To Let (2006 TV Movie) User Reviews

Sometimes finding the "perfect" place to live can be an outright horror

[FrankDamage · 6/10 · 3 September 2013]

I don't know if it's been mentioned yet, but I just wanted to point out the minor discrepancy from the original title to it's English translation. Literally the title reads, "To Enter to Live," though the actual way it would be conveyed, or should be interpreted should be more along the lines of "Ready to Rent" or "Ready to Move In." Two possible headings that those who have ever rented might be familiar seeing in the classified ads.

Though it seems to have received some rather harsh criticism (not entirely unjust) from some reviewers here, anyone who is thinking of watching this should know that it is a film made for television in Spain and IN THAT RESPECT, is far superior to almost everything you'll see on U.S. television in the horror genre and in many cases outside of it. I'd compare it to the old HBO series "Tales From the Crypt" but without the comic book nuance, or that ridiculous crypt keeper.

This film will probably not be well received by many jaded horror fans mainly because it does have a few annoying, "why didn't she!?" "why didn't he!?" and "why did they even both from the start!?" moments throughout the course of its 1 hour and 8 minute run. However, all that can't (or really shouldn't) supersede the fact that it is well directed, suspenseful and loaded with visceral horror from nearly beginning to end.

I'd be more inclined to give this a solid 7, but for the sake of other reader's expectations a 6 will suffice. Good story and plot that could've been executed better, but why not go in and take a look around for yourself? You might not even notice the peeling paint and it could be an inspiring stop on the way to something better.

Idiocy galore, or: from Balaguero I expected more

[petra_ste · 5/10 · 29 September 2009]

(MAJOR SPOILERS)

Quick, horror fans, take this test:

You and your significant other are trapped inside a deserted apartment building by a crazy old woman. To your credit, after a good hour of utter stupidity, you have finally managed to turn the tables on this not particularly formidable villain, who is currently screaming in pain with a mangled hand.

Now... what do you do?!

a) You incapacitate the murderous woman, tie her up and then GET THE HELL AWAY; b) You run around screaming hysterically, only to find out you are trapped inside the building, so you return to the old woman but... duh! She's gone! c) You untie a big, evil-looking man in a dark room, because you believe he's another victim. Oh, you tried to help him before, but he attempted to strangle you; d) You call the police or a friend, but are unable to give them coherent informations; e) You douse yourself and your spouse with gasoline and light a match; f) You take a nap on a blood-spattered carpet.

If you didn't answer a), congratulations! If they ever do a sequel of this movie, you might be the protagonist.

Jaume Balaguero is definitely no hack. All his previous works show directorial competence and the skill to create an ominous atmosphere. Para Entrar A Vivir starts out promisingly, but quickly degenerates into utter silliness. The script tips its hand far too early - once we learn the main villain (and, for a good chunk of the story, the only villain) is this undeniably deranged, but otherwise hardly intimidating middle-aged, bespectacled lady, the tension almost vanishes. People actively work to put themselves in danger, get bashed in the head a lot, do a copious amount of stupid choices, the killer is not dead, and yada yada yada. One is reminded of Balaguero's Darkness and Anna Paquin's terrible decisions. And the characters of Rec weren't exactly the pinnacle of human intelligence either.

The fact is, Balaguero is so enamored with the atmosphere of a particular scene that he does not seem to care about its plausibility - his characters are dumb puppets, hamsters running on a wheel and working really hard to unleash the boogeyman.

So, who decided horror characters NEED to be dumb? It's a lot scarier if you get the impression even smart, resourceful individuals would be in danger.

And why should I be rooting for morons?

5/10

Hysterical Collection of Unreasonable Situations

[claudio_carvalho · 5/10 · 22 June 2009]

Mario (Adriá Collado) and his pregnant girlfriend Clara (Macarena Gómez) are trying to find in a short period a new apartment to live since they have sold their apartment and they need to move in fifteen days. When Mario finds an attractive advertisement in his mailbox, he convinces Clara to visit the place with him. He drives to a far area in the periphery and meets the real estate agent in front of an old building in an abandoned neighborhood. When the couple sees the apartment, they do not like it but they are forced to stay.

