Musarañas

Macarena Gómez is astounding as Montse, the agoraphobic seamstress who has been taking care of her younger sister since their parents died. One day, a man who lives above them falls down the stairs and can't move. Montse takes him in, but grows so enamored with him that she makes sure he'll never leave.

Shrew's Nest borrows a little bit from Misery and a bit from melodramatic gothic stories of family secrets and crazy old spinsters going haywire, but it's incredibly well made and the acting, especially by Gomez, is phenomenal. Patient viewers will be rewarded with an all-out gore fest during the film's finale.

Although this is a bit of a copy of the Stephen King book and movie Misery it does it in spades and illustrates the quality of horror / thriller / drama that Spain has always produced and still continues to while Hollywood just bashes out the same old regurgitated plots and remakes and the UK cannot make anything worthwhile anymore either.

The main thing that puts this head and shoulders above other films is the utterly magnificent acting from Macarena Gomez not to mention all of the cast who are superb. Then we stir in the excellent makeup effects, camerawork and direction and you have simply everything coming together to make a worthwhile nights watch which is a rare thing these days!

Whilst it may not be that original in story it is a refreshing and utterly horrifying true horror movie - Instead of feeling revulsion you actually feel sorry for the Shrew herself and the dreadful life she has had - The director has excelled in evoking emotion from the audience and if a film can do this then its a good one in my view.

I give this one a full 7.5 hatchets!

Plot is centered about agoraphobia of the main character. She cant get out of house, but beware she wont let you leave the house too.

Some fine acting and tight script never let u off the hook. Go for it.

And agoraphobia is the least of them.

This movie is worth watching just for Macarena Gómez's performance alone. Such an actress! Others in the cast pulled their weight as well. Some critics are dissing Hugo Silva, but an actor can only do so much when his or her onscreen time mostly involves just lying prone in a bed. Silva did fine in scenes when his character was more or less mobile.

Clearly this is a horror movie, but it has a low key comedic element as well. Only someone with Gomez's talent, and that of the director who turned her loose, could get away with the 'shenanigans' she portrayed (as Montse) and not have the audience simply shrug off the show as a silly slasher flick.

For those interested in making a low budget indie movie themselves someday, note how practically all the scenes took place in one apartment. Far less expense dealing with lighting, weather, set up time, transportation, etc. Lots of movies use one or two indoor sets for the same reason, but they rarely even approach the same energy level as Musarañas, aka Shrew's Nest.

It has an inventive plot that keeps you on your toes, sharing some beats with Misery, but never feeling derivative. It's slow build brings depth to the character's before erupting into disturbing violence. Most remarkable though is the clever way that the character of Montse becomes both the protagonist and antagonist as the film flops between humanizing and demonizing her. Macarena Gómez masterfully embodies this dichotomy, playing on the edge of sympathetic and loathsome. The disturbing twists continue up till the very end making for a very compelling ride.