Thursday, October 01, 2015

31 Days of Halloween - Day 1 - Movie 2




Strange goings on plague a family living in a house with a troubled past. Apparitions appear, warnings are given, and terrible consequences are brought upon the family members. It's difficult to give a proper synopsis to La casa del fin de los tiempos/The House at the End of Time (2013) without entering spoiler territory, though I was able to figure out what was going on from the first depiction of apparitions shaking the door handles to be let in. 

I found the film really frustrating. On the one hand, it's really good, with some nice atmosphere, nice structure that leaps back and forth from the present to a time 30 years ago. and solid performances. Every time I felt sure that the movie was really good, something subtle would happen and I'd feel like I was watching a play, or an after school special. There seemed to be a bit of a disconnect between scenes filled with tension and the possibility of a threat, and those that didn't. Even the score would become distractingly playful while the two boys in the family were out playing with their friends. Also, for me, the solution to what was happening was too apparent, and while it wasn't badly conceived, my awareness of it kept me from being pulled into the mindset of the characters who didn't know what was happening. 

For me, it was a mixed bag, but there is enough positive material going on in La casa del fin de los tiempos, that I think you should view it yourself and draw your own conclusions. 







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