Cold Skin (2017) User Reviews

Good Acting and Cinematography

[Freedom060286 · 7/10 · 4 September 2019]

The story is somewhat interesting and keeps one's attention. But the strongest attribute of this film is the casting of two very capable British actors, David Oakes and Ray Stevenson, in the main roles. I had only seen Oakes play unlikable characters before, while Stevenson has usually been in more positive roles.

The cinematography, which features picturesque scenes of the isolated island and the surrounding ocean, is also quite good.

Cold Skin: Original but flawed

[Platypuschow · 6/10 · 4 February 2019]

Cold Skin is quite the original unique little tale, but ultimately it fails to deliver on its promises.

It tells the story of a military intelligence man set to do a scientific study on a remote island for a year replacing an existing gentleman. There is nobody on the island bar one, a disgruntled insane from isolation man named Gruner. As night falls he learns that the island holds a terrible secret.

Arguably a "Creature feature" this horror stars the excellent British veteran Ray Stevenson and was made by French/Spanish studios. I'm very glad I came across it because despite its flaws it's quite remarkable, it was nice to find a movie this original and visually pleasing considering that it's not a mega budget film.

The concept is outstanding, the delivery however is very mixed. They manage to make it all look good and Stevenson is on form as usual however the writing is really messy and the film simply should have flowed better.

When the credits rolled I was saddened by the wasted potential here, on paper it had the makings of a fantastic feature but the end result here is something that loses steam at around the 2/3 mark and hits you with a very uninspired ending.

Well worth a watch simply to marvel over what it does have to offer but it's a fine example of a ball being dropped by all involved.

The Good:

Solid concept

Looks great

Ray Stevenson

The Bad:

Loses steam

Wasted potential

Weak finale

Eerie and harrowing tale that will stay with you

[KoolCatReviews · 7/10 · 9 May 2020]

As an audience we feel lonely and fragile just like the main character. The movie begins as a horror but slowly turns more action orientated. Early action scenes are very good and unfortunately the get abit repetitive and aren't as good later on. I love all the question this film poses. Set in the back drop of WW1 it does't seem to have connection intill you peice it together. As there aren't many characters in the film you get to know them intimately. Character development is handled well. The CGI looks natural and effects are gratifying. This movie had me hooked and as a result I have ordered the novel it was based upon.

Another That Got Away!

[spookyrat1 · 6/10 · 2 March 2019]

Cold Skin is another example of that type of movie that gets many of the production fundamentals right, so that initially you'll think you're in for a good sitting with an understated, underrated film, only to realise well into the screening that you've been dudded.

Being set in an isolated unforgettable location, whose rugged scenery is beautifully captured by cinematographer Daniel Aranyó, Cold Skin is another of that growing sub-genre of films, which feature a short cast list; in this instance, essentially just three lead characters, who are well cast and give fine, convincing performances. To be sure there are plenty of other characters seen, but I think CGI was generally employed to feature them. It should be noted too that the special effects in a clearly low to medium budget release are extremely functional.

The main problem with the film is the rather baffling storyline, which unfortunately in this oceanic-inspired tale, is filled with holes, that appear big enough to sail a boat through. And this in itself is strange as many of the other armchair critics of this film claim it is almost adapted to the most exact detail from the award winning novel by Albert Sanchez Pinol.

Set as it is in 1914 around the outbreak of World War 1 hostilities, I can well accept that the film as a whole represents an example of the futility and losses involved in waging war. But one has a right to ask how this war began? Why do the creatures continue to fight a war in which they always seem to be suffering significant losses? What do they hope to achieve? Why are they actually losing when we see they are so much quicker, agile and both athletically and aquatically inclined than their two solitary human opponents? Why are they supposedly collectively inhibited by daylight, when we see Aneris being untroubled by the day. Speaking of Aneris why does she continue to hang around Gruner, when she is so obviously being used and abused? There is some throw away line late in the piece about him freeing her from a net or something, but this film (and by inference the book) suffers maddeningly from a lack of background details.

A number of the film's staunch advocates I see, are suggesting you need to read the book to (possibly) get those sort of questions answered. Such comments are quite bizarre. An adapted film should exist and be reasonably understood on its own merits, not dependent on reading some previous book to be fully comprehended. Cold Skin as it stands therefore is just like another unhooked, but inviting big fish, swimming off into the impenetrable ocean depths, after playing teasingly for a brief time with our baited lines.

Good cinematography.

