6 Films to keep you awake La culpa(2006) Narcisso Ibanez Serrador 9/10 Gloria a homeless single mother and nurse is given a lifeline by a female doctor Ana Torres at her hospital who allows her to live at her home. In return she must work for her in her private practice as an abortionist. Gloria soon finds out she isn't the first girl to take up these duties and believes there is more to her host than meets the eye. After finding out she is pregnant again by an errant boyfriend, Gloria agrees to allow Ana abort the child for her, the foetus mysteriously goes missing which corresponds with some very eerie goings on within the house, it also triggers some strange behaviour from her young daughter. Regreso a Moira(2006) 10/10 Days after the death of his wife, Tomas receives a tarot card in the mail postmarked from his former home town. The card does have meaning to him, but the only other person who knew of it is dead over 40 years, a former lover of his, Moira, who was burnt to death by locals who believed she was a witch.. Tomas returns home to find out who sent it, he digs up many disturbing old memories both for himself and those who once knew him. Adivina quién soy (2006)Enrique Urbizu 7/10 A lonely young girl, addicted to horror films, strikes up a relationship with a vampire and Leatherface, much to the chagrin of her mother, who doesn't believe they exist. Tha vampire is more sinister than she first believes and she soon regrets welcoming him into her home. Para entrar a vivir(2006)Jaume Balagueró 9/10 Clara is picked up from work by her boyfriend Mario, he tells her he has found the perfect apartment at a fantastic price, they head off into a dodgy part of town unknown to them where they meet the creepy estate agent. Soon they find themselves trapped in the apartment block and in fear of their lives. La habitación del niño(2006) Álex de la Iglesia 10/10 A married couple buy a large old house at a seemingly knock down price, they can't believe their luck, that is until the husband Juan begins to hear and see strange things, he believes their child is at risk from an horrific apparition. Using technology he finds he can track the movements of the spectre within the house, but the reality of what he finds is unimaginable. Cuento de navidad(2005)Paco Plaza 7/10 A group of school kids stumble across a female bank robber Rebeca, dressed as Santa in a hole in a forest, the police have a country wide search going for her, the kids decide to keep her there until she tells where the 2 million pesetas are. Rebeca won't tell where the money is, so they starve her into submission. One of the boys with a fascination with a Zombie film, puts a spell on her, but if it works she will turn into a zombie and lay waste to civilization. 6 films to keep you awake was a blind buy for me based on the high quality of recent Horror releases from Spain, i wasn't really expecting anything of real quality as it was a Spanish TV series, but what a pleasant surprise to find that it was a wonderfully sublime viewing experience, certainly my best TV experience of the last 30 years. All the films are slow burners, that are totally engrossing character driven Horror's, that are quite terrifying when the scares do come. The acting and production values are exceptionally high in all the productions. I advise all fans of Spanish Horror to seek out this set and to ignore the low IMDb ratings and user comments.
Review of Blame
