(2005/SPAIN)
AKA-THE UNCERTAIN GUEST
REVIEW BY-STEVE GENIER DIRECTED BY-GUILLEM MORALES CAST-ANDONI GRACIA, MONICA LOPEZ, FRANCESC, AGUSTI VILLARONGA and MINNI MARX. SOURCE-DEAPLANTA HOME ENTERTAINMENT DVD (SPAIN / PAL REGION 2 / 90MINS / 2006)This is the reason why you must look outside the Hollywood box to find a well craved movie. A film that really seems original and will hold your attention for the full ride. The Spanish thriller EL HABIANTE INCIERTO is but one example of how the Spanish film market is doing just that. Loosely translated the title mean THE UNCERTAIN GUEST, a film that really has your attention full force. Tapping you inside the mind of a situation that can happen to anyone of us. A situation where you might answer your door one day and have a stranger looking to use your phone for an emergency. Felix, the main cast character of EL HABIANTE INCIERTO, answers his door and finds just that. Letting him in and waiting patiently in the kitchen while the stranger makes his call. As he grows tired of waiting he goes to see if the stranger is finished, only to find him gone or is he.
Recently split from his long time girlfriend, Vira. He’s an architect living in a huge home all by himself. Of course this latest event with the stranger disappearing has his mind in over drive. Did the stranger really leave or is he in the house somewhere. This thinking escalates as he starts hearing mysterious noise from within the house. Searching it and finding nothing, yet the noises continue. Director Guillem Morales gives us the ultimate fear test as a viewer, making ever scene and ever corner filled with complete tension. Really driving you to the brink of complete insanity, something that Felix must deal with himself. As the story unfolds so does his clear vision. Felix becomes so paranoid he becomes a prisoner in his own home. Sleeping in the car in the garage etc. Then as his neighbor’s dog comes scratching at the dog, he allows the dog in to sniff out the intruder only to have both the dog and the dog owner killed by a freak accident landing him down at the cop station for questioning. Upon his release, he steals a gun fro protection and returns home. There, he hears the noises again and tracks down where they are coming from, shooting a shadow, hearing a grunt and locking the door behind him.
He leaves the house securing it so the stranger can’t leave, hoping he dies from the gunshot wounds. Sleeping in his car, awaking to children talking, he notices that they are looking at the sketch drawing of the stranger Felix had throw out the window of the car. They show him where the stranger lives. Now this is where the story gets very weird, yet very intriguing. He sneaks into the strangers home and waits until the stranger’s wife comes home, a dead ringer of Felix’s girlfriend Vera. Paralyzed and wheelchair bound, Claudia is frantic as her husband has not been home in a few day. Felix decides to lurk around the house much like the stranger did at his house. The rest is up to you to see as it’s getting into major spoiler territory.
EL HABIANTE INCIERTO is a brilliant Hitchcock like thriller, holding your every nerve. Only letting go when the time and the tension climaxes. Both cinematography and lighting are key aspects that Morales uses to heighten and twist the viewers emotions. Yet, throughout the tension and utter suspense, Morales brings in a sliver of dark humor or little hearted moments to easy the fray. Of course that easing is only momentarily as the tension sneaks back up and bites you when least expecting it. This is also helped with the wonderful casting and his direction of the cast. Both main roles are flawless, executing each scene with easy. Andoni Garcia (Felix) is superb as the frantic architect battling the haunting of being alone in a big house. Going from a pure neat freak, to braking down and almost succumbing to the edge of sanity. Or does he, one would argue that his emulation of the stranger would be the other side of his sanity. Monica Lopez (Vera/Claudia) is also great in the duo roles of Vera and the strangers wife Claudia. The stranger thing about this film though, is with the duo roles here, one would suspect that Felix is in fact lost it and is gone into some slipped reality. Of course the last 30 minutes or so pretty much sums up that all and more as there is quite the twist of an ender indeed.
This of course is yet another great Spanish thriller or foreign film that is yet to see a Region 1 NTSC release. No worries there though if you are multi-region, the main feature is enough to grab this disc. Presented in a beautiful anamorphic widescreen, which is in due part very dark, that of course is the actual lighting to the film. Haunting stuff indeed. The audio is in it’s original Spanish language with a 5.1 Dolby Digital track accompanied by removable English subtitles. Now of course the extras on the disc are all in Spanish only, but at still interesting to watch. The trailers, the making of and filmographies as well. So, until there’s a region 1 release which could be years down the road, this is certainly the disc to grab and a great selection as this film come highly recommended.
STORY/FILM-4.5/5 BITCH SLAPS PICTURE-4.5/5 BITCH SLAPS AUDIO-4/5 BITCH SLAPS EXTRAS-2.5/5 BITCH SLAPS OVERALL DVD-3.5/5 BITCH SLAPS purchase this From X-Ploited Cinema
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