The Devil Smokes

Set in Mexico City in the mid-90s, The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box) is an unsettling tale rooted in childhood isolation and creeping dread. Rather than following a traditional narrative, Ernesto Martínez Bucio’s feature debut unfolds in eerie vignettes, offering fragmented glimpses into the lives of five siblings left in the care of their increasingly distant grandmother. Their parents have disappeared without explanation, and as time drags on, the children retreat into their own strange, claustrophobic world. The result is a film that is as unnerving as it is elusive – more of a whispered nightmare than a fully articulated horror.

Bucio keeps the supernatural elements just out of reach, hinting at something sinister but never confirming it outright. This refusal to commit to a clear horror logic makes The Devil Smokes all the more disorienting. There are moments that seem to gesture towards possession, hauntings, or ritual, but they dissipate before they can fully form. The eldest sister, Marisol (Regina Alejandra), inexplicably holds her head in a full bucket of water for an unnatural amount of time, yet nothing follows. Tomás (Rafael Nieto Martínez), the younger of two brothers whispers prayers to the Devil in front of candle. His pleas go unanswered.

The Devil Smokes is composed of ominous snapshots rather than clear-cut sequences. Elsa’s handmade collages, with magazine cut-outs rearranging the family’s heads and bodies, are disturbing in their quiet oddness. The dim candlelight flickering against Tomas’s upturned face as he addresses the unseen presence evokes a chilling yet tender naivety. These unsettling details accumulate, but they never quite coalesce into a revelation.

The film’s ambiguity is both its greatest strength and weakness. It isn’t concerned with answers, only with evoking the gnawing unease of childhood – where the inexplicable is never understood. Like a half-forgotten dream, its dread creeps in slowly, never fully revealing itself. Yet its extreme minimalism is an acquired taste at best. Whether this makes The Devil Smokes haunting or thoroughly unsatisfying depends entirely on one’s appetite for the unexplained.

Christina Yang

The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box) does not have a release date yet.

Read more reviews from our Berlin Film Festival coverage here.

For further information about the event visit the Berlin Film Festival website here.