[xdeschuyter-01410 · 7/10 · 27 January 2020]

The film is visually appealing, the acting is good and when it touches on philosophical issues here and there, it avoids being too hammy. The plot however is rather thin and has some holes. All in all, it could have been fleshed out more, together with the characters.

Visually stunning and great atmosphere - Shame about the plotholes

[omendata · 6/10 · 17 February 2018]

Great acting.

Really novel story.

Great visuals , landscapes, music and photography - so what could go wrong?

The whole thing was obviously a morality tale about war and xenophobia and thats fine but the numerous plotholes and inconsistencies and unexplained-ness of the whole thing just made it look a bit silly and illogical.

Such a shame as it grabbed the viewer right from the beginning and had a superlative atmosphere but it became slightly tedious with the unexplained attacks (was it purely xenophobic fish people?) and the just plain weirdness of the sex scenes much like many movies try to shock these days rather than entertain and it does draw similarities with Shape Of Water but sadly it is just above average when it could have been a really great film!

A Unique Flick

[parsonm2 · 6/10 · 5 March 2018]

I was drawn to see this movie after reading a brief plot synopsis which had a clear Lovecraftian horror theme (et in the 20's an isolated lighthouse attacked by creatures from the sea). And though this wasn't exactly the movie I wanted it to be, I was satisfied with it. Firstly, this movie is extremely well-made and acted. The location is simply wonderful. I would've preferred the sea creatures to be more grotesque but that wasn't what they were aiming for. This film doesn't explain everything which leaves you thinking about it which works well in this case. I enjoyed too which leads the viewer to wonder just how long the lighthouse keeper had been there and who the original lighthouse keeper was. Not surprisingly, this movie is based on a rather popular foreign novel which received a bit of praise and attention which it apparently is quite faithful to.

??

[Foutainoflife · 4/10 · 17 February 2019]

I may be in the minority but I feel like there isn't much of a story to this. We have a dude who goes to an island to be a weather watchman. There is also a lighthouse on the island that is occupied by a rather unfriendly fellow who has fortified the lighthouse with sharp stakes. The man soon learns that their are bipedal aquatic beings who storm the house every night with what seems to be an attempt to kill. After he burns down the house, he is forced to try and find shelter in the lighthouse. He and the lighthouse keeper will spend the rest of the film at war with many of these creatures and having sexual relations with one.

Needless to say, this is a movie that has a bit of weird to it. I wanted to give it a try since it was a marketed as a horror film and I'm always willing to check flicks out in hopes of finding a few hidden gems. This movie just fell really short. It wasn't that it wasn't filmed or acted well. My problem is that you are never really given any insight into why all of it was happening.

There is the initial impression that the creatures attack to possibly feed or simply kill. A little later on, there is the casual hint that the attacks may be the result of the female living in the lighthouse and getting her freak on with the old man. Then there is a moment where there was an attempt at some sort of truce but that all just seemed strange because I was still unsure why they were at odds to begin with.

I've not read the book but I don't consider myself to be an idiot or unable to comprehend what I am being shown. I guess that this is just not a film for everyone and I am in that crowd. It may also be that I don't consider this to be a horror film. I see it as more as dramatic sci-fi. I'm not too crazy about sci-fi.

My final thoughts are simple. If you've read the book and liked it, you may very well enjoy this. If you are into sci-fi, you may like it too. If you are looking for horror, I'm not sure if this will leave you satisfied.

Decent atmospheric film centered around the theme of isolation

[sagniknath · 7/10 · 11 February 2018]

I have always been a fan of sci-fi/speculative films that tend to have a minimal cast against the backdrop of an expansive setting. In this regard, Cold Skin is very reminiscent of Oblivion and Ex Machina. All these films had at most three main characters interacting with one another in an isolated but very vast picturesque location . The wide landscape serves to contrast with the localized affairs of these individuals. So the main hook for me was this setup.

Story-wise, the film tackles primarily two issues: isolation and xenophobia. Both the two male characters have escaped to the desolation of a lonely island having only two human establishments, a cottage and a lighthouse, in hope of running from some burden or repercussion they left behind in society.As such , they try to make the best they can out of mixing with each other and with a female of a native anthropomorphic aquatic species. In fact, I would say this is where the film comes very close in terms of plot point to Ex Machina, which also featured a very palpable tension in the relationship between the two male characters and the female robot. However, Ex Machina carried this storyline to a more concrete resolution. I felt as if Cold Skin didn't try this hard enough and sort of rushed it up towards the film's end. The topic of xenophobia is also brought up with the aquatic creatures clearly being stand ins for the natives of nations colonized by European Imperialism. The film tries to balance the views towards these creatures as both classical savages with an intent to kill the white man as well as natives trying to protect their homeland against colonialism.

