The Invocation of Enver Simaku

This is a very strange film. If I hadn't written down the title a while ago it would be impossible to find. Google 'Albanian horror' and it's nowhere to be seen.

It's simultaneously a tourist promotional video of Albania's beauty spots, a political protest, and a stylish horror story.

It's beautifully shot, but has some strange issues. The actors talk in English, except when they don't. Not a problem if it had subtitles and the scenes didn't go on for ten minutes.

The main actor is very serious, but also painfully monotonous. It's just a drowning noise after a while. The film also includes a genuinely creepy shot of an actresses. It just goes on and on and on. I suspect the director is a good candidate for a certain register.

The horror element is good, and actually builds towards a fairly satisfying resolution.

The fact that this film has very low ratings doesn't surprise me: in order to understand it, you need a wealth of historical knowledge that is not taken for granted. The horror plot intertwines with the recent history of Albania, of which it is necessary to have at least some notions to understand different elements of the film. The story also proceeds quite slowly, while remaining in a climate of constant anguish. Visually however it is very interesting and the acting is good. It's a raw, gritty, non-commercial horror film that evidently isn't to everyone's taste (understandably, shall we say).

In 1997 two Spanish documentary makers, couple Julien and Angela, are working in Albania. She is killed during a night of rioting. Eighteen years later he returns determined to find the truth behind his wife's death. As he, with the help of local translators, starts to investigate links to Albanian folklore emerge; people believe the killers acted after Enver, their brother who'd been in a coma for over twenty years, died. They believe Enver had been battling a possessing spirit and upon his death it took over his brothers. Julien's investigation uncovers an older investigation by a unit of the communist era's secret police that specialised in supernatural cases.

I had no idea what to expect from this film; I only watched it because I was intrigued by its Albanian setting. I'm glad I did though. It is more of a chiller than a conventional horror film. Little happens that provides sudden scares; there is just a constant sense that something isn't quite right. The fact that it takes the form of a documentary with a series of interviews gives it a sense of reality. I thought the cast did a solid job as for the most part they came across as ordinary people being interviewed rather than actors fully at ease in front of the camera. The setting is great; the impressive scenery could be from a tourist board film but the choice of music gives it an ominous feel. I liked how it incorporated Albanian folklore, a subject I admit to knowing nothing about, into the core of the story. Overall this might not be for everybody but I'd recommend it to chiller fans looking for something a little different.

Even though the film is listed as being in English I'd recommend turning on the subtitles as there are some scenes that aren't; notable one interview that takes place in Italian.

First i wouldn't call it horror, a bit creepy at best.

The movie is a documentary style story, mostly interviews and not much happening except for a few mysterious shots of creatures lurking in the shadows.

Most of the time it's in english, but some parts aren't which didn't bother me, i have subtitles on anyway.

The Invocation of Enver Simaku: Albanian Folk Horror film involving possession, Pagan Rituals, Exorcism and mass murder. 1997, Spanish documentary makers Julien & Angela are deep in rural Albania when they gear gunshots. Angela is killed by two brothers who go on to murder dozens of locals. Twenty years later Julien returned to solve the mystery of what happened. It seems to be related to the death of the brothers' older brother Enver who had been in a coma since 1978. The film is presented mostly in the form of a faux documentary, similar to the found footage style. Julien interviews various people as he traverses Albania finding evidence of an official cover up of mass deaths of children in 1978, the survivors were dispersed and those who complained were imprisoned, but not for the usual reasons. They were charged with engaging in witchcraft and sorcery, Hoxha had his own X-Files unit - the Anti-Paranormal Brigade. We hear of the Kukuth, a Pagan Demon who possesses people and devours their souls, finally escaping to inhabit others. An Orthodox Priest describes this in terms of Satanic Possession. The horror here is mostly psychological but the sense of fear, even terror builds as the narrative unfolds, Julien even seems to detect presences in his peripheral vision. Slow moving at times but well worth watching. Written and Directed by Marc Lledó Escartín. On Netflix. 7/10.