At the End of the Spectra, Colombian Supernatural Thriller (Movie Review)

Frak, this TV doesn't have cable.

Al final del espectro (At the End of the Spectra) is a 2006 Colombian thriller set to be remade in the U.S. in 2010. If you like movies similar to the Japanese version of The Ring, you’ll enjoy this film. I’m not sure Espectro (Spectrum or ghost) needs to be remade, but I do like that the same young Colombian director Juan Felipe Orozco will direct the Hollywood version. It is set to star Nicole Kidman in the main role, so this is great Hollywood exposure for Orozco. He not only directed Espectro, he also co-wrote it with his younger brother Carlos Esteban Orozco.

The lead, Vega (Noëlle Schonwald), is a young documentary filmmaker who due to recent tragedy is sunk in a depression. Apparently in Colombia being depressed means you should move into a creepy apartment by yourself to recover. Vega’s father is played by Kepa Amuchastegui, whom I recognized as the “Mr. Meade” from the first Ugly Betty, also a Colombian original. Daddy takes Vega to an apartment building at the beginning of the movie. She promptly gets security cameras installed to satisfy (and feed) her paranoia. Vega’s floor mates are a raving alcoholic, her rebellious daughter, and a creepy bug-eyed neighbor with a Doberman. Vega shuns socializing with them to remain isolated in her apartment. That’s when her visions begin. The more time she’s alone, the more she sees and hears things she tries to explain to herself so she doesn’t think she’s going crazy. Now an agoraphobe, Vega tries to solve the mystery of her apartment via endless hours watching her camera monitor and digging through things left by the previous tenant all with increasing paranoia and tension.

The film starts off slowly so if you feel like it’s dragging on a bit, don’t worry. It’ll pick up and then you’ll regret turning the lights off. Like I did.

Blind Dead, a Chilean Zombie Flick (Trailer)

Chile Con Zombie Hunters

Blind Dead (Muerte Ciega, 2009) is an independent horror film from Chile. It is a near-future zombie movie in which a virus spreads and transforms humans into violent and territorial fiends after a mining incident. The area is quarantined and after some time is subject to incursion and investigation by a team of paramilitaries and scientists. As you can expect, there will be blood. The team itself starts to fall apart as the violence and betrayal escalate.

The trailer shows a band of soldiers escorting scientists to ground zero and all hell breaking loose. Looks like an extremely violent film, almost the guerilla-war type. I do like the look of the film- the muted colors look fantastic, especially considering the movie’s low budget of $2,000.

Written and directed by Cristian Toledo and Lucio Rojas, the film gets its inspiration from such genre classics as 28 Days Later, Stalker, Apocalypse Now, Mad Max, and cowboy Westerns.

Muerte Ciega’s official Facebook fan page includes production images. Looks like they had a good time filming! No word yet on when this movie will be available. I will keep you posted.

There’s a trailer with English subtitles but it doesn’t have the same quality of the Spanish trailer below. There is also a 20 minute preview you can check out here.

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more about “Muerte Ciega – Trailer on Vimeo“, posted with vodpod

UPDATE 2/4/10: There is a new trailer with English subtitles, and it looks like their English title has changed to Blind Death. No release date yet, besides the “first semester of the year.”