Angustia (1987)

Director:

Bigas Luna

Writers:

Bigas Luna (screenplay)
Michael Berlin (dialogue)

Release Date:

8 January 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

The eyes of the city are mine.

Plot:

A film-within-a-film thriller about two teen girls among a small group of people whom are terrorized...

Plot Keywords:

Movie Theater | Eyeball | Ophthalmologist | Hypnotism | Film In Film

Awards:

5 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Zelda Rubinstein	...	Alice Pressman, the Mother (old movie)
Michael Lerner	...	John Pressman (old movie)
Talia Paul	...	Patty (new movie)
Àngel Jové	...	The Killer (new movie)
Clara Pastor	...	Linda (new movie)
Isabel García Lorca	...	Caroline Robinson (old movie)
Nat Baker	...	Teaching Doctor (old movie)
Edward Ledden	...	Doctor Murphy (old movie)
Gustavo Gili	...	Student #1 (old movie)
Antonio Regueiro	...	Student #2 (old movie)
Joaquín Ribas	...	Student #3 (old movie)
Janet Porter	...	Laboratory Nurse (old movie)
Patrice Manget	...	Nurse at Clinic #1 (old movie)
Merche Gascón	...	Nurse at Clinic #2 (old movie)
Jose M. Chucarro	...	Caroline's Boyfriend (old movie)

Also Known As:

Angoixa (Spain: Catalan title)
Anguish (USA)

Runtime:

86 min | Portugal:83 min (cut) | USA:89 min | Argentina:95 min

Country:

Spain

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:R | France:-12 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain

Company:

Luna Films

Quotes:

Alice Pressman, the Mother: [Forcing him to consume a mass of pouched eggs] Eat, Eat, EAT You need energy... there's a nice boy

Movie Connections:

Features The Heavenly Kid (1985)

Wickedly good!

I passed over this movie numerous times at my favorite movie store, and it wasn't until I came across the storyline that I knew I wanted to see it. So, I rented it as soon as I could, and I must say, I loved it!

The plot is quite simple. A theatre of people spend an afternoon watching a horror movie called "The Mommy," starring Zelda Rubinstein and Michael Lerner. It's about a mother who telepathically directs her son to kill people and steal their eyes for her. (And does it help he's an opthamalogist!) Meanwhile, in the theatre, Patty and Linda, two teenage girls, are both watching, Patty the squeamish one, Linda, the submersed one. Back and forth, the movie goes to the audience to "The Mommy," to the point that you feel like you are in that movie theatre.

And then you find out there is a killer there in the theatre, with the same mother obsession as the killer in the movie they're all watching.

I won't give away much more, other than that the movie is great. The killer almost imitates the scenes in "The Mommy," especially when Lerner's character goes to a theatre and traps the patrons in and starts to kill them, one by one. Actually, things are almost exact in some scenes. Soon, things become tense and suspenseful, especially in the scenes where Linda is hiding in the bathroom while the killer drags a few bodies in to hide them, then stops and hangs around in there. The best scenes in the movie! It may take a bit to not get confused by everything, but the way the film goes back and forth in the storylines is quite crafty, so I doubt you'll be too confused.

Overall, a fantastic film for any horror fan. The ending, of course, is a little odd, but I suppose accepting it for what it is is the best you can do. I think the film would have been fine without it, though. In any event, find this movie and watch it! It's very scary!