Although I had never heard of the actors before, I was never a moment bored by the performances and the good pacing of the movie.

Overall, definitely a film to check out and one not deserving of the abysmally low rating on ImdB : 5.8/10 (as of the time of writing this review)

Beautifully made but incredibly sloppy storytelling.

[S_Soma · 4/10 · 12 February 2018]

Short opening preview:

COLD SKIN opens with scenes of a young man, whose name is Friend, on the deck of a tramp steamer bound, as we are to learn, for a remote island where he is to perform duties as a weather observer for a term of 12 months. The aged and worn Capt. of the clanking old vessel, Capt. Axel, chats with Friend on the deck with surprising kindness. Colorfully, Friend observes that the captain treats him with the felicitousness of the executioner for the condemned.

Almost immediately, we arrive at Friend's island destination, an intensely desolate place with almost no vegetation, all volcanic rocks with a little sand. Incongruously perched like a wart on an otherwise featureless face, the small cabin Friend is to call home for the next 12 months squats not far from the shore, surrounded by the few constructs necessary to support Friend's weather observation activities. A few sailors carry Friend's meager belongings into the cabin which appears in a bit more disarray than one would expect. Friend is supposed to replace the existing weather observer, but the present occupant of the cabin is nowhere to be found.

Capt. Axel sends the sailors away and then he and Friend go to a lighthouse some distance away in hopes of questioning the lighthouse operator as to the whereabouts of the existing weather observer. Upon arriving at the lighthouse, we see a most unusual structure. The lighthouse and its immediate surrounds are bristling with sharp sticks and festooned with other such unwelcoming accoutrement at every possible point of attachment. No one answers the door even after much yelling and pounding at the door.

Breaking in, Friend and Capt. Axel discover the lighthouse operator upstairs, passed out naked, apparently from too much drink. Friend and Capt. Axel rouse the lighthouse operator who gives every indication of being exceptionally hostile and unstable. As for the missing weather observer, the only explanation they get from the lighthouse operator, who we learn is named Gruner, are some vague mumblings about his having died from disease.

Friend and Capt. Axel return to Friend's own cabin where Capt. Axel attempts to dissuade Friend from remaining in this awful place just one final time. Friend refuses and the pair bid each other a pleasant farewell.

That very night, Friend hears someone or something moving about immediately outside his cabin. He tentatively calls out to who he assumes is Gruner, but there is no answer. Startlingly, a dark, gray-green webbed hand reaches probingly beneath the cabin door. Understandably horrified, Friend immediately and enthusiastically stabs it with a knife. And so Friend's nightmare begins.

Review:

From the very first scene, COLD SKIN immediately impresses with its production values. The music is excellent and atmospheric, the cinematography is engaging and colorful with an almost Jules Vern-esque adventure feel, and the actors are colorful and well played. The special-effects/CGI are first-rate. The island setting is superbly appropriate for the subject matter and is so desolate it feels frightening just sitting there, doing nothing. So, for most aspects of its production, COLD SKIN gets a solid 10/10.

Unfortunately, and in my opinion most disappointingly, the entire thing falls flat due to a storyline that is utter unmitigated, illogical rubbish. The movie wishes to pile-drive us in the face with a morality tale about xenophobia, apparently, and is willing to corrupt its own storyline to the point of utter nonsense in order to do it. The net effect is a storyline that, if you think about it for more than 5 seconds, makes absolutely no sense.

Why are the fish-people willing to mindlessly throw themselves in mass attacks against the lighthouse night after night only to be killed by the score? What are they after? The land is not their domain of interest and even if it was there are no resources there as it is utterly barren. If it's the fish-girl that's keeping company with Gruner that's attracting them, what's so special about her? If the fish-girl is causing the attacks, does she not care that her brethren are being killed by the busload every night? Why do the fish-people only attack at night when it's abundantly clear they're perfectly happy to be out in the daylight? Why does Gruner say they fear the light when they obviously don't? Why does the fish-girl want to keep company with humans who treat her like garbage? She's not being held prisoner in any way and has access to the water whenever she wants. Why does Gruner, who has been working diligently to massacre them by the hundreds for the entire picture, suddenly walk out the door at the end and allow himself to be torn to pieces? I only stop here arbitrarily; this list could go on indefinitely.

