Mal Nosso

A middle-aged bold man called Arthur watches a snuff video on the dark web, a bound woman is scalped then shot in the dead. Not pleasant but this certainly started off strongly. Arthur then meets up with Charles the killer in a bar to arrange a hit. Arthur goes home, meanwhile Charlie picks up two lesbian hookers, takes them home and kills them. No spoilers but when Charles carries out his hit it is a real curve-ball (plus a good jump scare), how he manages to shoot two people in the head sat at an indoor table when he is outside is another matter. From now on it gets weird. And boring, the film is very talky and whilst I don't speak Portuguese the acting is poor. I bought this DVD (thankfully cheaply) partly because I liked the sleeve artwork featuring a demonic figure in silhouette, sadly the demon in the film looks terrible. As does a clown who is some kind of supernatural mentor (?) to Arthur. The film did start off reasonably interesting but what then follows is slow, boring and very confusing. I hated it.

This is one of the most violent movies I have ever watched. Then, if you are unpleased with vile gore, do no watch it. That does not mean I did not like the film. Indeed, if you deal well with exploitation footage and like horror genre, you will notice that this Brazilian independent film is a gem. With at least four different segments, which complement the previous either as a sequence or as a flashback, the movie transits through various horror subgenres, always with skillful technical outcomes. The first is the most brutal and hard to watch: it is the realistic and gory, in the mondo cane style, but obviously being a slasher. Then, the film becomes quite different, with many supernatural elements, sometimes oneiric ones. Both plot twists do surpise, but prepare espectator in opposite ways. The psychopath sadist killer is one of the most evil characters I have seen in cinema, but he is just a human. At least two others are archetypal figures, and they guide the main character in his quest... in mysterious ways...

This was a film I really didn't know much about, but saw the trailer at my local theater a couple times. I decided when I saw it was showing to check it out and see what it was all about. The synopsis is a man with spiritualist powers is told by his mentor that a demonic entity is returning to destroy his daughter's soul, and that he should take drastic measures to prevent this from happening.

We start off with a man getting up and coming out of a bedroom. He is Arthur (Ademir Esteves). He gets on to a computer and watches a horrific video of a hitman killing a woman. He reaches out to this person to have him kill someone for him.

The two meet at a club and the other man is Charles (Ricardo Casella). They get a table and go over the arrangement, with Arthur paying half up front. He gives a flash drive that provides who the victim is and how to receive the rest of the payment. Charles then turns his attention to two young women. They also come to an agreement to sleep with him and for a place to stay. We see how truly how evil he is though.

We then shift to the home of Arthur. There is his daughter, Michele's (Luara Pepita). He bakes a cake as it is her birthday. There is a shocking conclusion to their party though.

The film then takes a turn though showing us Arthur when he was younger. This version is played by Fernando Cardoso. He has the ability to speak to the dead, but it is driving him insane. He has an interaction with a Clown (Antony Mello) that changes his life and puts him on the path that he has went down. The question is though, how does this all tie in with the events of the birthday party and what happens with Charles.

Now for this review, I did decide to go a little bit vague to not spoil it. I will admit though, up until we go back into time, I was really questioning if this was a horror film. We do get the video of what Charles did and that was pretty horrific, but it wasn't until we see that Arthur can speak to the dead that we really get those elements. I did really like that turn though. I also like that everything in this film comes full circle and makes a lot of sense. It really embodies the concept of karma and you reap what you sow.

The elements with the ghosts were pretty creepy. It is also driving young Arthur to want to kill himself. He can't handle what he is seeing and he doesn't know why he is cursed. I really like the talk that the Clown has with him to realize that what he is dealing with isn't a curse, but a gift. This is very similar to The Sixth Sense in that he can help these people to actually rest.

Another story element I wanted to talk about was Charles. I read somewhere that he is a hitman and an amateur serial killer. He exudes such confidence that at first, I was sucked into his charisma. It is crazy how easy though he just murders these two young women and what he does in the video as well. I really like that the film wants you to despise this man. This blends over a bit to Arthur as it makes you question why he reaches out to him, but when you see the outcome it is hard to hate him.

This brings me to the pacing of the film, which is where I had problems. I thought the structure of the story and how things are presented was good. It gives us an impression of both Arthur and Charles, but then turns it on its head as their true past and history is revealed. I can dig that. The problem though was that the film was a bit boring. I can't really put my finger on what it is, but is just drags at times. I do like the elements and how it ends though.

Something else that is surprising though is how good the acting is. Esteves is really good as the older Arthur. I like his portrayal and in the end, you see that he has been through some things. I do have to commend Cardoso though for the younger version more. Seeing the stress he is under and what his gift was pushing him to. It really explains the two characters. Casella I thought was fine as well in his role. He is such a horrible human being so I have to give him credit for getting a reaction out of me. I thought Pepita was cute and I really felt bad for what happened to her. It all makes sense in the end though. I thought all those that played ghosts and the rest of the cast rounded out the film for what was needed.

I have been excited to talk about the effects, because I think everything was done practically. I absolutely love that they went this route. The make up on the ghosts, showing how they died were great. There are some pretty violent death scenes in this film that have such realism to them. There is even a demon that is credited as Evils (Walderrama Dos Santos) and I liked how they made him look as well. The film is shot very well and I liked the art that was in the background of scenes. I did recognize The Shining painting and there were some red lights that were reminiscent of Suspiria.

The final thing to cover would be the soundtrack of the film. There are quite a few different types of music in the film, but it all worked for me. There is ambient music as well as songs that are there to just build the tension of the scenes. To be honest, this would be a score I would seek out to write to.

Now with that said, this is a film that I liked some aspects, but others not so much. I like the concept and the story to the film. I especially like how it is structured to reveal everything to us. The acting was solid and the effects of the film were great. I also thought that the soundtrack of the film definitely adds an element that was needed for the film. The big issue I had was the pacing of the film. It just felt to be off and I was bored at times. Overall though, I would say that this film is above average and worth a viewing. I will warn you thought that it is from Brazil and I had to watch it with subtitles on. If you are into ghost, possession and films with aspects of karma, I would give it a viewing though.

This movie had me on the edge of my seat! ( for the first 45 mins). Then it took a dive for the worse. It completely falls apart and becomes another movie. I didnt like the second half at all and I believe this could have been way better. Once again i don't write spoilers so i wont get into the aspect of the movie. I recommend this film without a doubt, But if you make a horror movie stick to horror dont jump all over the place with drama. I wont watch this again.

From what I saw in the trailer, the movie looked like a terror, like many others. But the script surprised me, there was a reason for things to happen and most of the film is a drama. A choice that can change lives and save people. There are parts of the movie that are kind of gore, but I can only remember two or three extremely violent scenes. I liked the script.