(1981)
(aka. SUPERNATURAL)
Reviewed By-Devin Kelly
CAST: Cristina Galbó, Máximo Valverde, Cándida Losada,
Gerardo Mayá, Paloma Pagés, Jose Luis Barcelo, Amparo
Climent, Juan Jesús Valverde, Lola Lemos, Ramón Lillo,
Mary Leiva, Silvia Suarez, Mari Carmen Rojo
DIRECTOR: Eugenio Martín
PRODUCER: Valentín Panero
Kalender Films International/ Acuarius Films S.A. /
Paraguas Films S.A.
RUNNING TIME: 85 min. 38 seconds
VIDEO SOURCE: CIC
'IS THERE LIFE AFTER DEATH?' is the age old question pondered within the plot lines of this solid Spanish
spirit chiller from an old pro who often revisited the horror genre, here for the last time; Eugenio Martín. This would be the second of two early eighties terror tales Martín churned out for Kalender Films International, the other being the director's more unsettling AQUELLA CASA EN LAS AFUERAS (1980) (THAT HOUSE IN THE OUTSKIRTS). This film, a more standard story surrounding supernatural happenings (hence the title), is a very good watch all around, demonstrating
Martín's experience handling the genre and above
average acting from a talented cast.
Spanish scream queen, the lovely Cristina Galbó (WHAT
HAVE THEY DONE TO SOLANGE? '72, LET SLEEPING CORPSES LIE '74) here takes on one last role in a horror feature, prior to a hiatus from the film world over a six year period, before a brief comeback in 1987. In SOBRENATURAL she plays a woman named Julie who has relocated away from her possessive and domineering husband, trying to start a new life and make an attempt at new beginnings. All of this is shattered however when Julie is forced to return to her old haunts upon receiving news of a fatal car accident
involving her now estranged beau. For Julie though,
this is unknowingly only the start of a head first
dive into the unexplained.
Against the wishes of her new boyfriend Victor (Máximo Valverde), she returns home to find her ex-hubby on their former place of sleep, now his
deathbed. She is regretfully informed by the maid upon
her arrival that he has passed, and Julie goes in to
say her final goodbye's...at least to his physical
body that is. As she sits by his now forever still
frame in a dimly lit bedroom, terrifying occurrences
almost immediately begin to plague her. She looks down
to see a rotted arm reaching for her, it's greying hand grabbing at her wrist. She dashes down the stairs only to run into the arms of Victor, who shows up in time to comfort her and try and make sense of it all. Far more troubling things will be on the horizon for Julie. Who or what is behind it?
A feeling of something abnormal has now started to
overwhelm Julie as one incident after another further
prolongs the reminder of her old flame's eerie passing. To further things along into an unexplainable strangeness, a weary old medium (Cándida Losada) arrives at the house with a message from beyond, but Julie refuses to hear any more of it, dismissing the medium as perhaps a little crazy and asking her to leave the premises. Can Julie avoid the obvious forever though? Can she completely refuse the fact that ever since her husband's death things have been happening that she has no answers for?
Her new man Victor is extremely skeptical of the
whole thing, believing that her husband is still very
much alive and breathing, and is the one behind
everything happening to Julie. Only an expert of
paranormal science could truly know, and they take the
matter to a professional in the field who tells them
the only true way to tell if it's the spirit of her
husband is if his aura can be captured. This way they
can determine the authenticity of the incidents. Will
Julie find what she's looking for in this experiment,
or will her former home and previous life, now
personal hell, drive her mad and brings those around
her into danger as well?
By this time Martin had become well travelled through almost all genres, but he seemed to return to his horror roots often, and with enthusiasm. There's
nothing overly flashy here in his direction this time
around, but that's not saying it's lacking the touches of creepy atmosphere that made his earlier gems like PANICO EN EL TRANSIBERIANO (1973) (HORROR EXPRESS) so desirable to Euro-horror seekers. SOBRENATURAL would be his last foray into horror, and as a matter of fact his last feature film effort entirely until his 1995 comedy LA SAL DE LA VIDA. Following SOBRENATURAL his work was mostly on Spanish mini-series and episodic television.
The cast, as in many of Eugenio Martin's horror
pieces, is very professional. The story may be as
simplistic as basic haunted house stuff for the most
part, but it's wonderful performers like leading lady
Cristina Galbo who give the film a sense of
credibility and significance. As Julie, a woman who's
life has been thrown into a sudden whirlwind of
confusion, she has the viewer believing her bizarre
plight and at the same she doesn't overact the
situation beyond all believability. Galbo always
shined in roles like this, with still her best probably being Jorge Grau's NON SI DEVE PROFANARE IL SONNO DEI MORTI (1974) (LET SLEEPING CORPSES LIE).
She's now retired away from the acting scene and
enjoys performing for her other passion these days,
flamenco dancing. Also standing out among the
remainder of the cast are veteran actor Maximo
Valverde as Galbo's over-protective boyfriend.
Valverde's no stranger to various genres of Euro
either, popping up in everything from Jorge Grau's
PENA DE MUERTE (1973) (VIOLENT BLOOD BATH) to Tonino Ricci's BERMUDE: LA FOSSA MALDETTA (1978) (BERMUDA: CAVE OF THE SHARKS). Of praise-worthy performances to mention as well while we're at it, included should be Candida Losada (THE BOARDING SCHOOL '69) as the ghoulish medium, who features in a memorable moment with Galbo during a seance.
A couple of entertaining heart-skippers as far as
sequences go to look out for include, the flaying and
slicing of the poor elderly house maid via floating
electric carving knife, and the blink-and-you'll-miss
shot of the snarling family pooch transformed with the
face of his deceased master in place of his own wet
snout. Certainly worth sticking it out for, even if a
tad brief, more than likely due to budget constraints.
Still though, SOBRENATURAL provides some fun moments
in the end.
The Carlos Viziello score is likely to get a chuckle,
if not for the fact that's it's terrible, then definitely because it sounds more geared towards a
glam rock era science-fiction flick. Well, I guess it
works for the disco era too. The pre-credits narration is amusing in itself, with the Saturday morning cartoon-voiced narrator proclaiming about "...man's greatest adventure - DEATH!" You also kind of get used to every shot of the pre-requisite big spooky house being accompanied by what I guess is supposed to be some sort of hiss of the dead.
SOBRENATURAL isn't trying to be anything incredible
and I don't think it's right to go into it expecting
more than a well-made, slightly tame horror film,
chalked with less gore and more of a chilly quality
that many of these Spanish creepers prefer.
Interestingly enough, the film did receive a
nomination at the International Fantasy Film Awards
for best film. It may not be Eugenio Martin's finest
hour, but it's a must-see for anyone who's favored his
earlier work in the genre and a definite yes for
Cristina Galbo fans.
3 BITCH SLAPS
