There is a scene where Fenix is watching James Whale's film of The Invisible Man. Concha reminds Fenix that he is invisible, that no one notices him. The filmmaker most echoed in Santa Sangre though is Tod Browning. Between the dwarf that his Fenix' best friend, as well as the several physically deformed people throughout the film, I was constantly reminded of Freaks. Unlike Freaks, Santa Sangre's freaks are not confined to the circus, but are part of the larger world. Another film by Browning that has a circus setting is The Unknown with Lon Chaney as an armless knife thrower, and Joan Crawford as his protegee, found in the arms of the circus strongman. One of the key characters, Alma, is a deaf-mute like the parents of Lon Chaney. So much of Santa Sangre's basic narrative seems made up of various elements from Browning's films, the best of which were about performers and illusionists, often a small band against the outside world.

Some of the scenes of murder could easily be a part of Italian gialli, horror thrillers. This is hardly coincidental as Claudio Argento is the brother of Dario Argento, as well as his producer. The psycho-sexual aspects are a staple of giallo. Assuming that the Argento brothers have similar interests, the circus setting is not distant from Dario Argento's films which have performing artists as protagonists. The other credited writer, Roberto Leoni, has several thrillers to his name. Keeping in mind that Hitchcock's Psycho was a major influence on giallo, it should surprise no one that Fenix is ultimately a variation of Norman Bates, the most famous screen serial killer and mama's boy.

Actually, I liked Santa Sangre. For me, it was more watchable than the earlier Jodorowsky films I've seen, Fando and Lisa and El Topo. I can see why Ebert brought up comparisons with Fellini and Bunuel, but I also think there were other filmmakers that inspired Santa Sangre.