23/27
A short spell
A child follows Emma on her journey to learn how to communicate with the spirit of a girl, Uxoa, who has been trapped for centuries in a hermit's hut, so she tries to get Carol, a skeptical psychic, to help her. A suspenseful, scary, melancholic, suffocating fantasy thriller with hints of a ghost story. A supernatural thriller full of scary action, suspense, chills and a lot of scares; Some are, however, confusing and inexplicable, the causes of some terrible events are never well explained. The film presents a fictional story of the social reality that plagues a small town. It begins with a seemingly historical prologue about a plague, a chapel where the sick are confined, and a regiment of beaked birds, but it is a recreation of the small town's annual celebration, when the chapel, believed to be haunted by little Uxoa, is opened.
A thrilling, mysterious film, full of suspense, thrills, chills, red herrings, creepy twists
The child follows Emma (Maia Zaitegi) to learn how to communicate with a girl, Uxoa, who has been trapped in a hermit's cave for centuries, so she tries to get Carol (Belén Rueda), a skeptic and pseudo-psychic, to help her. The latter is literally scarred from her childhood when her real-life medium mother seemed more interested in the ghost of a local little girl than her own daughter. It's a worthy and worthy film, with plenty of not-always-sympathetic, deeply human and relatable protagonists. . It's a haunting film, with a disturbing sense of terror and an ominous atmosphere as threatening creatures appear.
It fades as the recording progresses, preventing us from talking about a gem like 'Cerdita'
The mystery begins to unfold step by step until the surprising finale, a sentimental ghost story with serious, dreamy tones similar to "The Orphanage" or "Pan's Labyrinth", but with a typical female focus. It is a gripping drama whose interest wanes as the tiresome accumulation of supposedly frightening elements increases. Although ¨La Ermita ¨Cerdita¨¨ focuses solely on terror, many things confirm Pereda as a key figure in the current horror and fantasy genre. One is his first foray into genre cinema: he does not hesitate to bet on fantasy, adding personal drama. Despite this, Pereda manages to make a film that is more than worthy, but weaker than the previous one.
la colmena (The Spirit of the Beehive)
Pereda is a passionate lover of the Gothic, he enjoys the trappings of Spanish horror, although he does not really make a horror film. It became a decent and decent film, but not remarkable. In the lead roles, Belén Rueda gives a beautiful acting performance in her usual style, an actress expert in mystery and horror films such as The Eyes of Julian, The Orphanage, No dormirás, Durante la tormenta, The Pact, Orbita 9 and The Body. In fact, Belén Rueda is the closest Spain has to a horror heroine or a "Scream Queen", and alongside her is the excellent prodigy Maia Zaitegi, who recalls the young Ana Torrent in Cria Cuervos or El espiritu dessa. The film Professionally directed by Carlota Pereda, who is clearly a talented writer and filmmaker.
A women's drama with a similar tone to the genre, this is another solid showcase of Pereda's talent
Winner of the 2023 Sitges Film Festival Official Film Section (out of competition) and the 2023 Goya Award (Spain): nominated for Best Special Effects. Her first film was the much better ¨Cerdita¨, based on the Goya Award winner for Best Short Film, Carlota Pereda, winner of the 2018 Goya Award for Best Short Film, starring Laura Galán. . Rating: 5.5/10.