Writer/director Kerry Mondragon takes us to Mexico's Yucatan jungle for psychedelic thriller Wetiko. The film stars Juan Daniel García Treviño as Aapo, a young Maya man who takes a job delivering hallucinogenic toads to a commune of hippies in the jungle. What he finds there is a cult headed by a domineering shaman (Neil Sandilands), and a psychedelic nightmare ensues.
Dalia Xiuhcoatl, Carlos Emilio Báez, Jordan Barrett and Bárbara de Regil also star.
Wetiko is in Alamo Drafthouse venues across the US from March 2nd. A UK/ROI release has yet to be announced.
Check out the trailer and poster below.
The official synopsis reads:
Deep in the dense jungles of the Yucatan, where the air hums and the ground seems alive, WETIKO follows Aapo, a young Maya man trying to survive the modern hustle without losing his roots. When he takes a quick-cash job for his family-owned pet store delivering hallucinogenic bufo toads to a remote jungle ceremony, it feels like an easy score. One trip in, one trip out.What begins as a promise of transcendence inside a shady eco-village quickly reveals itself as something far more dangerous. Led by Zake Zezo (Neil Sandilands, Sweet Tooth, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes), a smooth-talking, bloodthirsty shaman who feeds on belief, fear and control, the ceremony peddles enlightenment to Western spiritual tourists and new age seekers. But as the powerful drugs kick in, reality fractures -- time bends, the jungle pulses, and Aapo is trapped in a hallucinatory war zone.As paranoia spikes and alliances collapse, Aapo realizes Wetiko isn’t a myth but a sickness -- greed, consumption, and spiritual rot spreading fast. Hunted, high and unraveling, he must choose whether to become another casualty -- or break the cycle before the jungle swallows him whole.
