# The Haunted World of El Superbeasto
*The Haunted World of El Superbeasto* is a 2009 American adult animated comedy film directed, co-written, and co-produced by [Rob Zombie](https://www.edgepedia.org/rob-zombie), based on his own comic book series of the same name. It follows El Superbeasto, a washed-up masked Mexican wrestler, and his sister Suzi X, a super-spy, as they battle the mad scientist Dr. Satan and a horde of Nazi zombie bikers.[1](https://www.robzombie.com/films) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/haunted_world_of_el_superbeasto) The film runs 77 minutes, carries an R rating for strong crude and sexual content, nudity, language, and violence and gore, and was released direct to video after a limited theatrical run.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/haunted_world_of_el_superbeasto) • [3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Rob-Zombie-Presents-The-Haunted-World-of-El-Superbeasto)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and writers | Directed by Rob Zombie; screenplay by Zombie and Tom Papa, with additional writers including Doug Lawrence and Tom Klein[4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0419724/credits/) |
| Source | Based on Zombie's comic book series *The Haunted World of El Superbeasto*[1](https://www.robzombie.com/films) |
| Main voice cast | Tom Papa (El Superbeasto), Sheri Moon Zombie (Suzi X), Paul Giamatti (Dr. Satan), Rosario Dawson (Velvet Von Black), Brian Posehn (Murray)[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/haunted_world_of_el_superbeasto) |
| Release | Limited theatrical release September 12, 2009; DVD premiere September 22, 2009 in the United States and Canada, released by Anchor Bay[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0419724/releaseinfo/) • [3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Rob-Zombie-Presents-The-Haunted-World-of-El-Superbeasto) |
| Music | Score by Tyler Bates; seven original songs by Hard 'n Phirm[1](https://www.robzombie.com/films) • [4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0419724/credits/) |
| Reception | 40% on the Tomatometer from 5 critics; 48% on the Popcornmeter from 1,000+ audience ratings; 5.8/10 on IMDb from about 8,800 votes[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/haunted_world_of_el_superbeasto) • [6](https://sinekatalog.com/en/films/the-haunted-world-of-el-superbeasto.html) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and voice cast
El Superbeasto, also called Beasto, is described on Zombie's official site as an unstoppable superhero masked wrestler, producer, director, and star of BeastoWorld Enterprises, and a world-famous man of action. In his first full-length animated adventure, Beasto and his sister Suzi X must stop the unholy marriage of the foul-mouthed stripper Velvet Von Black and the diabolical Dr. Satan, or unleash the powers of Hell.[1](https://www.robzombie.com/films) Box Office Mojo summarizes the story as a washed-up luchador and a super-spy investigating Nazi zombies, a nefarious scientist, and a stripper with a Satanic birthmark.[4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0419724/credits/)
[Tom Papa](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-papa), who also co-wrote the screenplay, voices El Superbeasto. [Sheri Moon Zombie](https://www.edgepedia.org/sheri-moon-zombie) voices his sister Suzi X, Paul Giamatti voices Dr. Satan, and [Rosario Dawson](https://www.edgepedia.org/rosario-dawson) voices Velvet Von Black. Brian Posehn plays Murray, Suzi X's robot sidekick, and the cast also includes Danny Trejo, Tom Kenny, Ken Foree, Dee Wallace, and Geoffrey Lewis.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/haunted_world_of_el_superbeasto) • [7](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-haunted-world-of-el-superbeasto) In the AWN review, Rick DeMott, then director of content at Animation World Network, describes the setup: Suzi X battles zombie Nazis while El Superbeasto falls in lust with Velvet Von Black, who is kidnapped by the geeky Dr. Satan and his talking gorilla henchman Otto.[8](https://www.awn.com/blog/haunted-world-el-superbeasto-2009)
## Production
The film began as a partnership announced in July 2004, when Rob Zombie teamed with DPS Film Roman to produce an animated feature based on his Spookshow International comic *El Superbeasto*, with Anchor Bay Entertainment handling domestic video distribution.[9](https://blabbermouth.net/news/rob-zombie-to-develop-animated-feature-based-on-el-superbeasto-comic) Producer Tom Klein told Animation World Network that the project started as a much smaller, low-budget direct-to-DVD effort, and that he was brought in after story development had gone down a path Zombie did not like. He described R-rated 2D animation production in the United States as rare, and said Film Roman acquired Zombie's comic specifically to change that. Over the five-year production, Film Roman became part of Starz.[10](https://www.awn.com/animationworld/el-superbeasto-turning-x-sheets-xxx)
**Delays.** In a 2006 interview with AOL Music, Zombie said the film would be in theaters in 2007 and that he hoped eventually to make a live-action version, reasoning that live action would require a big budget so he wanted to make it animated first.[11](https://blabbermouth.net/news/rob-zombie-writing-songs-for-el-superbeasto-soundtrack) The schedule slipped.