"Para Entrar a Vivir" is the weakest movie that I have seen from the excellent Spanish series "Películas Para No Dormir". The gore story has good performances, but the screenplay is awful, destroying a promising plot and transforming what could be a sort of "Misery" in a hysterical collection of unreasonable attitudes. For example, why would the couple leave their car in a rainy day to visit such dreadful building in an isolated area? They are in the control of the situation many times, but they always take the wrong decision or Clara is hysterical and let the insane lady revert the situation. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Morada do Perigo" ("Housing of the Danger")

Does really well with what it's able to do even if the narrative and its logic unravel towards the end.

[johnnyboyz · 6/10 · 14 May 2008]

It won't keep you awake but it won't exactly send you to sleep, either.

'To Let' is a creepy and unnerving Spanish horror that, to my bemusement upon looking it up after seeing it, was made for television. This works with and against the film: the fact it was made for TV means it will have been produced with the conformities associated with television, namely time limit which is a shame because if the film had been starched out a little further, I feel it would have been a lot better. The film clocks in at just over an hour but what an hour you get – there will be suspense, an atmosphere, dread and plenty of nasty little scenes to keep you occupied.

But then again I'm going to go back to the constraints that keep the film from being great. Because of the limitations faced with this made for TV production, the film must treat its subject matter like a sprint more-so than a marathon and that means instead of establishing the couple at the beginning, we begin with them in a car going to the apartment – it would also eliminate the flashbacks included half way through which, to me, felt a little out of place. Again, the constraints work against the brilliant idea. There are scenes in the film in which the little old lady who runs the apartment acts in a caring and, to her, natural manner. The scene in which she helps the female of the dreaded couple cook a meal for the injured other half feels all over the place because this landlady is supposed to be the antagonist of the story and to have her flash between good and natural and evil and nasty is a little frustrating due to the character's inconsistency.

But rather than go on about what I would have liked to have seen had the film been longer, I will say that the film works overall as the piece that it is. The idea is excellent and the film captures its own premise brilliantly by utilising its location of an apartment building. I've been to Spain twice in the last two and a half years and on both occasions I stayed in an apartment building run by a landlady – eerie as it sounds. But the large, marble walls that greet you when you enter and surround you unless you are in your respective room work really well here. So do the open, echoing corridors and staircases that just add menace to the situation and location. So the apartment location works wonderfully well here and credit to the director for capturing a location that resembles a real life locale so much, because I've been there and stayed in two respective apartment buildings in the Mediterranean region and I can tell you; just the 'look' and 'feeling' of being there is captured 100%.

So along with these ideas of getting right the setting and most of the other aspects of mise-en-scene, To Let is not just let down by its shortish runtime. But then again, perhaps it is because the logistical flaws that begin to creep in toward the end can only really be put down to its short run time: the film is a sprint, not a marathon and thus must round things off quickly by speeding up its plot points and revelations. There are times in the film when you think the characters will either be smarter or more bloodthirsty. I'm going to reference another 2006 horror film similar to this one; Eli Roth's first Hostel attempt. When Paxton finds himself in the situation he's in when the film enters its final third, he knows its kill or be killed and as a result shoots and chops his way out of trouble - he has gone from 'innocent', fun-loving young adult to killer and that's exactly what I would have expected in this film.

The truth is the characters of Mario (Collado) and his twin-protagonist girlfriend are still just too nice to strike out. Mario cannot attack the old woman with a mêlée weapon in the kitchen soon enough and when Mario's other half and another captive are in an elevator trying to escape, the land lady's face comes right up to a grill: the hostages have a sharp knife at their disposal and will win the battle if they had just used it right there. By this point, and especially when another character whom we thought was a captive but is actually on the landlady's side is released, the couple at the start are not smart enough or fit enough to survive and it's a shame that their idiocy sees them come so close to loosing out in the end.

