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Marisa Paredes,
Eduardo Noriega,
Federico Luppi,
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Guillermo Del Toro
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: Columbia TriStar
: Foreign, Costume Drama/Period Piece, Spain, Ghosts
: 110 min.
: Spanish
: English
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Guillermo del Toro, who quickly became one of the most talked-about directors in contemporary horror films with his first two features, Chronos and Mimic, takes on a more subtle tale of terror with this psychological suspense piece. Casares (Federico Luppi) and Carmen (Marisa Paredes) operate a small home for orphans in a remote part of Spain during the Spanish Civil War. Helping the couple mind the orphanage are Jacinto (Eduardo Noriega), the groundskeeper, and Conchita (Irene Visedo), a teacher who is also involved with Jacinto. Casares and Carmen are aligned with the Republican loyalists, and are hiding a large cache of gold that's used to back the Republican treasury; perhaps not coincidentally, the orphanage has also been subject to attacks from Franco's troops, and an unexploded bomb waits to be defused in the home's courtyard. One day, a boy named Carlos (Fernando Tielve) arrives at the home, looking for a place to stay after being left behind by his parents. Casares and Carmen take him in, and the boy soon strikes up an unlikely friendship with Jaime (Inigo Garces), a boy with a reputation for tormenting other kids. But Carlos soon begins having visions of a mysterious apparition he can't identify, and hears strange stories about a child named Santi who went missing the day the bomb appeared near the orphanage. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
You might also enjoy:
Mimic
Holy Giant Cockroaches, Batman! Del Toro's first American film is creepy good fun
The Changeling
Another extremely creepy, and poignant, ghost child tale
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| Without a single redeeming quality
by nate
April 17, 2005 - 10:22 PM PDT
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3 out of 14 members found this review helpful
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I got this film based on the positive ratings and reviews here, and was surprised to find that it had not a single redeeming quality. I was hoping for intelligent horror (I loved 'Cure', thought 'I'm Not Scared' was pretty good, and found 'Shawn of the Dead' a great horror spoof), and instead got a predictable schlock horror genre piece that happens to be made in Spain. It's not like it has some high points and some low points to balance, it's just flat out bad. Lousy acting, one-sided villains, loud scary orchestral music at all the (in)appropriate moments, no humor, no self-awareness, inconsisteng plot, goop-on gore, and a predictable ending. The setting was nice, but not much use was made of it. It's B-grade horror for 7th grade boys. Yuch.
Which of course brings up the question of why I hated it while other people raved about it. Obviously not everyone should listen to my review. Should you? I'd suggest that you might like this movie if you really like horror as a genre and tend to like Hollywood features but want something a little less polished. I really disliked 'Hidalgo' and the 'Magdelene Sisters' for reasons similar to why I disliked this, so maybe you could use those as touch points. But should you start to watch it and find it unbearable within the first twenty minutes, I'd strongly suggest that you give up and watch something else rather than slogging all the way through it like I foolishly did. |
| The spanish boogyman
by DavidandAlison
August 7, 2004 - 10:01 PM PDT
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3 out of 6 members found this review helpful
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| This film never really made anything of its interesting setting during the spanish civil war. It's also too bad they couldn't create a real character to do the evil deeds, instead relying on a 'boogyman' character to scare the children (and you). The cinematography is great, the ghosts and the music are creepy, and there are enough plot twists to keep you interested till the end. |
| Amazing!!
by neoinoakleys
November 21, 2003 - 6:48 AM PST
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7 out of 8 members found this review helpful
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| If you are like me, and love the horror genre and the foriegn genre, then this is the movie for you. Del Toro has done a spectacular job with this film. The movie has a great story that leaves you pining for more. The cinematography is beautiful. Unlike most horror films, there is actually a very real story here, with wonderful character development. The horror part of the film almost takes a side seat as the story unfolds. Wonderful film that I would reccommend to anyone. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 7.29)
219 Votes
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