Chupa is a perfectly serviceable and mildly enjoyable family film about a kid who returns to Mexico to visit his cousins and his grandfather. And how he befriends a mythical chupacabra and has to keep it (and probably ET, The Iron Giant, and The Monster Trucks) safe from a US government stooge.

This is a fine example of how they got their family drama chocolate into the fantasy creature best friend peanut butter. It sells itself as a family-friendly movie about a boy and his monster pal but I got the feeling they were really telling a heart-felt family drama that they grafted the fantasy story onto to sell tickets (or Netflix subscriptions).

Which isn’t a crime when the film does both sides of its equation well. And it does. I wound up liking the family and especially the ex-luchador grandfather bits. And it helps that the horrific el chupacabra is actually a cute winged kitty cat as opposed to the goat-sucking beast its often depicted as.

Credit to the movie also for loving Mexico and showing us a side of the country we rarely see in films. No drugs, no drug mules, no corrupt federales. And the kid learns to love his heritage which is a nice message.

This movie ain’t shifting any goalposts. It’s just a fine little film with a very familiar template. It’s heartfelt and genuine though… and the creature is pretty cute too.

Score: 78