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An error has ocurred. Please try againA history of strongly recommended Spanish horror cult classics from the 60s onwards, here you will find everything ranging from B movies to masterpieces...
Reviews
Fabula (2020)
For fans of Profondo Rosso (Deep red)
It is a bit hard to suspend your disbelief, or get into the plot, with below average acting and unbelievable details (fake cobwebs in a cinema that's been closed for years, raccord mistakes, apparent very low budget...) but fans of Deep red might enjoy this as it pays a clear homage to Argento's film through the soundtrack and many images and scenes (the lecture in the theatre, the dolls, the investigator, even the duration of both films is almost the same). Sometimes "Fabula" shows some powerful images but in all it makes you wanna watch Deep red again.
Dark Was the Night (2014)
Algernon Blackwood
Not bad! Believable actors, suitable for a stormy night if you watch it with attention.
Blackwood's short tale 'The Wendigo' impressed me upon a first careful read. This is the closest to it I've seen in film, except the monster wouldn't go indoors as it's 'the one who walks above the trees'.
Coherent, keeps you interested.
El reino (2018)
A necessary and sad truth that must be told
Saw this at Recent Spanish Cinema Miami '18 and it was a pleasant surprise.
Even though I did not expect a great film and I found it impossible to relate to a protagonist who is a corrupt politician, the pace changes slowly but steadily as it takes you to a well-achieved climax - the last half hour has to be among the best I've seen lately.
The film portrays the political corruption of Spain in an impeccable and sadly all too truthful way, while at the same time masterfully avoiding ideologies or similarities with concrete people (surely to avoid lawsuits too). It is never specified whether the political party depicted is right or left wing. What is made clear though, is that this applies to any (or most) politicians in power ('power corrupts').
It is groundbreaking for a Spanish film to show how this high-spheres corruption works, as citizens are mocked and abused by politicians. I wish many people will see this film so as to promote greater transparency in Spanish politics.
Todos lo saben (2018)
Plot does not live up to expectations
Having read only the short summary on IMDb, I went to see this movie with an open mind, not expecting a kidnapping story which does not make the viewer interested and is slow.
Well, it might be worth seeing just because of the acting and the setting, but to me it came out as long and boring.
Joven y alocada (2012)
A blog made into a carefully crafted movie
"Joven y alocada" is a rare bird in its species, I believe. Coming from Chile, it is said to be a real story, told in first person and based on the experiences of a teenage blogger, who starts discovering her own sexuality while being raised in a very religious family (Evangelical).
It depicts a modern society in the "open-mindedness" and yearning for self-discovery of its young protagonists, who face the traditional side of society represented by austere religion. Daniela, the protagonist, experiments with love, trying to fit love for man, woman and Jesus in herself.
The movie integrates new technologies (blog entries, messenger chats) with the actual scenes, and it is innovative in this way, although it looks already a bit outdated, the way online interaction was in 2012. It includes a good deal of Chilean slang, especially words used online and among young people.
The soundtrack is a fundamental part of the movie too, with Chilean technopop star Javiera Mena's original songs and her covers of "Je ne regrette rien", "Sólo te pido la luna" and others.
These three elements (new technologies, the main story and the music) are beautifully wrapped with bright colors and details, it is easy to see the real person whose life and blog the movie reflects, was close to the making of the film and looked after its creation.
Lèvres de sang (1975)
An entertaining change in the same sub-genre of lesbian vampires
Having only seen the beautiful poster of "Lèvres de sang" during my teenage years of fanzines, I was curious and a bit eager to finally get the chance to watch it. It has surprised me in two differences that I found regarding previous and later Rollin movies: 1) we get to follow the male protagonist's point of view most of the time, and 2) the first half of the movie is shot in a city or at least a large town, as opposed to the early cult classics of Rollin ("Le frisson des vampires", "Requiem for a vampire" etc.), though towards the ending the plot moves on to the good ol' ruined-castle-inhabited-by- naked-lesbian-vampires and rocky deserted beach kind of settings.
As the story develops from the male protagonist's point of view, the movie seems to me more entertaining, it has a faster-moving path than other Rollin movies. In the story, a man becomes obsessed with a picture of a castle in ruins that is somehow connected to vague remembrances of his childhood. He lets go of himself to find some clue that guides him to the place in the picture and in his mind. Some murders take place, and at this point the movie reminds a good deal of an Italian giallo, in the stylish way they happen, but just at this point, as the plot gives the Rollin twist on its closing, which is somehow slower than the rest of the film but again beautiful, in its macabre way.
We must remark the elegant soundtrack, with predominant wind instruments and violins.