actress to play his love interest. But Benito can't afford Amanda's salary for participating in his Super-8 project, so he and Carolo sneak into her dressing room in hopes of shooting some footage of her on the sly that they can use. But things don't go as they hoped, and Benito and Carolo end up kidnapping Amanda, who becomes the unwilling star of their newly expanding film, with the actress "playing" many of her scenes while handcuffed to a wheelchair. The plot line for Obra Maestra bears a certain similarity to the John Waters film Cecil B. Demented, which was released earlier the same year -- so much so that Waters considered legal action against the producers. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Show business legend is full of stories about comedy teams who don't get along offstage, but Muertos De Risa/Dying Of Laughter takes this notion to new heights in this story about two comedians who hate each other so much that it leads to attempted murder. In the early 1970's, Nino (Santiago Segura) is a nightclub singer whose career is going nowhere, and Bruno (El Gran Wyoming) is a comic who isn't doing any better. A talent agent, Julian (Alex Angulo), teams them up for a sketch on a popular TV show, and when Nino is suddenly stricken with stage fright on camera and can't speak, Bruno impulsively slaps him. The audience finds this hilarious, and their career as a duo is off and running -- while their personal relationship starts at a low point and keeps getting worse. Over time, Bruno steals Nino's girlfriend, Nino gets arrested for dealing drugs, the act periodically breaks up and reunites, and in the midst of a New Year's Eve broadcast in 1992, the two exchange gunfire on live TV. Starring two of Spain's most popular comedians, Muertos De Risa/Dying Of Laughter was massively popular in its initial release, and boasts exacting recreations of the look and mood of each decade presented, as well as witty references to Spain's contemporary political and social history. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Spanish TV personality Santiago Segura (Day of the Beast), director of award-winning short films, made his feature directorial debut with this comedy thriller. Crude ex-cop Torrente (Segura) befriends nerdy Rafi (Javier Camara) so he can get to Rafi's nympho cousin Amparito (Neus Asensi). Although Torrente's father (Tony Leblanc) can walk, Torrente has him out begging daily from a wheelchair. When his father almost dies after eating, Torrente deduces that heroin is being trafficked through a Chinese restaurant. Gathering Rafi's friends for a drug bust, Torrente senses an opportunity to get back on the glory road. Filmed in a poor neighborhood of Madrid. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi