The Exterminating Angel (1962)

★ 7.9 1h 33m 728 votes IMDb
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After a lavish dinner party, the guests find themselves unable to depart... and, over the next few days, all of their elaborate societal pretenses and façades deteriorate as they are reduced to living like animals.

The Exterminating Angel

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Cast

Silvia Pinal
Silvia Pinal as Leticia 'La Valkiria' Died 2024 · Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico Silvia Pinal (September 12, 1931 - November 28, 2024) was a Mexican actress, who had roles in several of Luis Buñuel's movies such as El ángel exterminador and Viridiana. Pinal is also considered as o...
Jacqueline Andere
Jacqueline Andere as Alicia Roc Age 87 · Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico Jacqueline Andere is a renowned Mexican actress with over 60 years of artistic experience. She began her career at the age of 17 in experimental theater with 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰 𝘺 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘢. He made his film debut in...
Claudio Brook
Claudio Brook as Butler Julio Died 1995 · Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico Claudio Brook (28 August 1927 — 18 October 1995) was a Mexican actor. Born in Mexico City, Brook had a prolific career, making around 100 film and television appearances in his 38 years. He won two Ar...
Enrique Rambal
Enrique Rambal as Edmundo Nóbile Died 1971 · València, València, Comunitat Valenciana, Spain ​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Enrique Rambal (8 May 1924 – 15 December 1971) was a Mexican film actor. He appeared in 68 films between 1952 and 1971. Description above from the Wikipedia ar...
José Baviera
José Baviera as Leandro Gómez Died 1981 · Valencia, Spain José Baviera was born on August 17, 1906 in Valencia, Spain as José Luis Baviera Navarro. He was immigrated to Mexico in 1940. He was an actor and director, known for El ángel exterminador (1962), La...
Augusto Benedico
Augusto Benedico as Dr. Carlos Conde Died 1992 · Alicante, Comunitat Valenciana, Spain Augusto Benedico (December 20, 1909 – January 19, 1992), born Augusto Pérez Lías, was a Mexican actor (and occasional writer) of Spanish origin. He is best known for his television roles as Don Alber...

Audience Reviews

CinemaSerf 7/10 Mar 08, 2026
This is not only one of my favourite Luis Buñuel features but it is up there amongst my top horror movies too - and there are precisely no spooks nor jump-scares at all. It’s a collection of the great and the good who have assembled for a lavish dinner party at the home of “Lucia” (Lucy Gallardo) and husband “Edmundo” (Enrique Rambal). We have already ascertained that there is quite a bit of unhappiness amongst their staff and so aren’t too surprised to learn that many of them have absconded before the meal is even served. That’s just the start of their evening/morning of misfortune as trivial mishaps accrue with what becomes alarming regularity. When the clock strikes four, the hosts realise that at such a late hour nobody has tried to go home. Are they all having such a great time? Well that isn’t likely to last when their deliveries don’t arrive in the morning and for some inexplicable reason nobody can manage to make their way to the front door. Despite the fact that they are hungry, thirsty and gradually turning on each other - with almost feral effects, they still seem incapable of breaking out. All the while, there is a growing crowd of public and police officers outside their palatial residence just as unable to go in! It might well be that it’s only “La Valkyria” (Silvia Pinal) -  scorned by many of the guests for still being a virgin, who can find a way out of this self-imposed community imprisonment? Then again...? What makes this genuinely quite terrifying at times is the effect their captivity has on their behaviour. Their polite society soon degenerates into a sort of survival of the fittest - physically and intellectually. Their polite veneers are soon stripped away exposing hypocrisies galore amongst these ostensibly upstanding and Catholic citizens. What little trust there was amongst them is soon stretched to breaking point and for us watching, the sense that there is something supernatural dictating events is compellingly unnerving to watch. Imagine you need to walk through the door to your bathroom but your body, however desperate, just won’t allow your feet to move through the portal? This is creepy in a way I’ve never seen on screen before. Will they ever manage to break free, or will they for ever remain reduced to burning the furniture for warmth and maybe even forced to eat one of the lambs that have rather mercurially arrived amongst them? Perhaps it is allegorical of Franco’s Spanish government of the time? That regime could certainly have provide for fertile pastures of exploitation and religious double-standards that our “guests” or their contemporaries could be held responsible for; maybe it is just a sinister fantasy from an imaginative auteur or maybe a hybrid of both? Watch and see, but be prepared to feel distinctly uncomfortable.

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