A married couple lose their children while on a family trip near some caves in Tijuana. The kids eventually reappear without explanation, but it becomes clear that they are not who they used to be, that something terrifying has changed them.
This is the tenth film from Spanish director Adrián García Bogliano, but likely the first one that will be widely seen by Americans (thanks to it streaming on Netflix). The only other bit we have seen of his work thus far is in the "ABCs of Death" (he had B). And yet, Bogliano is only 33, so a great many things are ahead of him -- onward and upward! Lest you thought this was going to be a fun, kid-friendly film, the opening shot is a fairly explicit lesbian sex scene. And while it never quite hits that mark again, it sets a tone that is easily maintained throughout. If this is not something you care to see, turn it off now.
When watching, keep in mind that Bogliano is influenced by 1970s and 80s exploitation and sleaze, something that ought to lend itself to excellent visuals, not unlike Ti West's embrace of the same era. He specifically has called attention to Nicolas Roeg's "Don't Look Now", a horror classic and a great film in its own right. Does Bogliano live up to his Roeg influence? Perhaps. It would not be fair to say he has become the master, but he is nothing if not an excellent pupil.
My colleague Richard Ostrom has called the film "delectably demented", as well as "moody and unapologetically graphic". Not only is he the master of the apt adjective, but he's also spot on. The film is saturated with a sexuality that dangerously walks the line between erotic and pornographic, both in its imagery and its sensuality. There is plenty of blood, too, but this actually gets overshadowed by the sex -- something not completely foreign to horror, but on a whole new level here.
Jen Chaney, writing on Roger Ebert's website, gives the opposing view, offering the film only one star. She writes that Bogliano lacks sophistication and deems the movie "a 98-minute mess with misogynistic undertones", pointing out the film's questionable obsession with female sexuality. She raises a good point, and an interesting one, but her low rating is overall unfair. With the endless parade of rubbish that passes for horror, this is more than a one star film. Love it or hate it, it is the type of film that gets people talking.
