A very bleak home invasion thriller!
Ok, here is a genre that I have not yet covered. I guess you could compare this most to The Strangers, but it's much more raw than that...and maybe more artistic. This is one of those, bad things happen to innocent people type of movies, where you just know it's going to end up badly. The problem is that you don't know how you would respond in a situation like this, there is no way to know. Maybe some of the things that people do in this film are dumb things, or not thought out. But, could you really trust these kind of thugs to do what they say they are going to do? It's an unsettling question and it fits the tone of this film.
The plot is very simple. It's a home invasion movie, where the victims do anything they can to survive. Man, the opening scene in this movie is really jarring. It's a guy on the ground with a plastic bag over his head...we see this still shot for what lasts 2 or 3 minutes....and then he breathes or tries to...and gets to his feet and stumbles right into the freeway and gets hit by a car. This sets the stage for the horror you are about to witness...and a lot of it is very horrific indeed. Jamie (Fernando Cayo) has just moved into his new home with his wife Marta (Ana Wagener) and daughter Ilsa (Manuella Velles). They are all ready to eat dinner in their house when 3 masked men smash in the glass door behind them and take them hostage. They are terrorized and told to give their credit cards and cell phones and nothing will happen to them. And then Jamie has to go with one of them to ATM's to get money out, while they hold his daughter and mom hostage.
This would not be that bad, except one of the kidnappers is more than a little crazy and loves to do his own thing. We also have a sympathetic member, that tries to stop things when they get a little too crazy. I mean there is really not much to say here. We are treated to scenes of the two women trying to escape and paying for this in various ways...and their friends have to suffer too. Some of this is very disturbing to say the least...they really don't hold back. And it really boils down to desperation, what would you do to survive. You witness just what, all the way to the terrifying conclusion. This is not a happy movie folks, or a feel good film. It's dark and gritty and unashamedly violent. And takes place in real-time.
I have to say the acting in this is quite good. Both actresses really are able to convey horror well...and Jamie looks desperate in trying to figure out how he is going to save his family. Also, there is a way of shooting this film where we see split screen a lot of the time and at pivotal moments. Things going on with Jamie and his gun toting driver, are split with the horrors going on in Jamie's household. This is really effective, as some scenes and the duality of the horrors are simultaneous at different places. There is no music in this, so that helps it feel more realistic. Hearing footsteps pounding down the hall, or hearing the banging of a door to get Isa to open the bathroom are horrific against her hysterical sobbing...looking for anything to defend herself or cause harm. And in one of the films most shocking scenes, she does exact brutal, bloody vengeance. But is it any worse than what has been done to her? Probably not.
I feel like this film is effective for what it is, and the ending is truly shocking. You won't be smiling that's for sure. Well acted and imaginatively directed...this is horror that we all fear and can relate too. Being captive and hoping that you can get out alive. The crazy thug really ratchets up tension and his quarrels with the more understanding one make for an interesting dynamic. It makes you wonder what the original plan was, and how it went so far south. Brutal and chilling, this is an unnerving look at people being reduced to their most animalistic to try to survive.
8 out of 10
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