To Let

Mario (Adriá Collado) and his pregnant girlfriend Clara (Macarena Gómez) are trying to find in a short period a new apartment to live since they have sold their apartment and they need to move in fifteen days. When Mario finds an attractive advertisement in his mailbox, he convinces Clara to visit the place with him. He drives to a far area in the periphery and meets the real estate agent in front of an old building in an abandoned neighborhood. When the couple sees the apartment, they do not like it but they are forced to stay.

"Para Entrar a Vivir" is the weakest movie that I have seen from the excellent Spanish series "Películas Para No Dormir". The gore story has good performances, but the screenplay is awful, destroying a promising plot and transforming what could be a sort of "Misery" in a hysterical collection of unreasonable attitudes. For example, why would the couple leave their car in a rainy day to visit such dreadful building in an isolated area? They are in the control of the situation many times, but they always take the wrong decision or Clara is hysterical and let the insane lady revert the situation. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Morada do Perigo" ("Housing of the Danger")

This movie clocks at around one hour, and accomplishes what most modern thrillers struggle to do in twice the time. It gets to the point pretty quickly, but gives a straight, well defined portrait of the main characters without using any "super obvious" scenes to do that. While in the process it actually utilizes pretty much every cliché of the whole "kidnapping" scenario of horror movies (like for example "the hills have eyes" by the late Wes Craven)but in the best way possible. It manages to hold the viewer at the edge of the seat for every single second, surprisingly without ever feeling predictable.

The cinematography and imagery is appropriately beautiful. The worn out color palette fits the ugly urban location perfectly and helps in creating tension throughout the movie. You could even say that (taking into consideration the extremely limited cast) even the weather and the building themselves are supporting characters in the film.

What is really worth mentioning is that this is one more Jaume Balagueró film that breaks the mould of American horror films by having the story placed in an apartments. With the obvious exception of Roman Polanski's "Apartment" trilogy, most American thrillers are set into suburban locations and big, very big houses. Although these houses are very scary (mostly due to their abundance of entry points, making the villains job much easier) this is not very realistic considering more than most people worldwide live in blocks of flats and cant' actually relate to that "50's America" scenery.

Top up all of the above with a great psychological/social study on people who are obsessed with other peoples lives and you've got an excellent, disturbing and actually very "thrilling" thriller. The only drawback I can think for this movie, is (as noted by most reviewers) the main characters lack of decisiveness at points, which, kind of feels like a mechanism for the film to go on.

This medium-length film (about an hour) belongs to a collection of six TV horror films called "Peliculas Para No Dormir", and was the first film in the collection that I saw. Spanish horror has given us good films, so I was curious to see what this film was going to be like. I was not disappointed, the film fulfills what it promises, but that does not mean that it is excellent.

The story is the main weakness, as it seems too far-fetched. Everything revolves around a young couple who are expecting a child and looking for a house to buy. They end up finding a good opportunity, but it is an old apartment, in an empty building in the middle of a decadent neighborhood that they don't even know. Shortly after starting to visit the apartment, the finding of some of their personal belongings there makes clear that something very strange is happening.

The film was directed by Jaume Balagueró, who is responsible for the "REC" franchise and "Mientras Duermes". Although the length is shorter than normal, the director has time to show what is worth. The script has a logical and coherent history but has a lot of very unlikely moments, like the fact that they don't know where they are but they had that address or, at least, the directions to get there. It does not make sense. The usual clichés in horror (rain, old places, a lunatic on the loose) are present but are well used and create a very pleasant tense atmosphere. I think the film loses strength and impact after 40 minutes because everything becomes obvious and predictable. Even so, and despite the relatively uninteresting ending, the film is pleasant. The cast is good, but it is totally unknown to me.

Technically, it is a very well made film. The gray, bland and low-contrast cinematography, in line with the torrential rain and thunder, creates an environment conducive to fear and suspense. The setting is marked by abandonment and neglect, meticulously well thought out with old furniture, torn wallpaper, broken glass and creaking doors. The special effects boil down to some fake blood and other discrete, yet effective and functional effects. The sound effects and incidental soundtrack also proved to be valuable.

I don't know if it's been mentioned yet, but I just wanted to point out the minor discrepancy from the original title to it's English translation. Literally the title reads, "To Enter to Live," though the actual way it would be conveyed, or should be interpreted should be more along the lines of "Ready to Rent" or "Ready to Move In." Two possible headings that those who have ever rented might be familiar seeing in the classified ads.

Though it seems to have received some rather harsh criticism (not entirely unjust) from some reviewers here, anyone who is thinking of watching this should know that it is a film made for television in Spain and IN THAT RESPECT, is far superior to almost everything you'll see on U.S. television in the horror genre and in many cases outside of it. I'd compare it to the old HBO series "Tales From the Crypt" but without the comic book nuance, or that ridiculous crypt keeper.

This film will probably not be well received by many jaded horror fans mainly because it does have a few annoying, "why didn't she!?" "why didn't he!?" and "why did they even both from the start!?" moments throughout the course of its 1 hour and 8 minute run. However, all that can't (or really shouldn't) supersede the fact that it is well directed, suspenseful and loaded with visceral horror from nearly beginning to end.

I'd be more inclined to give this a solid 7, but for the sake of other reader's expectations a 6 will suffice. Good story and plot that could've been executed better, but why not go in and take a look around for yourself? You might not even notice the peeling paint and it could be an inspiring stop on the way to something better.

TV movie from the Films to Keep You Awake (Películas para no dormir) series of 6. This is one of the best of that bunch. Good, but still TV movie quality. A young couple keeps their appointment to walk through an available apartment with the leasing agent. This place is OUT THERE! I mean it is so far out from their urban existence that it looks like the condemned neighborhood that's gone off the grid and the owners have abandoned the buildings. They find the building even more unsuitable than the neighborhood. The jewel in the tiara is the leasing agent. She's a piece of work, that one.