A teenager suffering from a skin disease called photophobia(..the sun inflicts damage to the flesh)moves with his book translator mother to a village in the mountains as a means to get away from the city, hoping for a fresh start. Santi(Junio Valverde)and his mom, Julia(Mar Sodupe) move into a villa with a dark history regarding a German couple and their adopted daughter(..Erika, who grew up in the wilds of Africa). Something lurks within the wilderness near Santi's home and it feasts of animal and human alike. When bloody bodies turn up with Santi placed at the scene of the crime, he becomes a suspect to the locals and police, needing to clear his name.
Gosh, I seem to watch a lot of movies about killer kids these days. I give this movie a lot of credit..the kid in this one is pretty scary. A girl, with cannibalistic tendencies, with an ability to move about the darkened forest(..interesting idea by the filmmakers to have their protagonist a young man who can not have sun shining on him, providing reasoning for much of the film's being shot at night)as victims, with shot guns, are unable to see her, soon paying the price for attempting to harm whatever it is they are looking for. With sharp teeth, dirty/unwashed hair, and filthy body, the primal girl is quite a freakish sight, with director Isidro Ortiz and company carefully shooting her in odd angles, often slightly out of frame(..cleverly using out of focus camera work and darkened parts of rooms where Santi is often at her mercy). There's an effective sequence, my favorite, where Santi bolts and locks all the doors and windows to the villa, setting up a couch, butcher knife in hand, only to fall asleep, awakening to find her right next to him! I also thought the scenes where characters find themselves deep in the heart of the woods of the village, at night mostly, were well developed and suspenseful for it was never sure where the girl might be. One sequence, in particular(where Santi, his girlfriend, Ángela, portrayed by Blanca Suárez and best friend are searching for Erika to prove to the police inspector that she is in fact real, not a figment of his imagination), when Santi's leg gets caught in an animal trap(..a goat farmer's response to whatever predator is munching on his flock)is plenty intense as Ángela continually attempts to free him. Also well orchestrated is how Ortiz establishes Erika's presence as flashlights point into the bushes and we see brief glimpses of her moving quickly past. I have to say that Spain has established itself as a country spawning a wealth of talent in the horror genre, from actors to cinematography, plenty of quality is coming from this part of the world. This one has a pretty good twist which comes smack dab out of nowhere, a startling discovery regarding the German couple's car and a grocer named Dimas(Francesc Orella)add much to the proceedings. A nice surprise.
Santi is nicknamed "vampire" because of his inability to withstand sunlight and his shark-like teeth. Santi is often shown wearing a hoody and sunglasses which makes him stand out to others as a strange oddball, even though he's just a sweet, innocent kid with afflictions that keep him from living an ordinary life.
Gosh, I seem to watch a lot of movies about killer kids these days. I give this movie a lot of credit..the kid in this one is pretty scary. A girl, with cannibalistic tendencies, with an ability to move about the darkened forest(..interesting idea by the filmmakers to have their protagonist a young man who can not have sun shining on him, providing reasoning for much of the film's being shot at night)as victims, with shot guns, are unable to see her, soon paying the price for attempting to harm whatever it is they are looking for. With sharp teeth, dirty/unwashed hair, and filthy body, the primal girl is quite a freakish sight, with director Isidro Ortiz and company carefully shooting her in odd angles, often slightly out of frame(..cleverly using out of focus camera work and darkened parts of rooms where Santi is often at her mercy). There's an effective sequence, my favorite, where Santi bolts and locks all the doors and windows to the villa, setting up a couch, butcher knife in hand, only to fall asleep, awakening to find her right next to him! I also thought the scenes where characters find themselves deep in the heart of the woods of the village, at night mostly, were well developed and suspenseful for it was never sure where the girl might be. One sequence, in particular(where Santi, his girlfriend, Ángela, portrayed by Blanca Suárez and best friend are searching for Erika to prove to the police inspector that she is in fact real, not a figment of his imagination), when Santi's leg gets caught in an animal trap(..a goat farmer's response to whatever predator is munching on his flock)is plenty intense as Ángela continually attempts to free him. Also well orchestrated is how Ortiz establishes Erika's presence as flashlights point into the bushes and we see brief glimpses of her moving quickly past. I have to say that Spain has established itself as a country spawning a wealth of talent in the horror genre, from actors to cinematography, plenty of quality is coming from this part of the world. This one has a pretty good twist which comes smack dab out of nowhere, a startling discovery regarding the German couple's car and a grocer named Dimas(Francesc Orella)add much to the proceedings. A nice surprise.
Santi is nicknamed "vampire" because of his inability to withstand sunlight and his shark-like teeth. Santi is often shown wearing a hoody and sunglasses which makes him stand out to others as a strange oddball, even though he's just a sweet, innocent kid with afflictions that keep him from living an ordinary life.