Movies can be highly stylized to the point of apparent insanity (BRAZIL, THE 9TH CONFIGURATION, etc.) and still have perfectly functional stories with which to tell their morality tales without fundamentally trashing the basic mechanisms and properties of decent storytelling. In a movie, even apparent insanity has to be carefully crafted and constructed, controlled and sculpted. It can't be shoveled out and thrown at the viewer like a monkey throwing poo at passersby at a zoo.

And, sadly, in its zeal to hit us over the head with its moral, that's pretty much what COLD SKIN is like.

Update 2/21/2018: Some have suggested to me that a reading of the original book from which COLD SKIN is derived might clarify my many irritations with respect to the story. This is a wholly unsuitable suggestion for numerous reasons, though I will only name a few. Firstly, barring exigent circumstances, a movie should stand on its own and should not rely on information "not in evidence". There are certain situations, such as the Star Wars franchise, where there are so many stories and sub-stories that make up the overall arc that are revealed in so many different kinds of media (animation, books, audio recordings, etc.) that one is obviously expected to explore these other elements to obtain the full sense of the franchise. COLD SKIN is not one of those circumstances. It is simply a poor story poorly expressed. If one MUST read the book to understand the movie, why see the movie?

I suffered enough with the movie and so, truthfully, I have not read the book. A friend of mine, however, has. I put some of the collection of questions I have regarding the overall story to my friend and she was not any more able to answer them than I was with the movie with the single exception of the question as to why the Sitauca (the formal name of the fish/frog/whatever people) incessantly attack the weatherman and the lighthouse keeper; it was for the warm meat. This of course makes obvious sense; innumerable hundreds of at least semi-sentient beings would obviously be willing to sacrifice themselves for only 2 food kills at best. Uh-Huh.

In short, the book form of COLD SKIN adds more, and I am told repetitive, detail but little if any more clarity. The story is a self-indulgence of an author that is primarily an anthropologist possessed of Deep Meanings he wishes to express. There are some 7.6 billion people in the world and it is inevitable that there will be a few who share the author's peculiar brand of moral navel contemplation; others will be less impressed. Reading the book illuminates issues only for the predisposed.

Outstanding film, almost exactly to the detail from the debut novel by Albert Sánchez Piñol

[Top_Dawg_Critic · 9/10 · 18 February 2018]

This film will not be for everyone (hence the disappointing low rating). For starters, it's almost an exact adaptation from the Spanish (Barcelona, Spain) award wining debut novel (translated to 37 languages) by Albert Sánchez Piñol, and directed almost perfectly by Frenchman Xavier Gens.

It is not your typical big-screen huge budget Hollywood action blockbuster with A-list actors, and thus should not be compared (as other reviews have) to The Shape of Water. Instead, it's an artistic piece shot extremely well that was written by a Spaniard and presented by a Frenchman - definitely no Hollywood here.

The directing, cinematography, landscape, vfx/sfx and score where outstanding - near perfect. The actors (never heard of either) performed exceptionally well and were very convincing.

Yes, there were some avoidable obvious plot issues, which was disappointing considering how great the rest of the production was. However I'm thinking that it was an editing issue and cutting scenes to get the length down to 108 mins, of which considering the slow pace, I'd be complaining on the length, yet it didn't feel that long. It could also be a screenplay adaptation issue from the two novice writers - they did squeeze in as much as they could from the novel, but maybe should have cut certain scenes shorter to fill in the blanks.

I've read some reviewers had questions about certain things that happened. Some of those issue are answered if you stop and think why this happened and/or dig a little deeper into the meaning. Others, you will need to read the book. I did, and have nothing to question, but do understand how others who didn't read the book would have questions.

A very impressive film, unlike any other I have seen, and needs to be appreciated for what it is, and how is was shown. Would I recommend it or see it again? Absolutely. Had better screenwriters adapted the novel, this would have been a perfect 10/10. But still is a well deserved 8.5 rounded up to a 9/10 from me.

The Real Monster...

[voltascissor · 6/10 · 24 March 2018]

"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss will gaze back at you" -Friedrich Nietzsche

For those of you who are thinking about watching this movie and assume it's just about the beginning of The Great War, Amphibious people and/or the story of a man driven crazy on a remote island are in for a rude awakening. This movie is an allegory of the colonization of militarized white men to foreign lands. The Amphibious Indigenous people are the terrorized, unassuming souls of an island remotely touched by humans. WWI is barely spoken of in this movie. You only become more aware of it by the final scene which I assume is due to it being 1914.

