Directed by Pedro Galindo III
Written by Eduardo Galindo, Pedro Galindo III and Santiago Galindo
Starring:
- Pedro Fernández as Julio
- Tatiana as Mayra Mondragón
- Joaquín Cordero as Roberto Mondragón
- Luis Camarena as the witch
- Renata del Río as Tania Mondragón
- Alfredo Gutiérrez as the old man
Rating: 
The pale-faced evil doll returns—reborn as a green-hued, goblin-faced monstrosity with a soul-swallowing appetite and a twisted impish vigor—in this folksy Mexican horror sequel that dares to be more grotesque than its predecessor. Vacaciones de Terror 2: Cumpleaños Diabólico, now directed by Pedro Galindo III, boasts a livelier aesthetic, leaning into the tactile charm of practical effects. Yet beneath the surface, it’s as hopelessly clumsy and cringe-inducingly hokey as ever. If there is such a thing as the Mexican horror telenovela, this might be its unholy grail. Pedro Fernández reprises his role as Julio, a loquacious occult enthusiast who crosses paths with Mayra—portrayed by Mexican pop darling Tatiana—who invites him to a Halloween birthday party held at her father’s sprawling film studio. It’s here that the cursed doll, lying dormant among the props, begins its infernal rampage. From that moment forward, the film descends into a fevered nonsense, its structure crumbling under the weight of saccharine surrealism and narrative slop. The final act culminates in a laughably lazy deus ex machina, perhaps the most juvenile I’ve ever endured. I understand the intention—hell on earth, dream logic, the mad poetry of nightmares—but even the most dissonant horrors have rhythm. This, however, is pure formal collapse: jerky, lifeless, and desperately unshaped.
