Bosque de sombras

If you've ever been in the middle of taking an exam which requires you to write an essay of which you're fully prepared for but test time runs out before you can complete your thoughts and put them down on paper, that's how you'll feel when this movie ends. I just wanted that little extra something that was missing. It had tension that felt very real and fine acting, especially oldman, and had a constant upbeat pulse throughout the film that kept me interested. But it was a mad dash towards what I hoped would've been an incredible ending but leaves me "out in the rain". Definitely worth a look-see though. Not nearly as bad as what I've been reading.

A movie dealing with outsiders stuck out in an inhospitable bucolic nightmare. Definitely a paced and concentrated mix of tension and violence.Hostility sticks out all over this film and the performances are superb. This is a well worked trope but it doesn't matter. Highly recommended if you are keen on things like HAUTE TENSION, WOLF CREEK , SHY PEOPLE or DELIVERANCE. Gary Oldman,who has a great track record and versatility not matched does a grand job here.Probably one of his best roles to date. The villains are a sinister bunch of hill-folk,hints are made in reference to inbreeding and unspeakable acts but all is understated.A climate of violence prevails but does not descend into cartoon-like nonsense ala Tarantino(not knocking Mr T.). Rural Spanish Gothic.

Okay, we all know the plot of a movie like this. Some sophisticated city folk go out to the country and are set upon by local inbreds who proceed to rape and kill them.

They retroed the movie to 1978, because if set today, the heroes would call for help on their cell phones and the story would be over.

This movie also had the worst set of fake and bad accents I've seen. Besides Gary Oldman effecting a British accent, we have the two women, whom you can barely understand. (Fortunately, the direct to DVD release has subtitles.

The movie is ponderously slow. The story is unoriginal and you don't really like the characters.

Saw this at a film festival in Dublin recently and really enjoyed it. The film is an obvious homage to Peckinpah, right from the opening credits. I thought it was very well shot, the film looks great in widescreen photography. There is a nice ominous atmosphere captured by the director and a real 70's feel to the film. There is also a very good cast, it got me thinking, how did a small Spainsh film attract such good actors? The one complaint I would have is that the script was lacking a bit. The dialogue felt a bit forced, almost as it if was translated from Spanish and then when spoken in English it seemed to be missing something in the translation. It just did not come across as believable at times. On the whole though there were far more positives than negatives and I would recommend this film to fans of genre cinema

Two Englishmen and their girlfriends go on holiday to a remote area of Spain, there one of them, Paul (Gary Oldman), has bought his Spanish grandmothers old house and hopes to settle down there permanently. His friend Norman (Paddy Considine) is having relationship problems with his French girlfriend after they lost a baby and they all hope this trip will settle some issues. While out hunting on their first morning in their house, Paul and Norman get lost in the forest and stumble across what seems to be an abandoned house, they enter and find a young girl that is being held there. They bring her back to their own house and clean her up, once there they become conflicted as to what they should do, this is where their problems begin.

The film is set in the 1970's and has obviously been influenced by films from that era like Deliverance or Straw Dogs combined perhaps with Calvaire, this all provides an immediate ambiance and sense of menace, one that I like and I knew early on I would enjoy it. Two giants of the British screen, Oldman and Considine add immensely to their characters, Paul is brash and confident, Norman is withdrawn and quiet. Their development when things go wrong is always interesting. If I have any criticisms its perhaps the ending can be seen coming, but its still fun getting there, Virginie Ledoyen is also a little wooden, though that may be down to speaking in English. The cast of Spanish locals is also excellent and well chosen, each one has that lived in face that suits that inbred feel. You'll have no problem believing these guys are capable of murder and rape. If there's one message to be gained from this film, its "Don't mess with the locals".