Twinned with this, the music playing throughout sounds like it's from some 1950s, American sci-fi B-movie and it is difficult to get your head around the fact that the antagonist is, after all, a little old lady who I doubt would put up much of a fight if properly challenged. This made me wonder during the film: what if the landlady was actually a male? The film would've been much more savage since it is the girlfriend who is chased and humiliated for most of the early exchanges and there could've been some great scenes where the landlord is fought, beaten but then is strong enough to get back up again and continue the chase. Still, with a longer time allowance; more money and bigger exposure I guess anything is possible.

Good and gory.

[Fmartiterron · 7/10 · 29 October 2006]

"Stories to keep you awake" was a legendary Spanish TV series that told independent suspense / horror stories every week. As of 2006, some Spanish media have joined resources to produce a follow-up in the shape of six direct-to-DVD films, directed by some of the most popular Spanish film directors. "Para entrar a vivir" is helmed by Jaume Balagueró, director of "The Nameless", "Darkness" and "Fragile".

The film is about a young couple who are looking for a new home. The man finds an interesting ad in his mailbox and they both drive to the suburbs. The building is almost derelict, and the efforts of the seller (Nuria Gonzalez) to calm down the couple fail miserably. Immediately, she knocks down the man and ties down the woman. The nightmare has just begun.

Coming from Balagueró I expected yet another rendition of the haunted place story, but surprisingly Balagueró goes for an Argento-style psycho thriller and succeeds. The visuals may not be as polished as Argento's (after the failure of "Darkness" Balagueró has turned to a more barebones style), but the tension and the gore are certainly there.

A must see for horror fans out there.

One of the better 'Films to Keep You Awake'.

[poolandrews · 7/10 · 10 May 2008]

Películas Para no Dormir: Para Entrar a Vivir is set in Spain where Mario (Adrià Collado) & his pregnant girlfriend Clara (Macarena Gómez) need somewhere to live. Mario sees an advert for an apartment, it's 140 square foot, it has three bedrooms, two bathrooms & most importantly it's as cheap as chip's. Upon arrival things don't look too promising, the apartment block is on the outskirts of town in a very rundown area, the building is in a state of disrepair & the place looks so bad even the Cockroaches are moving out. However they decide to give it a chance & meet up with the estate agent Portera (Nuria González) who show's the couple around. While looking at the apartment Mario notices the shoes he recently threw out & Clara notices a photo of them both, soon they find out that something evil is happening & the estate agent isn't as nice as she first appeared...

Also known as Films to Keep You Awake: To Let to English speaking audiences this Spanish production was made-for-telly & directed by Jaume Balagueró & one has to say that Películas Para no Dormir: Para Entrar a Vivir is one of the better entries in the Films to Keep you Awake series. The script by director Balagueró & Alberto Marini at least is a straight ahead conventional horror themed story from start to finish, it's not any sort of masterpiece but it passes seventy odd minutes entertainingly enough. Películas Para no Dormir: Para Entrar a Vivir starts off very promisingly actually with a nice creepy, overcast, rain sodden opening full of foreboding & promise. Things quickly turn sour for Mario & Clara & I was at there thinking this is pretty good stuff but it reveals it's twist too early & then does nothing with it & by the end Películas Para no Dormir: Para Entrar a Vivir had become nothing more than your average slasher set in an isolated location with a couple of young lovers for victims & a crazy homicidal maniac & if that wasn't enough there's a pretty obvious & groan inducing twist ending which we could have done without. So the first half builds up the tension, the atmosphere, the intrigue & the mystery nicely with the second half collapsing into tired genre clichés which on the one hand could be considered a disappointment but on the other I am sure there will be many out there who enjoy your average bog standard teen slasher & will maybe like the second half more than the first. At less than seventy minutes in length it moves along at a decent pace, it's never boring, the character's & dialogue are OK even if the villain is a little sketchy & the basic premise is sound.

Director Balagueró does alright, like just about every other horror film ever made all the colours are bleached so the whole picture is dark & moody & overcast. At least Películas Para no Dormir: Para Entrar a Vivir actually tries to be scary & crank up the tension, whether you will be scared by it will depend on your disposition but at least I could see what it was trying to do. I doubt most seasoned horror fans will have too much trouble making it to the end. There's not too much gore here, someones fingers are sliced off in a garbage disposal chute off screen, we just get to see the blood splatter & that's about it. Like the other Films to keep You Awake Películas Para no Dormir: Para Entrar a Vivir was shot in Spanish, because the film is so dark & grey the white subtitles are very easy to read although some don't stay on screen for too long.

