The Nameless (1999)
"Los sin nombre" (original title)

The mutilated body of a six year old girl is found in a water hole. The girl is identified as the missing daughter of Claudia. However, only two peices of evidence could be used to identify... See full summary »

Director:

Jaume Balagueró

Writers:

Jaume Balagueró, Ramsey Campbell (story)

Stars:

Emma Vilarasau, Karra Elejalde, Tristán Ulloa

16 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Emma Vilarasau	...	Claudia
Karra Elejalde	...	Massera
Tristán Ulloa	...	Quiroga
Toni Sevilla	...	Franco
Brendan Price	...	Marc
Jordi Dauder	...	Forense
Núria Cano	...	Policía
Isabel Ampudia	...	Secretaria
Carles Punyet	...	Jefe
Aleix Puiggalí	...	Tipo malcarado
Susana García Díez	...	Chica piscina (as Susana García)
Pep Tosar	...	Toni
Carme Capdet	...	Monja
Manel Solás	...	Hombre silla de ruedas
Víctor Guillén	...	Hombre flaco (as Víctor Guillén 'Buby')

Storyline

The mutilated body of a six year old girl is found in a water hole. The girl is identified as the missing daughter of Claudia. However, only two peices of evidence could be used to identify her; a bracelet with her name on it near the crime scene, and the fact that her right leg was three inches longer than her left. All other methods of identification were removed from her body. Five years later Claudia, now addicted to tranquilizers, receives a phone call from someone claiming to be her daughter, asking for her mother to come find her before 'they' kill her. Other mysterious clues show up, further indicating that Claudia's daughter is indeed still alive, and very much in danger. Claudia, a run-down ex-cop, and a parapsychology reporter put together the clues to discover Angela's whereabouts.

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Plot Keywords:

cut | corruption | human experiment | flashback | good versus evil | 

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Taglines:

Trying to reach the limits of evil... But evil has no limits.

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, disturbing images, graphic nudity and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [uk]

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

12 November 1999 (Spain)

Also Known As:

The Nameless

Box Office

Budget:

€900,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmax S.A., P.C. Joan Ginard

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Based on the British novel "The Nameless" by Ramsey Campbell.

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Quotes

Santini: Look at the table, Claudia. I'm sure that's all you see. A table. Because you can't see beyond - within. There are things within the table, Claudia, but you can't see them. Termites. They are devouring it little by little. But no one knows. They never rest, and do it in silence. Until one day the table breaks. That's the secret. If you could see within me, you'd see the same thing. I'm full of flies, Claudia. They're devouring me little by little, and no one knows. You can't imagine the pain. ...

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Connections

References The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

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Soundtracks

"My Black Dress"
Written by Mariona Aupí and Jaume Garcia
Performed by Fang

User Reviews

...why

I've seen lots and lots of horror movies. It's by far my favourite genre. I like a good scary movie; I also happen to like those laughable so-bad-it's-good kinds of movies; I even tend to forgive MEDIOCRE movies that rely on "jump scares" and "teen blood" to hold your attention. For good or bad, it's still entertainment.

What I can't forgive, what I loathe, is, well, a BORING movie; and that's the capital sin of "The Nameless", its real "ultimate atrocity". For a start, this movie is slow. Let's face it, you really can't afford to be slow unless you have a good plot and a good cast, and "The Nameless" has neither.

The plot is shallow, painfully so: clearly, no creative effort whatsoever was put into it. We're talking "copy-pasted straight from wikipedia" levels of dullness here. This is especially mortifying since the director stubbornly and dishonestly refuses to acknowledge it, and instead insists on feigning suspense where there's *none*.

With a slow, broken pace and an unimaginative, tired plot, you're left trying your very best to sympathize with the characters in a half-willed attempt to justify what seems more and more like a waste of time. Well, too bad! The characters are clichéd, they're onedimensional and just fail to come alive. It feels like even their writer didn't really care for them either.

So you hope beyond hope, you patiently wait for it to reach its climax, on its own terms, you keep waiting for it to surprise you, disturb you, redeem itself *somehow*... hey, this thing is supposed to be really... evil, and "extreme", right? Something *big* is bound to happen. Sooner or later. Or not. Suddenly, it's over.