Atrocious (2010)

Two teenage siblings endure a terrifying experience while investigating a rural legend near their family's vacation home.

Director:

Fernando Barreda Luna

Writer:

Fernando Barreda Luna

Stars:

Cristian Valencia, Clara Moraleda, Chus Pereiro

Cast

Credited cast:
Cristian Valencia	...	Cristian
Clara Moraleda	...	July
Chus Pereiro	...	Debora
Sergi Martin	...	Jose
Xavi Doz	...	Santiago
Jose Masegosa	...	Carlos
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rafael Amaya	...	(voice)
Silvia Arnau	...	Policewoman #5
Carlos Blanco	...	Policeman #2
Ferran Casterà Mosquera	...	Policeman #1
Sammy Gad	...	David
Carlos Gaya	...	Policeman #6
Rebecca Gil	...	Policewoman #3
Luis Lorenzo	...	Policeman #9
Hector Perez	...	Policeman #8

Storyline

Cristian and his sister, July, travel from Madrid to El Garraf with their parents and their little brother to spend the Holy Week in their old vacation home. They learn the legend of Melinda, a girl wearing a red dress that got lost in the labyrinth near the house, who helps people that also get lost in the spot. Carlos, a visiting family friend, tells the siblings that there are different, more sinister versions of the legend. July and Cristian use two hand-held cameras to explore the labyrinth and investigate the mystery of Melinda, until something horrible happens.

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Plot Keywords:

labyrinth | woods | 2010s | family vacation | blood | 

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Taglines:

A Local Legend Becomes a Terrifying Reality

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for grisly images and language throughout

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Spain Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

17 August 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Atroz

Filming Locations:

Cunit, Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain

Company Credits

Production Co:

Catalan Film and Television, Ibermedia, Nabu Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min 82 min (original)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

References The Shining (1980)

User Reviews

Not that bad POV movie

Despite the mostly negative reviews, Atrocious is actually not thát bad. I enjoyed it more than I expected, maybe because my expectations were low.

The good: The setting was pretty good, I loved the house and the labyrinth (sigh, I wish I lived in such a place) and though it started out a bit dull and has it's predictable bits, there are a few enjoyable creepy moments. I was pretty happy to see that the end was not what I expected, and better than what I did expect. An other good thing is the brutality shown through the police photo's. You don't see anything really happen, but at the end the police files combined with the basement video make up for that and fill in the hole your imagination was still left with.

The bad: It's not a movie to watch when you suffer from motion sickness. I do have a sensitive stomach for movements and I thought it was only just bearable. That's one of the weaknesses of many 'Found Footage' movies, the shaky camera-work is just too much overdone. OK, when you are running you won't ever have a steady shot, but in the beginning of the movie one would expect at least a bit more of a steady hand. So that was actually pretty annoying. An other bad is that some bits are just too long, without anything happening, which makes you want to reach for the fast-forward button. There was too much darkness, and too much running through the night (yep, darkness, and night vision which shows nothing but trees). One last bad thing is the subtitling. I am not sure if I just had a bad version, but my, did it suck. All Spanish cursing was translated as 'drugs' which gives you a fair idea of the skills of the people who did the subbing.

I'm a bit left in the dark (pardon me the bad pun) when it comes to rating this movie. It has a lot of flaws, but the ending does make up for it, and I have seen worse Found Footage movies (like Paranormal Activity). Anyway, my advise would be to set your expectations low, and then you might even enjoy it like I did.