Perdita Durango

Co-scripted by Barry Gifford and adapted from his novel 59° and Raining: The Story of Perdita Durango, Álex de la Iglesia’s delirious, blood-soaked road movie sends one of Gifford’s most unforgettable characters hurtling through a sun-scorched borderland of crime, sex, violence, and black comedy.

Perdita first appeared onscreen in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, played by Isabella Rossellini. Here, Rosie Perez takes over the role, transforming her into a ferocious outlaw who falls in with Romeo Dolorosa (Javier Bardem), a Santería-practicing drug dealer and killer. Together they tear from Mexico toward Las Vegas, leaving kidnapping, murder, ritual violence, and assorted depravity in their wake, while a dogged FBI agent played by James Gandolfini closes in.

Part lovers-on-the-run movie, part horror film, part grotesque borderland western, Perdita Durango pushes Gifford’s universe into far darker and more transgressive territory. Directed with gleeful abandon by Spanish provocateur Álex de la Iglesia (The Day of the Beast, Acción Mutante), this director’s cut restores a film that was heavily edited for its original U.S. release as Dance with the Devil. Restoration by Severin Films.

Content warning: Perdita Durango contains graphic violence and gore, sexual violence and rape, kidnapping, ritual sacrifice, disturbing sexual content, and disturbing imagery involving human fetuses. This is an exceptionally intense film and may not be suitable for all viewers.

Part of Barry Gifford: Wild Lives, Lost Highways.