The Haunting

Halloween evening and I was on flick two of Fangoria's FrightFest of which "The Haunting" was one of eight movies. To be honest, I'm a bit of a subtitle snob as I'm a very visual person and love to get totally immersed in the sound and images of a movie and hate reading. And since my Spanish does not extended to understanding an entire movie, I went with the English 2.0 sound of which there is an odd hollow phasing I presume is not in the original mix so be forewarned if this is the audio you are accessing. Despite that this is a chilling movie with some very effective special FX and a moving score. The use of the "No-Do" short docu footage works in well with the storyline. Performances are steady throughout. Again, it's the visuals including some nice cinematography that's most effective on this film.

Spanish terror movie that explores the psychological disintegration of a possessed woman well played by Ana Torrent . It deals with Francesca (Ana Torrent) , a hard-working as well as stressed pediatrician who is dedicated to both motherhood and her job , married to another physician called Pedro (Francisco Boira) . Following the birth of a new child and the advice of a councillor (Rocio Muñoz) , the couple rent an isolated house from the Catholic Church . She attempts to retrieve peace and serenity in a new home away from the city , but in this recent house happens strange events and things go wrong . As they move an impressive and solitary mansion that results to be haunted by ghosts . As the the attic and the basement are locked and they hide awful secrets . She soon starts to communicate with invisible dark forces and it is from both these places that Francesca puts on the edge close to insanity . Meanwhile , a major priest (Francisco Casares) assigns the case to a miracle investigator , Father Miguel (Héctor Colomé) . The film finishes with a Philip K. Dick quote: "If You Find This World Bad, You Should See Some of the Others".

Melodramatic ghost story about a woman , Francesca : Ana Torrent , with tortured soul who brings her family into a ghostly mansion where is starting to hear and see fantastic , creepy things . It gives a terrifying and disturbingly adult view of fears in which posses an element of melancholy with a upsetting woman who seems to drift dangerously close to madness . Influenced by Bayona's The orphanage , Polanski's Repulsion , Amenabar's The others and Del Toro's Pan labyrinth , it has a forensic eye for the eerie atmosphere which wreathes itself around dolls , everyday objects and domestic settings . Interesting screenplay by Elio Quiroga himself , revolving the mental disintegration of a woman overwhelmed by weird figures and ghostly shadows start tormenting her , as the protagonist receiving visits by night that are slowly driving her insanity . Director Elio Quiroga wanted the film to hark back in tone to 40s and 50s NODO trailers that turn out to be the best parts of the film . There are lots of shots with visual effects in them feature across this picture . Good performance from main protagonist Ana Torrent as Francesca , a woman who suffers from postpartum depression and takes on terrible ghosts . Torrent has developed a long career from little girl as ¨Espiritu De La Colmena¨ or ¨El Nido¨ to adult woman as ¨Thesis¨ , ¨Yoyes¨, and international films as ¨The other Boleyn girl¨, ¨The Tulse Luper suitcases¨ , among others. Support cast is pretty good , such as Héctor Colomé as a miracle investigator , Maria Alfonsa Rosso as a rare old woman and Rocio Muñoz as psychiatrist Jean .

Colorful and evocative cinematography by Juan Carlos Gómez , being skillfully cameraman , shot on location in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands and Torrelodones, Madrid . Thrilling as well sensitive musical score by Alfons Conde . The motion picture was well directed by Elio Quiroga . Here he offers an emotionally overwrought story about ghosts in unashamedly melodramatic style . Although it failed at the box office opening for a film in its native Spain . Quiroga is a good writer and director , here displaying genuine chills , suspense , mystery and dark atmosphere and twisted finale . It resulted out to one of the most unusual Spanish thrilling movies of 2009 and certainly one of the most unsettling . Quiroga is a nice filmmaker , known for ¨Fotos¨ , ¨Nodo¨ and his most successful film , ¨La Hora Fria¨ ; he also directed shorts and documentary . This film NODO is dedicated to the memory of Joaquim Jordà (1935 - 2006), Spanish filmmaker. Rating : Better than average , worthwhile watching .

I'm usually a fan of Spanish ghost stories but THE HAUNTING feels too familiar and derivative to truly be a success. It's another story about a married couple subjected to mysterious visions and hauntings in their own home. Unsurprisingly the Catholic church is somehow involved. The central character is the mother of a newborn baby whose post-natal depression seems to be having an effect on her mind. The film as a whole is very similar to THE BABY'S ROOM, a prior - and superior - Spanish effort released under a 'Films to Keep You Awake' banner.

As with many haunted house productions, THE HAUNTING is too dark and too slow for my tastes. The ghostly scenes make typical use of CGI effects and feel so ordinary that I wasn't scared once. The low key acting works in this film's favour and helps to bring some much-needed realism to the proceedings, but the events that play out are nothing special and I was often bored by the whole thing despite elements of interest in the back story.

In 1947, three little girls in a Catholic boarding school claim that they had seen the Virgin Mary and are capable to heal the needy people. Fifty years later, the local Catholic Bishop that lives in the old house dies and the medical doctors Pedro (Francisco Boira) and his wife Francesca (Ana Torrent), who is depressed and under psychological treatment, rent the isolated house from the Catholic Church to raise their baby Pablo in the countryside. However, the attic and the basement are locked but the Church promises to recover and deliver the rooms later. Francesca is obsessed with the safety of Pablo, having nightmares during the night. She is also haunted by noises and apparitions and is in the edge close to insanity. Meanwhile, the psychiatrist Priest Miguel (Héctor Colomé) discharges the patient Blanca (Maria Alfonsa Rosso) that had slept for fifty years from a Catholic institution. When Blanca meets Francesca in the real estate, she gives the name of Priest Miguel to the physician. Francesca visits the priest and discloses a disturbing secret about the old house.

In the period of General Franco's dictatorship, the news and documentaries NO-DO (Noticiarios y Documentales) was propaganda projected in the movie theaters before the movie. The film "NO-DO" is a messy ghost story with creepy moments, good special effects and performances that entwines many sub-plots in a confused screenplay. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Olhos do Mal" ("Evil Eyes")

Lately, Spanish cinema has toasted us with some interesting horror and thriller films. "The Orphanage" is an example that I can refer to and that I remember right now. So I was expecting more from this movie. The plot consists of the story of a family going to live in the countryside, to a house where a Catholic bishop lived. Of course, that house has a lot of obscure secrets, but this is quite evident from the start. Incidentally, the whole film is quite predictable and this spoils the potential pleasure of watching it. But the biggest problem is the amount of subplots that mix like the threads of a spaghetti, quickly causing such a confusion in the public's head that it simply loses interest in the story.

This film didn't create a continuous and growing feel of tension or discomfort, basing itself on scares to make "American style" horror. As for the actors, I don't know any of them, I'm not the greatest connoisseur of the actors in the country next to mine, but I felt that none of them stood out for the positive, even though everyone has done his work reasonably enough. Special effects and CGI seemed to me solid and decent.