'They Return') is a 2017 Mexican fantasy crime horror film, with elements of magical realism, written and directed by Issa López.

The film stars Paola Lara, Juan Ramón López, Ianis Guerrero, Rodrigo Cortes, Hanssel Casillas, Nery Arredondo, and Tenoch Huerta.

While working on a fairy tale writing assignment, Estrella's classroom is disrupted by gunfire outside the school.

Street orphan Shine steals a gun and an iPhone from Caco, a henchman of crime boss Chino, who is actually politician Servando Esparza.

Estrella follows Shine back to his hideout and meets fellow orphans Pop, Tucsi, and Morro.

Shine, Estrella, Pop, Tucsi, and Morro bring the other rescued boys back to their rival gang leader Brayan.

Shine confesses that he keeps Caco's phone because it contains the only picture of his own missing mother, his family photos being lost when the Huascas set fire to his home.

Wondering why recovering the phone is so important to the Huascas, Shine and Estrella closely examine its contents.

They show the footage to two policemen, but the officers refuse to act when they recognize the murderer as Chino.

Morro's tiger doll leads Estrella into a shaft, and she falls into a room containing numerous dead bodies, including her mother's.

The website's critical consensus reads, "Tigers Are Not Afraid draws on childhood trauma for a story that deftly blends magical fantasy and hard-hitting realism – and leaves a lingering impact".

[3] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 76 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

[4] Peter Debruge of the Variety wrote, "The actors may be young, but the story skews decidedly mature.

[5] Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Both the emotion and the horror might have taken still deeper root if the world of the movie felt less hectic and more coherently realized, if the supernatural touches and occasional jump scares welled up organically from within rather than feeling smeared on with a digital trowel".

[6] Brian Tallerico of the RogerEbert.com wrote,"Tigers Are Not Afraid may be imperfect, but you can feel the passion and creativity of its filmmaker in every decision.