36 pasos (2006)

Director:

Adrián García Bogliano

Writers:

Adrián García Bogliano (writer)
Ramiro García Bogliano (writer)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Walls have ears

Plot Keywords:

Digit In Title | Mayhem | Revenge | Number In Title

Cast

Noelia Balbo	...	Pilar
Ines Sbarra	...	Lucia
Ariana Marchioni	...	Emilia
Melisa Fernandez	...	Marilu
Priscila Rauto	...	Priscila
Andrea Duarte	...	Violeta
Victoria Witemburg	...	La buchona
Priscila Caldera	...	Flor
Ana Haramboure	...	Madre
Omar Musa	...	Tio de Tamara
Sabino Molina	...	Pedro
Fernando Roa	...	Jaime
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Federico Aimetta	...	Ejecutivo
Maria Guillermina Andrade	...	Julieta
Diego Aroza	...	Profesor Cozzi
Gimena Blesa	...	Hermana menor pilar
Florencia Cadelli	...	Arquera hockey
Anahi Carnavale	...	Comediante
Celina Cascella	...	Secretaria
Martin Cesar Diaz	...	Mago Rasec
Juan Pablo Fluger	...	Novio Violeta
Rolf García	...	Manager
Paula Guía	...	Comediante
Javier Kafka	...	Acosador
Iru Landucci	...	Invitado muerto
Jesica Lorena Lorentti	...	Ayudante mago
Hernán Moyano	...	Estudiante
Mariela Mujica	...	Asistente Marilu
Alejandro Noto	...	Grandote
Samanta Pavoni	...	Secretaria facultad
María Eugenia Puggioni	...	Moza
Ruso	...	Invitado Fiesta
Brenda Vera	...	Chica guardaropa
Daniel Zago	...	Mozo fiesta

Also Known As:

36 Steps (International: English title)

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

Argentina | Spain | USA

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Certification:

Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Colonia Urquiza, Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina

Company:

Condor Media

Trivia:

Every member of the production company plays a character in the movie.

Quotes:

Pilar: Rule number one, never talk about what happens here. Walls have ears

Soundtrack:

10 Indiecitos

Amazing micro budget horror film!

We have to admit, we went into 36 Steps (36 Pasos), the newest film by Argentinean gore-extraordinaire Adrián García Bogliano, completely unaware of the director's body of work with no better excuse than we are very busy and didn't have time to research the film or the man on the internet before hand lazy. However, we did have time to procure a lunchtime feast from P. Terry's burger stand consisting of a cheeseburger combo meal and ketchup. Lots of ketchup.

What we stumbled upon in our ignorance-is-bliss state was a misogynistic fable-come-blood-bath following the tenets of a 1950's housewife: do not talk, stay within your defined boundaries, keep everything in order and appear to be happy at all cost. For a modern girl, those are tough pills to swallow, especially when your only available beverage is a packet of Heinz and the last image you saw was a severed finger. But as is the case with most horror-slasher flicks, there is always a lesson to be learned.

36 Steps is the story of six girls who are invited to a remote hacienda for an old classmate's birthday party, a classmate who, admittedly, the girls didn't much care for. We are of course using the term "invited" loosely; basically they were hunted down, rendered unconscious and abducted by a mouth-breathing man child whose appearance in each scene is accompanied by a malevolent fog horn. They are subsequently chained with what appears to be some sort of Spanish inquisition era restraining device and tortured into submission: first you learn silence (Silencio!), then obedience (Obediencia!), and finally happiness (Felicidad!).

From there, the movie follows a horror pastiche not unlike the work of Takashi Miike: Naked dismembered women? Check. Carnival-like animation sequence? Check. Synchronized group dance followed by bludgeoning? Double check. This is a true gore-core fanatic's wet dream! For some reason, the girls never change out of their bikinis and their standard operating procedure is to have splash fights in the pool. There are very specific rules, however: if they speak about anything unpleasant, they are disciplined in heinous ways (think branding iron) and they are absolutely not to attempt an escape. In the end they are pitted against each other in a battle of survival, and only one will remain standing. But will any of them take the 36 Steps to freedom? To be sure, the film is super low budget (every member of the production company plays a character in the movie) but it is masterfully crafted. The story is simple, yet unique, the visuals are viscerally engaging (aka vomitous, but in a good way), and the acting is surprisingly good. Bogliano has a great talent for turning inherently sexist ideas into a platform for women's rights. Through the film he asserts that women should not be trained to answer to a whistle like dogs and that closing their mouths does not correlate to closing their minds. Trying to control them only turns them into chainsaw-wielding psychopaths. And, perhaps Bogliano thinks women should be a little bit nicer to one another.

We don't purport to have our bachelors in butchery or our master's in mayhem, but as far as this class is concerned, watching 36 Steps was the most stomach-churning fun that we had all week. We highly recommend that you go to the Alamo, order a burger and bask in the electric glow of brilliant Argentinean cinema. Just be sure to tell your server to hold the ketchup.