Musarañas (2014) Reviews

• Creepy and disturbing art-shocker film with original but slow direction , being compellingly produced by Alex De La Iglesia

  ma-cortes2015-09-12

  Shrew's Nest (Musarañas) is an acceptable film that exploits one woman's social insanity after being condemned to an apartment prison by her own fears . Spain , 1950s ; Montse's agoraphobia keeps her locked in a sinister apartment in Madrid and her only link to reality is her youngest sister . It deals about the tense relationship between Montse (Macarena Gómez) and her much younger sister (Nadia de Santiago), who has just turned 18 . Montse has become a stern maternal figure ; she's a fragile creature who can only exercise her authority by dispensing corporal punishment to the younger woman as she sees fit . But one day, a reckless young neighbor , Carlos (Hugo Silva) , falls down the stairwell and drags himself to their door . As Monse can't step one foot out of their apartment before collapsing in a fit of anxiety and stress . But someone has entered the shrew's nest and perhaps he'll never abandon . The picture is full of suspense , mystery , screechy bursts of violence and lots of blood and gore . Shrew's Nest (Musarañas) marvelously exploits one woman's social craziness after being locked to a flat by her own fears . The picture is a peculiar crossover of ¨Misery¨ , ¨What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?¨ and ¨Copycat¨. As this terror as well as claustrophobic flick shown to the audience gets more and more exciting . It's a slow-burn mystery that explodes like a fireworks finale once the side effects of agoraphobia transform in a wild fit of genre psychosis . This slick horror feast is a triumph of style over movie logic . It's packed with overwhelming as well as upsetting images , excessive violence and grotesque killings . The main starring suffers Agoraphobia , it mays sound silly to most, but for its victims, passing through a domicile's entryway is like a portal directly into hell, bringing on panic attacks, insurmountable fear and irrational dread – a fantastic wrench thrown into any horror film's story . Here is treated some disturbing issues such as craziness , astonishing nightmares , incest ; including eerie images and grisly killings . Good acting by Macarena Gomez , she's a fragile woman who can only exercise her authority by dispensing corporal punishment to her innocent sister well played by Nadia De Santiago . And enjoyable performance by Luis Tosar, giving an awesome acting as incestuous father . Furthermore , brief intervention by Carolina Bang , Alex De La Iglesia's wife who usually appears in his films as main star or secondary role . Thrilling and frightening musical score by Joan Valent . Colorful and evocative cinematography by Angel Amoros . The motion picture was presented at the International Film Festival 2015 in Panama , getting a great success ; being well produced but in low-budget by Alex De La Iglesia , a great expert on terror genre as proved in ¨El Dia De La Bestia¨ , ¨La Comunidad¨ , ¨Witching and bitching¨ and ¨La Habitacion Del Niño¨ , among others . And professionally directed in 22 days by Juanfer Andrés and Esteban Roel that unleash a torrent of pent-up emotions in the form of a bloody suspense thriller . It had Goya Awards 2015 , as Won Goya : Best Make-Up and Hairstyles , Nominated Goya : Best Lead Actress , Macarena Gómez and Best New Directors ; Cinema Writers Circle Awards, in which Won CEC Award , Best New Director and Won Turia Award : Best Actress Macarena Gómez .

• Oh the Guilt!