Technically the film is good, it's well made with solid production values. Filmed in Barcelona in Spain. The acting appears to be alright but since Spanish isn't my language I have no idea what anyone is saying & have to assume the subtitles are an accurate translation which sometimes they are not.

Películas Para no Dormir: Para Entrar a Vivir is one of the better Films to Keep You Awake, it starts off very well & then settles down into a rather predictable & routine second half but overall I thought it was a good effort & I liked it.

Oh, Come ON.

[bairdlet · 2/10 · 10 January 2009]

When it comes to movies, I scare easy. Real easy. I'm always the first idiot to scream in the movie theater- often I'm the only idiot screaming in the theater. I argue (unsuccessfully) with my fiancé to let me leave the lights on when we watch a horror flick at home. I flinch, I whimper, I cover my eyes with a throw pillow. At a showing of The Descent, I buried my face in my date's arm, only to have him yelp in confusion when I accidentally bit it in a moment of misplaced self-defense. I am a complete and utter wuss.

So when I say that this movie was far too ridiculous to be even mildly scary, you can believe me. I mean, heck, it was entertaining; but more in a "you've got to be %@$#ing kidding me" kind of way. Twenty minutes into the movie, I wasn't scared; I wasn't even nervous. I was incensed. I was watching young, healthy, apparently intelligent people getting their behinds handed to them by someone who looked like the local children's librarian. There were a thousand and one ways that this could have been a much shorter movie. It might, just maybe, have been believable if the antagonist had been anyone who didn't look like she had just stepped out of an advertisement for maple syrup; or if her intended victims had been prepubescent (well, maybe not; that kid from Home Alone would have had her beat for sure)- or perhaps bunnies, or hamsters, or blind, deaf, and dumb geriatric pirates missing both their wooden legs. There was one point when two healthy young women- one a mother defending her child- are being menaced by the real-estate-agent-gone-bad. They are both armed (one with a cleaver, one with a taser) and safely positioned behind a metal grate. The real estate agent has just lost her dominant hand, and is clutching her bleeding stump to her chest as she cackles and pokes at them weakly through the grating with a lead pipe. This struck me as more irritating than terrifying and it seems to me that any normal person would simply relieve her of the pipe through means of a simple fulcrum (since she squatting and poking it through the grate down at you, just pull down and you'd have the pipe) and then proceed to smile up at her and calmly ask just what the hell she planned to do now. If the antagonist had been some kind of evil genius, it would have been a different story, but she wasn't; she was almost laughably predictable and run-of-the-mill movie crazy.

One gets the feeling that this movie came to be because one of the writers lost a bet. "...ok, but if I win you have to write a movie about a crazy real estate agent in a little yellow raincoat. Oh, and dude, she has to look like your MOTHER."

Still, if you found the killer bunny scene in Monty Python's Search for the Holy Grail to be funny (and who didn't?) you might enjoy it.

A good horror despite it being a low budget TV movie

[eddax · 9/10 · 18 February 2010]

Here's a little Spanish horror TV movie that works despite its low budget. Having a good director can really make a difference. Jaume Balaguero also did Rec, though personally I prefer his underrated Fragile.

Mmm. I'd rather not describe too much of the story 'coz part of the fun of it was finding out what was happening as it was happening. Let's just say it's about a young couple checking out an apartment they're thinking of renting, and it gets intriguing from there.

Balaguero gets the suspense right, as well as the tension of the action sequences. It helps too that he had good actors playing the victims and villains. Really too bad this movie didn't get a theater release. Maybe it'll get a US remake too, like Rec.

Disappointing

[Commander_Keen78 · 5/10 · 4 September 2011]

This is so disappointing. From the man who gaves us the rec series. IMHO the best Spanish horror movies ever made. But this one... In a couple of words...Stupid people, doing stupid things at stupid moments.

