Sunday, October 13, 2019

Spook Out! Day 13 ~ The House at the End of Time (2013, In Spanish w/Subtitles)

Amazon Says...
"A mother imprisoned for 30 years for the murder of her husband returns to her home, but the supernatural events, which led to her crime, come to haunt her and reveal a sinister secret about the house."

I Say...
^The summaries I've read for this film are a bit of necessary misdirection, but to explain further would mean depriving you of the pleasure of discovering The House's mysteries for yourself. (So I won't.)

Horror Type...
Horror, Suspense, Family Drama, Fantasy

Main Players...
Ruddy Rodríguez as Dulce (Badass Mom)
Gonzalo Cubero as Juan José (Loser Dad)
Rosmel Bustamante as Leopoldo (Loving Son)

I liked...
  • Rodríguez's portrayal of the harried mom--financial worries and her sometimes annoying sons stress her to the max but you never doubt the love she feels for her kids (actually, she's just masterful in this, period)
  • the set design--I've never felt so twitchy watching a deteriorating house as I felt watching this one
  • the hot priest who seeks to offer Dulce spiritual solace (that's not a euphemism--he really is just a good guy doing his job)
  • how they take your basic haunted-house story and spin it into something wonderfully bizarre
  • the sweetness that emerges in the third act; it may seem hard to believe but this movie provides a heart-warming (though not treacly) ending I just love

The Meh...
  • the dad of the piece experiences a legit heartbreak but then seeks vengeance against a vulnerable innocent, which is totally believable but ugh
  • I feel like knowing something more of the experiences of previous tenants of the house would round out the narrative (but perhaps a sequel's in store that'll provide just that?)

Would I recommend it...?
Definitely watch this award-winning film! It has some good scares that aren't OTT, though there are moments of violence.

Miscellany...
The Spanish title is La casa del fin de los tiempos, which means "The House OF the End of Times." Not to split hairs but once you've seen the movie, you feel the difference.

Ratings...
My Grade: A
Rotten Tomatoes Scores: Tomatometer=Not Available, Audience Score=72%

Details, Schmeetails...
I Watched The House at the End of Time on Amazon (the Rotten Tomatoes page linked above provides links to other host sites)


This concludes day 13 of

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