Open Graves (2009)

A group of surfers discover an old board game which claims a life every time it is played.

Director:

Álvaro de Armiñán

Writers:

Roderick Taylor, Bruce A. Taylor (as Bruce Taylor)

Stars:

Mike Vogel, Eliza Dushku, Ethan Rains

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mike Vogel	...	Jason
Eliza Dushku	...	Erica
Ethan Rains	...	Tomàs
Naike Rivelli	...	Elena
Lindsay Caroline Robba	...	Lisa
Gary Piquer	...	Detective Izar
Alex O'Dogherty	...	Malek
Boris Martinez	...	Pablo
Ander Pardo	...	Miguel
Lilliam Kouri	...	Nabibi
Paul Zubillaga	...	Detective 1
Enrique Zaldua	...	Policeman
Juan Viadas	...	Priest
Maite Murillo	...	Nurse 1
Martxelo Rubio	...	Doctor 1

Storyline

In Spain, the American surfer Jason, his best friend and photographer Tomas Escaño and his girlfriend Lisa go shopping in a fair and while the couple is negotiating with a street vendor, Jason visits a dreadful store. Jason has a friction with the handicapped owner Malek and the man in a wheelchair offers an ancient board game called Mamba from the Spanish Inquisition period for free to excuse his behavior. Meanwhile, Detective Izar is investigating the death of a man that was skinned alive. When a heavy rain falls during a party on the beach, Jason joins Tomas, Lisa, his new acquaintance Erica Vargas, Pablo, Miguel and Elena to play the game. Erica reads the rules and explains that the winner would have his wish granted while the losers would be cursed to die the way described in the cards. Pablo is the first to lose and borrows Tomas' car to buy some beers. Miguel, Lisa, Elena and Tomas also lose, but the players stop the game when Detective Eric arrives and informs that Pablo has ...

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Plot Keywords:

surfer | board game | death | witch | skin | 

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Taglines:

Curses last forever.

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, disturbing images, language and brief nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

Spain UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 November 2009 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Mamba

Filming Locations:

Getxo, Vizcaya, País Vasco, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$6,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Manufacturas Audiovisuales,Inpulsa,Alchemedia Films

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filmed in October and November 2006, but not released until September 2009.

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Goofs

During the photo shoot Tomas snaps pictures of Lisa with props (first an ax then a chain saw.) After switching the props, the voice of Tomas can be heard giving Lisa instructions on holding the ax for the picture. However, Miguel is clearly seen on camera holding the ax when Tomas says this.

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Connections

Featured in Phelous & the Movies: Phelous's Open Grave (2010)

User Reviews

Not good not bad but not really great.

OPEN GRAVES has a pretty good plot, its well acted by the cast, Eliza Dushku is delicious as always and the direction is okay but the film is actually not something to write home about, there aren't any real memorable moments that will leave you breathless even though some of the death scenes are rather weird, in fact there's nothing that stands out about this film, the best way to sum it up is that its nothing more than a time passer.

However, where I can give it credit is that it does try to be different but unfortunately like you could've guessed it falls short, I'd say only watch this if you want to kill time and if there's nothing else to watch which is the reason I watched it in the first place.