Alex de la Iglesia, whose 'Witching and Bitching' I found absurdly enjoyable, joins hands with 'Cell 211' writer Jorge Guerricaechevarría (with whom he earlier collaborated on 'W&B' and 'Oxford Murders') in cooking up a fresh tale injected with adequate doses of black humor and suspense.
This is a story of a few individuals who are put through an extremely unpredictable situation that investigates the depths of so-called virtues human beings assume and opine they possess. A case of Ebola quarantining leaves a young woman (out to meet her online date), a lingerie sales agent, a retired cop, an advertising nerd, a bartender and his employer (a ballsy old lady who runs the bar), a supposedly-gentle old woman (soliciting loose change), and a scraggy homeless man all stranded inside a tawdry pub in downtown Madrid.
One of the patrons walks out into the busy street and immediately gets sniped, followed by another who attempts to help out the former. Shocked by the sudden turn of events, the remaining (alive) guests hole up inside the bar to gauge the situation and soon come to the realization that they could be (infected) victims of an epidemic. What follows is a scenario where human virtues of trust, patience and self-restraint are put to test. The homeless man frequently yells Biblical lines indirectly signifying the 'onset of the apocalypse' and lets out a wily grin every time people lash out at each other.
The way Iglesia and his co-writer builds an aura of suspense very early into the movie comes across as refreshing. The bar serves as a platform where individuals from different strata of life with varied outlooks collide resulting in squeamish consequences. It soon becomes evident that the zombie-looking corpse holds bigger secrets than anticipated. When the majority of the characters are pushed to the basement (at gunpoint, citing the reason of likely spread of infection) Iglesia cleverly asks the question of who commands who, given an intimidating weapon in hand.
Some of the escape-schemes which the characters resort to, are outlandishly far-fetched (but manage to evoke laughs nonetheless), while some don't seem to make sense at all (#1 None of the characters' phones either have coverage or enough charge at some specific point - the probability of which is unfathomable! #2 The characters do not consider widening the sewer hole when the slender young woman is forced to jump in, thereby hurting herself, but does so a little later when the plump men and old lady have to follow). The psychotic bum is the most animated of the lot and steadily contributes to the already boisterous disposition of the flick.
The writing goes a little overboard towards the climax when the action shifts to the sewer located beneath the bar. Its a cat-and- mouse game of sorts where sanity conveniently takes a backseat. The ending is a sort-of dampener too, but its pessimistically appropriate given all what transpires.
Verdict: Mostly engaging and suspenseful while it lasts, but lacking memorable moments/characters (maybe barring that hideously deranged bum!)
This is a story of a few individuals who are put through an extremely unpredictable situation that investigates the depths of so-called virtues human beings assume and opine they possess. A case of Ebola quarantining leaves a young woman (out to meet her online date), a lingerie sales agent, a retired cop, an advertising nerd, a bartender and his employer (a ballsy old lady who runs the bar), a supposedly-gentle old woman (soliciting loose change), and a scraggy homeless man all stranded inside a tawdry pub in downtown Madrid.
One of the patrons walks out into the busy street and immediately gets sniped, followed by another who attempts to help out the former. Shocked by the sudden turn of events, the remaining (alive) guests hole up inside the bar to gauge the situation and soon come to the realization that they could be (infected) victims of an epidemic. What follows is a scenario where human virtues of trust, patience and self-restraint are put to test. The homeless man frequently yells Biblical lines indirectly signifying the 'onset of the apocalypse' and lets out a wily grin every time people lash out at each other.
The way Iglesia and his co-writer builds an aura of suspense very early into the movie comes across as refreshing. The bar serves as a platform where individuals from different strata of life with varied outlooks collide resulting in squeamish consequences. It soon becomes evident that the zombie-looking corpse holds bigger secrets than anticipated. When the majority of the characters are pushed to the basement (at gunpoint, citing the reason of likely spread of infection) Iglesia cleverly asks the question of who commands who, given an intimidating weapon in hand.
Some of the escape-schemes which the characters resort to, are outlandishly far-fetched (but manage to evoke laughs nonetheless), while some don't seem to make sense at all (#1 None of the characters' phones either have coverage or enough charge at some specific point - the probability of which is unfathomable! #2 The characters do not consider widening the sewer hole when the slender young woman is forced to jump in, thereby hurting herself, but does so a little later when the plump men and old lady have to follow). The psychotic bum is the most animated of the lot and steadily contributes to the already boisterous disposition of the flick.
The writing goes a little overboard towards the climax when the action shifts to the sewer located beneath the bar. Its a cat-and- mouse game of sorts where sanity conveniently takes a backseat. The ending is a sort-of dampener too, but its pessimistically appropriate given all what transpires.
Verdict: Mostly engaging and suspenseful while it lasts, but lacking memorable moments/characters (maybe barring that hideously deranged bum!)