Los sin nombre (1999)

Director:

Jaume Balagueró

Writers:

Jaume Balagueró (writer)
Ramsey Campbell (story)

Release Date:

12 November 1999 (Spain)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller | Mystery

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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...

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Cult | Corruption | Perversion | Pain

Awards:

16 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

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')

Also Known As:

Els sense nom (Spain: Catalan title)
The Nameless (Europe: English title)

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | South Korea:18 | Finland:K-18 | UK:18 | Italy:VM14 | Australia:R | USA:R | France:-16

Company:

Filmax S.A.

Trivia:

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

Movie Connections:

References Se7en (1995)

Soundtrack:

My Black Dress

Atmospherically chilling and taut thriller

Claudia Gifford receives a call from the police to tell her they found the body of her six-year-old daughter Angela. Her body was brutalized and she seems to have been chosen for sacrifice by a cult they call "The Nameless". But five years later Claudia receives a telephone call from supposedly her dead daughter and that she needs her mum's help. So with the help of an ex-cop, she investigates more into this mystery and because of it, dire and disturbing consequences occur.

Effectively tense, alienating and involving is what comes to my mind when I describe the Spanish film "The Nameless". The film's stark lighting, slick detail and gloomy awe just had the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. It does have a little amount of ghastly violence and some explicit visuals and material that aren't for the faint hearted. Though, that's not what got on my nerves but more the use of dull and lifeless colour tones that pull you into cold-hearted paradise, tension builds subtly with eerie quietness, the chilling sound effects just put you on the edge with also a beautifully faint score that drowns you with emotion and that definitely puts you into a false state of mind. Mostly it was piano backing, which sorrow and pain develops from the notes potently. The depressing state of it sucks the life right out of you!

For me the plot is one of its few weaknesses, as at times situations that occurred just didn't add up and it does get a bit schematic. The first half builds on the story and suspense, but in my eyes the second half is where the plot (not suspense) became patchy and kind of faulted by the way side. The theories (about the cult) that are thrown up are indeed absorbing and the whole set-up kept me glued to proceedings as the plot is basically just glazed over without any real substance to back it, but at least it moves in a fairly snappy pace. This was due to tight editing that's swiftly unnerving and also fluid camera shots. The performances are reasonably bland, but hey this is such sombre film so you kind of accept it. Anyhow, these cardboard characters are haunted and scarred by ghosts of loved ones that fill their memories. The stylish film-making for me really added to the moody atmosphere. Evoking a sense of doom and coldness with its brood shadows filling every corner of the set and they seem to have something evil lurking within them that just eats away at you. Some scenes I was just waiting for something bad to happen, as you can just tell, but even so it still kind of gets to you. Even a humming sound would nag away at me, though I don't know if I was hearing things or that it was from the film? Towards the end you get a usual twist that didn't surprise me much, but the second one to end it was something that left me rather blank, just like the plot pretty much did. You can also see plenty of influences from other films with its story, visuals and atmosphere.

Overall, a neatly made psychological thriller that builds tremendously on atmosphere, thrills and mystery.