For instance, keepings doors unlocked (in a way they could lock-up the baddie), killing off the baddie when they had the chance (or a least making her unable of being a danger, waiting to use the scissors until she's been tied, just being plain stupid (looking in the sons eyes and you had to see there was something wrong with hem).

And what about using the shaking cam every time when the guy with a headache is in view!!???

It could have much better. The idea is great, the location is great, the atmosphere is great, even the acting was good.

Just bad scripting....

Balaguero gets infinite respect for making rec, so I'm willing to forgive this mistake. That and the fact that this one is made before rec. He was still learing... :-)

A solid entry to this hit and miss series

[DVD_Connoisseur · 8/10 · 22 December 2009]

"To Let" is a satisfyingly chilling tale about a psychotic estate agent and the unfortunate visitors to a decaying apartment block.

This is a splendid made for television movie that just goes to show that Euro horror is alive and well. The production doesn't mess about - the pace is fast and the shocks are constant. A genuinely tense atmosphere is maintained throughout the film. The performances from the small cast are also excellent.

A highly recommended installment from talented director Jaume Balagueró, best known for his (REC) movies. Balagueró really seems to love his creepy apartment blocks as there are small touches of (REC) in this earlier work.

8 out of 10.

Do not waste your time watching this rubbish!

[sharmari1 · 1/10 · 6 May 2008]

The movie is about an older woman of small stature that lures "strong" healthy young couples, and supposedly overpowers and terrorizes them. LOL Even if I were drunk as a skunk this woman would never be able to over power me, and I am 54 years old. LOL Yet, we are suppose to believe that this woman has repeatedly overpowered big strong men and their partners. The worst part, and most unrealistic, was that the big strong, aggressive man was afraid of this small older woman. LOL Of course, if you like being annoyed, then please, go ahead and watch it. But don't say I didn't warn you. This movie is suppose to be a thriller, but it is too absurd to even be scary! The movie is utter rubbish from start to finish.

Just a terrible movie

[SatanReturns · 1/10 · 28 July 2012]

After watching La Habitacion del Nino (They baby's room) which was a brilliant movie, I had some pretty high hopes for this movie. What a huge let down that was. The acting was terrible, the worst acting I've ever seen in a movie to be honest.

The story was terrible also, and the script? Really? I literally found myself almost shouting at the screen telling the victims to attack. The staircase scene when Clara was being dragged up, there were dozens of chances she had to attack the crazy old woman (Who by the way, wasn't acting, she really is crazy, her acting is extremely terrible). Then again in the kitchen, why the hell was Mario so afraid to just hit her with the damn lead pipe? How did she seem to recover so quickly after having her hand shredded? Please correct me if I am wrong but with the amount of blood that she lost, that would put her in to shock and an almost comatose state.

Oh, not forgetting the elevator scene with her son, why the hell didn't that woman just KNEEL DOWN, Why didn't they BOTH kneel down, one of them had a knife, the other had a taser, even in a situation like this with being in shock your brain doesn't go to the stage where you know jack-s**t. All it takes is a fraction of logic or common sense to know if somebody is above you which you do know because you're looking at them, all you have to do is kneel down and stretch your hand out wildly with a knife thus hoping that you land some sort of damage on your attacker.

Last but not least, the ending. As I said in the previous paragraph, she had a damn taser, how did she get caught? What were the actors making for this movie, €5?. Anyway, yes she got caught and she heard the new guests in the floor above, did she scream for help? No, she whispered very politely "Por Favor".

This was by far the worst film I have ever seen in my life, even "From Dusk Till Dawn part 2" was better than this, much better. What puzzles me even more is the high rating it got.

I don't know, if you're reading this now I HIGHLY suggest you ignore this movie, please just pretend you don't even know it exists for your own sake.

Spain knows how to make great Horror Movies!!!

[pakobunny · 10/10 · 11 June 2008]

Amazing, one of the best horror films i ever seen. Maybe the history is not the best, maybe there isn't an screenplay, but i like it. The performances of Macarena Gomez & and Nuria Gonzalez are smashing. Adria is a jackass but he makes the movie continues with their own way. I don't know why the people was waiting a big scrip, when the movie was actually made for t.v., so, i think is a good movie cause you don't need the all drama to make a very good horror movie, just take great actors, create very scary characters, and put great music, that's all that it cares sin my opinion. Great great great, i can't say any other word. A fast and fun movie, Spain really shows that they know how to do horror movies, they are kicking Japanese asses.

