A Seita

You're walking through an amusement park. All the rides around you look wonderfully scary and thrilling; they taunt you as you pass them, they promise something different, something new, at journey's end.

The final ride is a fiberglass pony in front of the supermarket.

That's the "Los Sin Nombre" experience. You, the viewer, watch as the protagonist follows clues to find her daughter -- a girl supposedly tortured and killed but now, 5 years later, apparently living. With the help of the detective who handled the original case, she stumbles from clue to clue and into...uh...well, it gets hazy. A cult dedicated to "synthesizing the ultimate evil" through "the final atrocity" and "mastering pain", because "evil is a key". A good idea crops up hither and yon, and gets you waiting, waiting for The Big Finish.

After some disturbing imagery, a whole lot of "Oh, yeah?" clues, some confusion as to why this guy named Toni is following Mom around, the overuse of the "choppily-edited-video-is-creepy!" effect and the introduction of a character whom we're asked to care about and then gets whacked, the final reveal arrives...and then...uh...the movie ends.

But the final reveal is so totally mundane in relation to the rest of the film as to feel as let-down, a waste of energy spent in caring how it will end.

This film is all style -- all tired, overdone style. Oooh, look, everything's bleak and cold-looking! Oooh, look, choppily-edited nightmare imagery! Oooh, look, clues on a videotape! Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Yeah, I know, I said the same thing.

"The Nameless". It's in Spanish. There's some icky stuff and some fodder for your "Call of Cthulhu" game. Your call.

Bring some coins for that pony.

All in all, a pretty creepy film. The grim, dark texture of the movie adds to its disquieting storyline. I was surprised that other comments here found this film a disappointment, or worse. As some have noted its a far bit better than a lot of the Hollywood horror that's been churned out recently. It is certainly worth a look if you enjoy a movie that seeks to build a psychological tension as opposed to constantly trying to shock the viewer with either non-stop mayhem or half witted gross-outs.

Good and unsettling Catalan terror/thriller by expert filmmaker Jaume Balaguero and based on the British novel "The Nameless" by Ramsey Campbell . More spine-tingling from the director of ¨Darkness¨ , a convincing sense of impeding dread and essential to any effective Horror-Thriller . Some years after a little girl was killed when her mummy named Claudia (Emma Villarasau) , addicted to tranquilizers , seemed to have started to recover , but a phone call once again shatters her existence : "Mummy, it's me... come and get me". Helped by an ex-cop named Massera(Karra Elejalde) and a parapsychology journalist named Quiroga (Tristan Ulloa) who is expert in the supernatural, she sets out on a desperate search for encounter her daughter . Other mysterious clues appear , indicating that the daughter is indeed still alive , and very much in risk . Later on , they discover incredible deeds : a sect of the occult with conceal things and dark secrets which rejects its own name , called ¨Nameless¨ and wishes the essence of pure evil.

The official English title is The Nameless -but the correct translation is "Los Sin Nombre", which to me is far more creepy- lives up to Jaume Balaguero's reputation . This suspenseful and frightening movie was produced by the successful Catalan producers Julio and Carlos Fernandez from Fantastic factory ; it displays relentless horror , thrills , intrigue , shocks , hard-edged drama , plot twists , creepy images and some gore when crime takes place . Director Jaume Balagueró (Rec, Rec 2, Fragiles , Darkness and the recent "while you sleep" or Mientras Duermes) uses that uneasy non-knowledge for both horror and occultism , introducing brief psychological observations . Interesting writing credits by the same director/writer Balaguero based on a story by Ramsey Campbell . ¨Nameless¨ is a motion picture that balances precariously over the terror and occultism . The overall result is chilling proof that Balagueró can take a little budget while delivering a completely different scare . Extraordinary performance by Emma Villarasau , she plays a real tour-de-force in one of his best acting of his career as a solitary and unhappy mother , unsettling for past records and disturbing future . Furthermore , excellent Karra Elejalde as a run-down ex-'policeman . The picture packs a thrilling and intriguing musical score by Carles Cases . Furthermore , a cold and appropriate cinematography by Xavi Gimenez , Balaguero's usual .

'The Nameless' demonstrates director Balagueró's versatility , resulting to be a sublime thriller that every genre buff should be excited for . Rating : Good , better than average . The movie will appeal to thriller and terror fans . Worthwhile watching .

I saw this film a few years back and have been a supporter of Balaguero ever since! It starts on a very disturbing note and then constantly pushes and pushes your buttons. I can only compare it to being on a torture rack and in pain from the start only to have the cogs turned constantly and very slowly increasing my agony for every minute of my time spent on it until i reach my limit only to realise that the end is SO much nastier now that they have stopped turning the cogs that a totally unforseen pain and agony is about to hit me just when i thought it was over! The tension levels are very slowly but expertly cranked up throughout this film from the opening moments until the very end...and even THEN the cruelest of climaxes awaits us. I have read comments about the ending to this film that do not do it justice or feel that it does not work. I cannot understand or share that viewpoint. Any such accusations levelled at this film are lacking. The climax is simple, yet one of the most intelligent, psychologically perverse, emotion-shredding and horrible (without resorting to blood) ever commited to celluloid. On it's own it would pack a seriously intense punch...but as the climax/pay-off/culmination of such a profoundly creepy film it is downright cruel and disturbing and a fitting finale to a soul-destroying film... Balaguero's style has been disregarded by some as too similar to that of David Fincher. Well, the similarities in LOOK are there but style isn't based on cinematography alone. The film is a beautifully dark, stylish, polished affair with menace in the shadows, angst around every corner and terror on the horizon. Dread and evil have not been portrayed this vividly for a long, long time...

And it did not disappoint. Nice, creepy movie that doesn't rely on much violence, only the mentioning of it. Just listening to the characters speak of the nameless' penchant for torture was enough to force me to see this with the lights on. This movie and "Thesis" whet my appetite for more Spanish horror films.