Hierro

Fantastic score, beautiful cinematography and good acting by Elena Anaya - all ruined by a bad script.

The score carries some similarities to "The Machinist" (the composer here was the orchestrator on the latter), including what sounded to me like a Theramin - and was simply too good for this film. At one point it sounds very similar to Mozart's Requiem. Together with the cinematography, it reminded me of the atmosphere of "The Machinist".

The only thing I didn't like about the cinematography is the use of digital camera, which was very obvious in numerous points throughout the movie.

El Hierro is (compared to Tenerife or Gran Canaria) a less known and much less populated island in the Canary Islands. This movie tells the story of a woman who loses her 5 year old son on a ferry trip to that island. The police search leads to no result. Later she finds that her son was not the only kid who is missing, and she begins her own investigation if anyone is abducting children maybe?

I got hold of this Blu-ray rather accidentally (in a 'buy two, get one free' deal), which proves that sometimes the best things are for free. This is a recommendable little thriller, deliberately keeping the story simple, so it can put the emphasis on atmosphere and pictures. Having been to the Canary Islands several times, I'm surprised one can shoot such a dark picture in these sunny places. 'Hierro' is about the fear and anxiety of its main character, so we are talking about psychological thrills here and not a maniac with an axe. The makers put El Hierro to great use insofar as you can run for miles without meeting anyone. Talking of running: Horror movie fans should go elsewhere, but anyone who likes a tasteful dark movie with style, give it a try.

A very underrated movie. This movie is good, the acting is terrific as well as the photography. The script is a descent one with a twist that works perfectly well, I don't see the so called evident predictability at all. And most of the complaints here are based also in that same old mantra: it's a slow paced movie. It seems that the Hollywood followers need one more century to realize the difference between art and fast food, not to mention the "lack of gore" and all the horror paraphernalia that they want to see all the time. Very good movie, intriguing, touching, visually beautiful. I hope the director doesn't pay too much attention to the unfair reviews here this time and move forward with contentment. Very well done.

The disappearance of a child is a subject which was often filmed ;in the last decade ,"flightplan" and " changeling" come to mind .And ,as Michelangelo Antonioni showed in "L'Avventura" ,an island is the ideal place to locate such a story,although his was a desert one.People living on an island are often (if you go by what the screenwriters write,of course,so islanders ,please ,don't feel offended! ) places where the inhabitants are bizarre,hostile and do not like strangers .

"Hierro" is not like the two other American movies :it is a story of paranoia ,in which reality and nightmare collide.When the heroine is in the mortuary ,the audience sides with her and anyway who could accept such a thing:the death of your only child ?Even the police seem suspect ,even the young one who wants to lend a helping hand.This is a slow-moving story,a wandering across splendid but gloomy landscapes, a wandering in the recesses of her mind too for this is primarily a psychological drama . A bit confused, but a laudable attempt.

There are quite a few good movies from Spain, covering the horror thriller. This one starts really good and has awesome cinematography and really good actors. Still in the end, it doesn't completely deliver on the premise.

One of the main problems being, that it too foreseeable, but still tries to build upon a twist, that you can see coming a long way, before it actually gets revealed in the movie. The hints are there of course and it is pretty nicely done. Maybe if this is your very first thriller, you might be a bit more excited. But all in all, you can watch this, just be patient with the movie and enjoy it's setting and the "view".