The worst movie ever

[Anna-brajkovic · 1/10 · 14 May 2020]

If you like movies of any kind, dont watch this rubbish. It will waste an hour od ypur life. This is how I feel now. Its not scary at all, extremely bad acting, most scenes just annoy you since they make no sence. Watching a wall for an hour seems like a better idea.

Another excellent thriller from Jaume Balagueró

[Guratza · 9/10 · 28 March 2016]

This movie clocks at around one hour, and accomplishes what most modern thrillers struggle to do in twice the time. It gets to the point pretty quickly, but gives a straight, well defined portrait of the main characters without using any "super obvious" scenes to do that. While in the process it actually utilizes pretty much every cliché of the whole "kidnapping" scenario of horror movies (like for example "the hills have eyes" by the late Wes Craven)but in the best way possible. It manages to hold the viewer at the edge of the seat for every single second, surprisingly without ever feeling predictable.

The cinematography and imagery is appropriately beautiful. The worn out color palette fits the ugly urban location perfectly and helps in creating tension throughout the movie. You could even say that (taking into consideration the extremely limited cast) even the weather and the building themselves are supporting characters in the film.

What is really worth mentioning is that this is one more Jaume Balagueró film that breaks the mould of American horror films by having the story placed in an apartments. With the obvious exception of Roman Polanski's "Apartment" trilogy, most American thrillers are set into suburban locations and big, very big houses. Although these houses are very scary (mostly due to their abundance of entry points, making the villains job much easier) this is not very realistic considering more than most people worldwide live in blocks of flats and cant' actually relate to that "50's America" scenery.

Top up all of the above with a great psychological/social study on people who are obsessed with other peoples lives and you've got an excellent, disturbing and actually very "thrilling" thriller. The only drawback I can think for this movie, is (as noted by most reviewers) the main characters lack of decisiveness at points, which, kind of feels like a mechanism for the film to go on.

To Let

[Scarecrow-88 · 4/10 · 31 January 2010]

Mario(Adrià Collado) and pregnant girlfriend Carla(Macarena Gómez) are looking for an apartment when they have the misfortune of answering an ad found in their current mailbox. Carla finds herself in a horrifying situation when Mario is bludgeoned by the real estate agent, Portera(Nuria González) who insists that they will remain in their new apartment, no exceptions.

The supposed real estate agent is in fact an enraged, deranged former proprietor of the apartment complex, who went off the deep end after her building was condemned, tenants evicted. Decorating the ramshackle apartment complex, located in an ugly part of the city, with mannequins couldn't satiate the desire for human occupancy so Portera decided to stalk and kidnap tenants against their will. While Clara contemplates a means of escape, there's another kidnapped victim who will attempt to as well upon freeing herself.

Well, besides the moments where the director causes the damn camera to tremble, and some really, really lame-brain, stupid decisions by Mario and Carla, who, to be honest, cut their own throats by not "finishing the job" when they have Portera in a vulnerable position(..this is the understatement of the week!), Jaume Balagueró's To Let, for the "6 films to keep you awake" series, has some inspired insanity, with many macabre highlights. It's essentially a "maniac on the loose" feature confined within the claustrophobic setting of the colorless, dreary apartment complex. There's a couple of developments towards the end, involving the release of dangerous threats locked away, Mario and Carla contributing to these circumstances because of not taking care of the psycho after subduing her properly(..a startlingly grisly highlight). Sometimes I wanted to reach in the screen and shake Carla for she's such a weakling, she allows Portera to drag her around, chain her hands, and slap her around when there are certainly opportunities for her to defend herself. Mario confoundedly returns to a fiend that had nearly assaulted Carla to unlock his chains! I mean, even when Carla was chained, she could used them as a weapon to clock Portera over the head. The constant in To Let is Clara's weak-willed nature..I mean, for chrissake, there's a bun in the oven, put up a fight or something, instead of remaining an obstinate coward. This will undoubtedly work for some as a roller-coaster ride clocking at 65 minutes with an unsettling conclusion, but I have a hard time swallowing the ineptitude of the characters involved.