Gruner has no qualms about treating an indigenous female as if she were a dog. He rapes her, kicks her, beats her. Yet he thinks that SHE and her people are the barbarians. If it wasn't for Friend (David Oakes) this movie would have no redeeming qualities. Each scene I hoped that Gruner would turn more civilized only to be horribly disappointed. I believe Gruner wanted the people to continue to attack just so he could continue to exterminate them. The Nietzsche quote in the beginning fits this movie/book quite well. I can only assume that since the war brought many more men to the island, that the rest of the indigenous people would be raped/murdered/bred out and/or completely wiped out. Which is reminiscent of what other cultures have had to endure.

Shot beautifully, the story is garbage.

[tjsuf · 4/10 · 22 July 2018]

Listen, I don't like to give long reviews about movies so I'll make it short. Cold skin starts off Eerie, kind of like Shutter Island, and you can tell that it's going to get dark. However, it takes a turn to the whimsical, which would have been okay with me had it been not so extreme. I mean there is really only 2 minutes of back story as to why they're fighting these things...and then for some reason banging them. It's weird dude, super weird.

Butttttttt, I will give it 4 stars because it is shot really well.

The ending ruined it.

[Fella_shibby · 6/10 · 21 October 2020]

After Frontiere(s), the director went downhill in terms of brutal horror films. The Divide starring Michael Bien which i saw recently inspite of it being almost a decade old is good but this movie's ending ruined everything for me. It has lovely atmosphere n the creatures a bit like the ones from Descent. Inspite of the movie based on one location n only two characters, it is gripping n entertaining but once again i repeat that the ending ruined it.

One of the reviewer wrote that the actors r never heard of. I think he is mistaken or mayb he didn't recognize Ray Stevenson.

A good emotional movie

[CharbelRahme · 7/10 · 15 August 2018]

Despite everything you might read before, this movie is a true emotional masterpiece. The "cold skin" creature knows very well how to capture our hearts with the way she looks to her master and her new friend, and she gives us chill when she wants to help humans but they don't seem to get help from her. This creature is all what the movie is about. She shows how much she can be differnet than her own species, no matter how aggressive they might seem, she showed us the other face of their "culture", the face of a kind being, even better than humans. Friend was very like all humans, he wants to be good but he is controlled by some desperate man who wants to proclaim himself owner of the island, even though he admits being the invader, the enemy, the new comer, the strange one. A movie that deserves a second thought from who gave it low rating. And btw, it has nothing to do with the shape of water, i didn't see any resemblance expect for the color of the skin and the human-like physique of the creatures in both movies.

tower defense shot on camera

[kokomo123 · 6/10 · 27 June 2018]

What starts like an naturalist's adventure ends up a rather different genre. just like in a tower defense game the creators of the movie show us multiple rounds of enemy atacks with characters' weapons being upgraded every round and enemy count rising. the ending is abrupt and senseless

Cold Skin

[timnewling · 7/10 · 8 October 2018]

Very enjoyable movie, far better than expected I always enjoy movies that break the mold, well worth watching.

Cold Skin

[henry8-3 · 4/10 · 23 October 2018]

A man gets a dull job on a desolate island to measure wind and rain with only a crazy man and a tribe of underwater creatures seemingly bent on their destruction for company.

This is certainly different and a noble attempt to make an undoubtedly Lovecraft influenced original piece. It works well to start with by building up the story narrated by the lead, however once it's clear what's going on and the creatures are out in the open it doesn't offer anything different and just keeps doing the same thing for most of the remainder of the film. The lead's motives are understood and well articulated, although those of his crazed partner are somewhat less clear.

A good effort.

Very impressive

[kirachloe · 7/10 · 20 April 2023]

Wow, this is a diamond in the rough. I think I can say without spoiling that this movie is mainly about, and you often only see, 3 characters ... which is exactly what it needs. Yet don't think this is your regular low actor count (i.e. Low budget) film. It is well thought out and well acted (and actually quite a few extras, on occasion).

My hottest button, the script, is incredibly well done. The story is something a bit new, and not just a rehash of the same old crud coming out of the production houses. The scenery and direction are beyond reproach, to include even the timing and editing. The acting is as good as it gets.

All in all, this is not one you want to pass up.

It's too late for me, but save yourself!

[mkjwindsong · 2/10 · 6 April 2021]

Do not be fooled by the moderately high rating; this movie is terrible. It is not a diamond in the rough, hidden, cult horror film. It is just bad, all the way through. The story in its essence might have been worth a 6/10, but once you add the actual writing (that ranges from bland to hysterically bad) and the non-sensical scene cuts, you find yourself wading slowly out into a weird ocean of nothingness. You want it to fix itself but it never does. It is all pain for no pay off. Just spare yourself the agony of the slow, miserable death that is watching this movie.

