Language: Spanish
Genre: Horror/thriller
Length: 102
Director:
Jaume Balagueró
Writer:
Alberto Marini
Cast: Luis Tosar, Marta Etura, Alberto San Juan
Plot
César is a
concierge for a residential building; he’s depressed and only feels marginally
better when others are suffering. He is particularly obsessed with the ever
happy Clara, and takes ever increasingly creepy and violent measures to ensure
her misery.
Review
The film
starts with César standing on a ledge of the apartment building ready to commit
suicide, by the end of this film you will wish he had, because the journey to
find out why César wants to take his own life is a depressing one. He is, it
turns out, a revolting human being. Lusi Toser gives a convincing performance as
the sinister César who is at times thoroughly gruesome and at others completely
charming. Marta Etura also gives a fine performance as
Clara but isn’t really challenged. Her job is only to be annoyingly and ceaselessly
happy; Clara is the muse to César’s criminal artistry.
This film
works well as both a horror and thriller, but the tone feels a little uneven, a
gruesome murder scene in the last third of the film is unexpected and out of
place as we are given no clue that César also has homicidal tendencies.
Sometimes
the plot is unbelievable and outlandish and the use of chloroform seems useless
as it will only render a victim unconscious for a few minutes (for longer periods
of unconsciousness the victim must be forced to inhale the vapor often, but you
didn’t read that here…). So for César to use the chemical on Clara once then
spend the night sleeping with her, wouldn’t work, she would surely awaken.
There is a
little black comedy to lighten the black mood, especially from the preteen girl
who lives across the hall from Clara. She has witnessed César’s nightly comings
and goings through the spy hole in her front door, and she is blackmailing him
for money and porn.
The film is
well shot with some particularly lovely compositions. And the setting of the old residential building
makes this film feel as if it were set in some other time.
In the end
this film is really a character study on obsession and perversion and if you
were not depressed when you started watching, this film you will be when it’s
over.
Budget: 4
million pounds, shot on 35mm. The
director has previously had success with low budget horror’s Rec and Rec2.
3 out of 5 stars.
3 out of 5 stars.