  Shadowplayed2015-05-15

  A long anticipated Spanish horror for me, with a strange name and great cast, Shrew's Nest lived up to my expectations. Spanish love residential chillers, and this one proved to be no exception. With one twist, it's centered around agoraphobic woman and her younger sister, their relationship and turmoil, which will lay foundation for grief to come. Macarena Gomez plays the role of troubled Montse, left to care and provide for her much younger sister after their parents have passed away, a bit too early. She has a severe case of agoraphobia, heightened by her overwhelming guilt which is not rooted 'in nomine patris' only but also her difficult childhood made unbearable by her strict, religious father. The father, played by ever malevolent Luis Tosar sometimes appears as a hallucination, a superego, relentless critic during Montse's attacks and crisis. Catholic upbringing, the conservative, post war 50s and Montse's strange illness are bread and butter of the story. Macarena Gomez plays the demanding role well, she is sometimes OTT but from her every move, obsession or thought her past and fixations shine through. Some might argue this is a Spanish version of Misery, misery is plentiful indeed, and indeed the main character displays some traits that are very 'out there'. The lead actress reminded me more of Bette Davis than Kathy Bates, in all honesty, as she had displayed certain mannerism but the familiar facial features as well. How do you play agoraphobic - turned psychotic, anyway? These areas of human behavior and neurotic disorders have seldom been successfully caught on film. I can name but two others, but here it serves a vessel to tell the story and paint the character's background. Montse's acting out might seem 'loco' and far-fetched. She has much bigger problems than being unable to leave the house, though, her rage and high strung personality affects her sister, 'la nina' whose name we don't get to learn, herself and everyone she comes in contact with. But suddenly, Montse meets a man, wants out, she wants love but the superego - eternal critic - has 'forbidden' her to live so she built giant coffin out of their apartment and buried herself in it. By pure chance and 'courtesy' of the nextdoor neighbor, Montse takes a glimpse at the world she has forsaken and abandoned, he reminds her of the possibility of love, desire and a will to free herself, but these new found urges come with a price: and she may be too far gone for normal life. The cinematography? Well, it is Spanish, isn't it? Only top notch visuals, and great atmosphere awaits you here. Drama - like qualities get abruptly interrupted by the violence and gore, very nice and somewhat shocking scenes get things going and escalating after a relatively slow build. This is a tale about shrews, mole - like rodents who live their life away from the spotlight and stay hidden from the public eye. And the overwhelming grief that has turned destructive for everyone involved. 'Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.'

• Gobsmacking Hispanic shocker.

  Mozjoukine2015-05-09

  It really is amazing that producer Alex de Iglesia has gotten so far without being a world celebrity film maker. This one is a quickie directed by a couple of his colleagues with unfamiliar players (Mrs. de Iglesea, the striking Carolina Bang, has a quite small part) and while it has a personality of it's own we can still see the macabre, master-crafted Iglesea style in it. We get one of his closed environments like the apartment block in LA COMUNIDAD or Resines' space ship in ACCION MUTANTE, here a flat in a fifties Spanish apartment block, which the camera never leaves. Shut in seamstress Gómez (who proves to have a scream queen background that includes a Stuart Gordon Lovecraft adaptation) terrorizes her younger sister, former child actress Nadia de Santiago, now at the age where getting out of the house to work has made her take an interest in boys. Then neighbor Silva falls down the stairs - and proves to have a secret of his own. Throw in religious fanaticism and morphine addiction. Gripping, perverse, bloody but not without rounded characters in the confusion. The great Luis Tosar is particularly imposing in his small footage. Giving us some idea of the shortness of the film critic memory a few writers have cited MISERY but no one seems to notice that it's retreading WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE.

• Misery loves company

  kosmasp2015-03-24

  I have to admit, that when I saw where this was going (you can spot the signs early on), I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I did in the end. Predictability aside, this is very well acted. It's graphic at times (with the violence), but it's what it does in your head, that is most effective. If you do love horror movies in general, then this might be one for you, otherwise the drama aspect of it, might not be enough to keep you interested. I do think they mix it up in a nice fashion, acting contributing and elevating a sort foreseeable outcome or at least direction this is heading.

• Stunning film (some implied spoilers)

  PoppyTransfusion2014-10-10

  Montse has hidden away many things, including herself, inside a run down apartment where she lives like a shrew in her nest. Her younger sister, whose name we never learn, lives with her and leads a relatively normal life under the care of Montse even though the latter is subject to rages and hallucinations. When the younger sister reaches 18 a crisis ensues in the sisters' relationship as Montse is aware that her influence over the girl is diminishing. Desperate to cling to the life she has established, the frail and violent Montse kidnaps her neighbour, Carlos, after he seeks her help following an accident. Some of the events are reminiscent of the film Misery. A stylish film that evokes the period well, the plot and reveals are predictable but the characters and the acting more than keep the film alive and engaging. Montse is played by an actress who looks as frail as her character's mental health. The younger sister is delicate but robust and Carlos is handsome and seductive. A supporting role for Luis Tosar as Montse's father is well done and Tosar lends a name to a relatively unknown cast. This film is the debut for the directors and it is a finely drawn psychological drama that borders on horror. Although the film is punctuated by moments of humour and beauty, the pathos of Montse's fate makes this a very poignant film. The reveal about Montse's relationship with her sister and the final scene underline how sad and heavy is the fate of both sisters. If you have the opportunity to see this film then take it. The film was delayed in production by Spain's financial woes. I hope these woes do not prevent the film getting international distribution.