Enjoyable dark eerie movie

[desertship-78246 · 8/10 · 28 October 2018]

A dark story of what colonialism might have been to the indigenous habitats of a newly discovered land. Wonderfully shot cinematography followed by brilliant musical score and unforgettable story. Very enjoyable.

Attack of the fish people

[bowmanblue · 6/10 · 6 July 2023]

I didn't know what to expect from this movie when I sat down to watch it. Just before the start of the First World War, a young man (David Oakes) takes a job charting the weather on a remote island, only to discover it's not as 'uninhabited' as he first thought. Besides the location's only 'official' resident, a lighthouse keeper played by Ray Stevenson, every night the place is besieged by seemingly never-ending armies of fish people - and they're not the sweet Disney Little Mermaid kind either!

So, the two men must start a fight for their lives in order to survive not just the night, but an entire year before the next boat passes by and hopefully rescue them.

I really enjoyed this to begin with. There's a real feel for the isolation of the setting and the characters are believable in their actions - at the beginning. However, as other reviewers have pointed out, the audio is terrible in places and the conversations between the two - only - characters is almost impossible to make out. It's because of this I may well have missed out some explanations of various plot points, like why one fish person seems to be nice and Ray Stevenson is okay with her living alongside them when he simply wants to wipe the rest of them off the face of the planet.

The creature effects are good and it's nice to see not too much computer-generated effects, but the movie starts to drag in places, partly because there's only really two characters and there's not an awful lot for them to do, other than fighting off wave after wave of monsters.

By the time the film comes to an end you'll kind of have guessed how it's going to play out. There's no real shockers along the way. It's an okay sort of film that was effectively a good idea, but just kind of outstayed its welcome based on the little 'story' there was to tell here.

Decently shot but that's where praises end

[mason25 · 2/10 · 4 January 2022]

Camera work wasn't bad, special effects were pretty good, but that's it. Ridiculously stupid plot, beyond wasteful moronic slave master.

It starts out with the moron stating that they have less than 2000 rounds of ammo, then they go on to use at least dozens of rounds each almost every night.... for some reason he also has hundreds of flares, and shoots one off nightly, for no reason whatsoever.

The toad people also can't seem to push open a very light bit of drop down window defenses.

The two morons clearly had some basic supplies, so why didn't they just properly barricade the doors/openings?

Read this to understand the plot holes

[naoisegoldenimdb · 6/10 · 28 May 2023]

I just created an IMDB account to be able to write this review.

I won't go into detail in terms of rating; most has been said in other reviews.

But I watched the movie just after reading the book. And I read the book because I knew about the film but wanted the reading experience first.

The book is better. No surprises here. And the movie is close to the book in that it doesn't invent much. But the book DOES explain everything and goes much, much more in depth about the motivations of the characters and the "fish people" (the Citauca) plus a few more plot lines. I quite enjoyed the book, especially for the writing style. I would not recommend the movie.

Here's the explanation I would have liked if I only saw the movie:

She's a siren. (Aneris = Sirena in Catalan). The siren has decided, just as the men, to leave her society behind and be stranded on the island. At nights, when she sings, all her people go mad after her. Gruner (Batís Caffó in the novel) is obsessed with her (the sex and violence part is much more prominent in the book) and the young man becomes also sexually and violently obsessed (omitted in the movie). You're lead to believe that Gruner is just xenophobic and mad, but what he really is is trying to have her all for himself. When he's confronted with all the pain he has caused by the young man, he sacrifices. The young man only to take his place obsessed with the siren.

I would have liked this to be more like The Lighthouse (2019). In fact, that movie is a closer experience to what reading the book is, but without the fantasy and thrill. Plot holes and acting aside, it's a good production for an European fantasy film.

Cold or hot

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 5 April 2018]

It is tough to tell how the story or the characters resonate to you (that's any other viewer out there). It's part love story, but mostly a thriller about the unknown and how to deal with it. It is about loneliness and about how to fight inner and outer demons. Quite literally at times and it really can strike a nerve. Either you get on with it or it will leave you cold.

All in all the movie is a chilling thriller with some decent effects. The acting is more than efficient and the story moves along nicely. You may have some issues with the characters involved, but that should not take anything away from the enjoyment you can have from the movie. It is not a great project but it's more than decent