Filipe Manuel Neto
9
By Filipe Manuel Neto
**A good psychological horror movie.**
For me, the only good thing about Halloween is the amount of horror movies on television. The Anglo-Saxon reader, don't get me wrong, I know it's a tradition very dear to the Americans and the British, and I respect that, in the same way I respect Dia de Los Muertos. But in my country, this tradition is non-existent. I only started hearing about it fifteen years ago, due to an irresistible alliance between commerce (always interested in selling trinkets and masks left over from Carnival) and the weight of globalization, which turns cultural variety into a homogeneous, tasteless soup. What we have in my country is just the Catholic celebration of All Saints and, the next day, the religious feast of the deceased, with the traditional pilgrimage to the cemeteries. For those who are not Christian or have no one dear in the cemetery, maybe these are days like any other. But let's get down to business!
As you can see, I saw this movie for Halloween, and I really liked what I saw. Despite the presence of Sérgio Sánchez, who signs the script and guarantees impeccable direction, and despite having been filmed and produced in Spain, the film features English-speaking actors and the entire story takes place in the United States. The script begins with the arrival of a mother, with her children, to her family home, which has been closed for a long time. It's clear from the start that they are on the run and hiding from an abusive husband/father left in Europe. Everything goes well until the mother's death, who leaves the children in the care of the eldest. From then on, they try to hide her death until he turns 21, the age from which he will be entitled to be the brothers' legal guardian, thus ensuring that they all remain together.
There's so much more to the script, it's not just a family melodrama about close-knit brothers and the dangers of an abusive father. Terror is very present in the remains of that decrepit house, where something else is present, and a dark secret hidden somewhere on the upper floor, totally inaccessible. The young orphans' relationship with Allie, their closest neighbor, and with a lawyer from the nearby town, will be the impetus for new developments, which will lead us to know more about the young people, and what really exists in that isolated house. The film is full of twists, and some of them surprised me a little.
George MacKay is the great protagonist of the film and gives us a truly superb, deep and sometimes disturbing interpretation. Despite the quality of the cast, in general, being good, he stands out from the others and steals our attention whenever he appears. Charlie Heaton is another good addition, and especially shines in the scenes where he plays with MacKay, in particular in his various conflicts. Tom Fisher is quite effective as a villain, even though he is not happy with his character, stripped of any depth and turned into a mad beast, a closet monster determined to eat little children. Anya Taylor-Joy was a nice and effective addition, but it has very little to do.
Technically, the film relies heavily on cinematography, filming locations, sound effects and set design. The cinematography takes advantage of the cold colors and misty days, as well as the dim light from the interiors of the house, and from the lit candles, to help create a tense and suitably somber atmosphere, which is thickened by the sound effects, very well used, and by the scenery of the country house, aged and in need of works. The house is transformed, as in other scary house movies, into an additional character in the plot, with its own personality and its own history and quirks. The choice of costumes and cars puts us in tune with the time when everything happens (the 50s). However, it lacks an effective and truly memorable soundtrack.