The animation was produced in 2D. Zombie explained his aesthetic choice in an interview quoted in the academic journal *Transatlantica*: the crew wanted the style to look innocent rather than realistic, an old-school SpongeBob and [Scooby-Doo](https://www.edgepedia.org/scooby-doo) approach, so that the wilder content would not seem gratuitous.[12](https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/pdf/7918) A background painter's resume dates visual development and background painting work on the film to 2005 and 2006 at Film Roman.[13](https://www.billdelyart.com/uploads/2/5/5/9/25599150/billdelyresume2021.pdf)
## Release and reception
The film opened in a limited theatrical release on September 12, 2009, and premiered on DVD in the United States and Canada on September 22, 2009, released by Anchor Bay Home Entertainment.[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0419724/releaseinfo/) • [3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Rob-Zombie-Presents-The-Haunted-World-of-El-Superbeasto) The Numbers lists no domestic box office figure, consistent with a primarily home-video release.[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Rob-Zombie-Presents-The-Haunted-World-of-El-Superbeasto)
Critical response was divided. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 40% Tomatometer from 5 reviews, with 2 fresh and 3 rotten, and a 48% Popcornmeter score from more than 1,000 audience ratings.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/haunted_world_of_el_superbeasto) R.L. Shaffer of IGN gave it 8/10, calling it a seriously entertaining, original visual mind warp, while Steve of Dread Central gave it 0.5/5, writing that the only emotion left was confusion. Bill Gibron of DVDTalk gave it 5/5, calling it the anarchic animated freakout that [Ralph Bakshi](https://www.edgepedia.org/ralph-bakshi) had been trying to make for the last 40 years.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/haunted_world_of_el_superbeasto) Andrew Dowler in *NOW Magazine* counted one comic idea, one funny joke, and two lively voice performances, and judged the rest witless.[14](https://nowtoronto.com/movies/the-haunted-world-of-el-superbeasto/) The AWN review found the plot thin and the pop-culture references loose, but noted that it was promising to see more adult content coming to American 2D animation.[8](https://www.awn.com/blog/haunted-world-el-superbeasto-2009) On IMDb the film has a 5.8/10 rating from about 8,800 votes as of the October 2026 dataset snapshot.[6](https://sinekatalog.com/en/films/the-haunted-world-of-el-superbeasto.html)
## Availability
As of late 2026, the film streams on Amazon Prime Video and the MovieSphere+ Amazon Channel, and free with ads on [The Roku Channel](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-roku-channel), Plex, Tubi, Amazon MX Player, and Fawesome in the United States. It can be rented from $2.99 on YouTube and bought digitally starting at $7.99 on Apple TV, YouTube, and Google TV.[7](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-haunted-world-of-el-superbeasto) • [15](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-haunted-world-of-el-superbeasto/26981/where-to-watch/)
## References
1. [The Haunted World of El Superbeasto, Films, The Official Rob Zombie Website](https://www.robzombie.com/films)
2. [The Haunted World of El Superbeasto, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/haunted_world_of_el_superbeasto)
3. [Rob Zombie Presents The Haunted World of El Superbeasto (2009), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Rob-Zombie-Presents-The-Haunted-World-of-El-Superbeasto)
4. [The Haunted World of El Superbeasto (2009), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0419724/credits/)
5. [The Haunted World of El Superbeasto (2009), Release info, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0419724/releaseinfo/)
6. [The Haunted World of El Superbeasto (2009), Sinekatalog](https://sinekatalog.com/en/films/the-haunted-world-of-el-superbeasto.html)
7. [The Haunted World of El Superbeasto streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-haunted-world-of-el-superbeasto)
8. [The Haunted World of El Superbeasto (2009) (**), Rick DeMott, Animation World Network](https://www.awn.com/blog/haunted-world-el-superbeasto-2009)
9. [Rob Zombie To Develop Animated Feature Based On 'El Superbeasto' Comic, Blabbermouth.net, July 22, 2004](https://blabbermouth.net/news/rob-zombie-to-develop-animated-feature-based-on-el-superbeasto-comic)
10. ['El Superbeasto': Turning X-Sheets Into XXX, Rick DeMott, Animation World Network, September 22, 2009](https://www.awn.com/animationworld/el-superbeasto-turning-x-sheets-xxx)
11. [Rob Zombie Writing Songs For 'El Superbeasto' Soundtrack, Blabbermouth.net, July 27, 2006](https://blabbermouth.net/news/rob-zombie-writing-songs-for-el-superbeasto-soundtrack)
12. [The Haunted World of El Superbeasto (Rob Zombie, 2009): An Animated Exploitation Film, Transatlantica](https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/pdf/7918)
13. [William Dely resume, visual development and background painting credits](https://www.billdelyart.com/uploads/2/5/5/9/25599150/billdelyresume2021.pdf)
14. [The Haunted World Of El Superbeasto, Andrew Dowler, NOW Magazine, September 23, 2009](https://nowtoronto.com/movies/the-haunted-world-of-el-superbeasto/)
15. [The Haunted World of El Superbeasto (2009): Where to Watch, Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-haunted-world-of-el-superbeasto/26981/where-to-watch/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Animated and short films › Animated films by source material and subject › Films based on comics and games*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license