Excellent Movie!

[asrichmond · 10/10 · 23 January 2019]

I really enjoyed this thriller. I recorded if off Starz and when realizing it was dubbed, almost didn't watch it. I'm glad I watched it and recommend it.

Good, but still TV movie quality

[killercharm · 5/10 · 30 May 2020]

TV movie from the Films to Keep You Awake (Películas para no dormir) series of 6. This is one of the best of that bunch. Good, but still TV movie quality. A young couple keeps their appointment to walk through an available apartment with the leasing agent. This place is OUT THERE! I mean it is so far out from their urban existence that it looks like the condemned neighborhood that's gone off the grid and the owners have abandoned the buildings. They find the building even more unsuitable than the neighborhood. The jewel in the tiara is the leasing agent. She's a piece of work, that one.

Dumbing down characters does not make a movie scary at all

[jordondave-28085 · 1/10 · 17 November 2023]

(2006) To Let/ Películas para no dormir: Para entrar a vivir (Films to Keep You Awake: To Enter to Live) (In Spanish with English subtitles) PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR

Co-written and directed by Jaume Balagueró that has a nurse, Clara coming out of the hospital with her boyfriend, Mario waiting for her at the car. Upon driving away, he then shows her an ad of an address advertising for a cheaper place. Further telling her to either live with his parents or rent a cheaper apartment. She decides to take a little nap, and by the time he reaches his destination, during which is the time she finally wakes up, they are then greeted by what they assume is the landlady, Portera (Nuria González).

Part of the "6 Films to Keep You Awake" I was like, going to give this film a five, but as the movie continued toward the end, the movie less sense as it continued, leading to the ridiculous ending that it did. I have no idea why both Mario and Clara wanted to release a person both of them have neither talked to! Why Clara never used the taser on the nut who opened the hatch as soon as she found out the person that was chained up! That he was the landlady's mother's son, and is supposed to be crazier than her! That after the landlady was knocked unconscious that was not like, locked up inside one of her rooms or was she ever chained up! Dumbing down characters does not make a movie scary at all.

Satisfactory, but average.

[filipemanuelneto · 5/10 · 30 June 2020]

This medium-length film (about an hour) belongs to a collection of six TV horror films called "Peliculas Para No Dormir", and was the first film in the collection that I saw. Spanish horror has given us good films, so I was curious to see what this film was going to be like. I was not disappointed, the film fulfills what it promises, but that does not mean that it is excellent.

The story is the main weakness, as it seems too far-fetched. Everything revolves around a young couple who are expecting a child and looking for a house to buy. They end up finding a good opportunity, but it is an old apartment, in an empty building in the middle of a decadent neighborhood that they don't even know. Shortly after starting to visit the apartment, the finding of some of their personal belongings there makes clear that something very strange is happening.

The film was directed by Jaume Balagueró, who is responsible for the "REC" franchise and "Mientras Duermes". Although the length is shorter than normal, the director has time to show what is worth. The script has a logical and coherent history but has a lot of very unlikely moments, like the fact that they don't know where they are but they had that address or, at least, the directions to get there. It does not make sense. The usual clichés in horror (rain, old places, a lunatic on the loose) are present but are well used and create a very pleasant tense atmosphere. I think the film loses strength and impact after 40 minutes because everything becomes obvious and predictable. Even so, and despite the relatively uninteresting ending, the film is pleasant. The cast is good, but it is totally unknown to me.

Technically, it is a very well made film. The gray, bland and low-contrast cinematography, in line with the torrential rain and thunder, creates an environment conducive to fear and suspense. The setting is marked by abandonment and neglect, meticulously well thought out with old furniture, torn wallpaper, broken glass and creaking doors. The special effects boil down to some fake blood and other discrete, yet effective and functional effects. The sound effects and incidental soundtrack also proved to be valuable.