Películas para no dormir: Cuento de navidad (2005) Reviews

• Fantastic.

  Fmartiterron2006-11-10

  "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. "Cuento de Navidad" is helmed by Paco Plaza, director of "The second name" and "Romasanta". Among the bunch of films that compose this series, this may easily be the best of the lot. Paco Plaza creates a surprisingly cruel negative to teen films, such as "The Goonies" or the Spanish TV series "Verano azul". Set in the early 80s (pop culture references abound in the story), it tells the story of a group of early teenagers that find a wounded woman in the woods, dressed up as Santa. Rather than helping her, they start abusing her, and as soon as they learn she's the suspect of a bank robbery they increase the abuse in order to obtain the robbed money themselves. It's a bleak story, full of cruelty, and Plaza's talent is evident when he uses elements that in other hands would be comedic to increase the cruelty of the tale: when the abused woman manages to turn tables on the kids and pursues them axe in hand, they mistake her for a zombie, and in their efforts to defend themselves of her attacks, the mimic the techniques they've seen in horror movies, much to our horror. It's not a perfect film. I've mentioned how the tale is packed with pop culture references, and some of them feel a bit gratuitous, although they are well integrated within the plot. I was specially amused by a zombie flick that appears recurrently, a parody of Lucio Fulci's movies that strucks more than a chord. Watching local rock and roll star Loquillo as a zombie hunter (with dubbed southamerican accent to boot) is absolutely priceless.

• A Tale of Cruelty and Lack of Innocence

  claudio_carvalho2008-04-21

  In 1985, in a coastal town in Spain, the friends Koldo (Christian Casas), Peti (Roger Babia), Tito (Pau Poch), Eugenio (Daniel Casadellà) and Moni (Ivana Baquero) stumble with a woman dressed like Santa Claus trapped in a hole in the woods. While to boys go to the police station to ask for help, the others find a rope to take the woman out of the hole. However, the boys find in the police station that the woman is the dangerous thief Rebeca Expósito (Maru Valdivielso), who has just stolen two million pesetas from a bank and is wanted. The group decides to leave the woman in the hole without any food to force her to give the robbed money to them. Meanwhile, Peti and Eugenio that are fans of the movie "Zombie Invasion", decide to make a voodoo ceremony with Rebecca to transform her into a zombie. When Rebecca escapes from her imprisonment, she uses an axe to chase the evil boys. "Cuento de Navidad" is a one of the best episodes that I have seen of the great Spanish series "Películas Para No Dormir". The director Paco Plaza has an extraordinary effort to make such good movie working with five kids and one outstanding actress, Maru Valdivielso. The result is an original and very dark film, blending black humor and horror with cruelties and no innocence of the abusive teenagers that show no merci while torturing a "mean woman". My vote is eight. Title (Brazil): "Delinqüentes Diabólicos" ("Evil Delinquents")

• Yes Sir, I Can Zombie … But I need a certain song!

  Coventry2009-01-01

  "Six Films to Keep You Awake" is a Spanish TV initiative created/produced by the most legendary granddaddy of Spanish horror cinema Narciso Ibañez Serrador ("Who Can Kill A Child", "The House that Screamed") and featuring episodes directed by some of the country's most prominent and world-widely respected filmmakers in the genre, like Alex De La Iglesia ("Day of the Beast", Perdita Durango"), Jaume Balagueró ("Darkness", "The Nameless") and Paco Plaza ("Rec", "The Second Name"). If this is Spain's response to the similar American TV-series "Masters of Horror", than I can only be enthusiast and thrilled to notice that the horror genre is still alive and kicking! "The Christmas Tale" was my first personal acquaintance with the series. A vastly enjoyable one, I may add, and definitely one that makes me look forward to the five remaining installments. The plot introduces five 12-year-old but very independent kids (four boys and a girl) who are about to spend a life-altering Christmas vacation. They discover an unconscious woman dressed up as Santa Clause in a pit in the woods who turns out to be a fugitive and dangerous bank robber. Since this woman allegedly stole 2 million pesetas – and since the police don't even bother listening to them – the quintet decides to keep her trapped in the pit and question her about the loot. The situation soon escalates, as some of the kids gradually develop into merciless and sadist abductors. Things get even beyond control when a voodoo-ritual from a silly horror film, which the kids playfully imitated, turns out frighteningly real and the woman rises from the pit as a vengeful and bloodthirsty zombie. "The Christmas Tale" is versatile and chock-full of ideas in spite of his short running time of barely 70 minutes. The film seemingly unfolds as a rather disturbing hostage-thriller, but halfway changes into a more light-headed zombie horror flick. The first half more tension-driven and the second half thrives more on excitement, but the blackly comical elements as well as the energetic atmosphere are maintained throughout the whole movie. The script is also stuffed with small but highly ingenious gimmicks and delightful tributes to older horror and non-horror classics. The events take place in the year 1985, for example. This is mainly a tribute to the kid-gang movies of that period (like "Stand by Me" and "The Goonies"), but perhaps also to justify why the kids spend their school holidays playing outside instead of rotting away behind their computers. The timing and setting also provide the ideal excuses to showcase a handful of terrific 80's set pieces and songs (like the catchy disco hit "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" used in a masterful scene) and there are also numerous posters and VHS tapes of elderly Spanish horror flicks to spot in the backgrounds (like "Tombs of the Blind Dead", "The Werewolf versus the Vampire Women" and "Horror Express"). The young cast members deliver tremendous performances and Maru Valdivielso is also terrific as the Santa Clause and, by the way, the only adult character whose face can be seen properly.

• A Christmas Tale

  Scarecrow-882009-12-22

  Kids discover a wounded bank robber at the bottom of a deep pit in a wilderness where they bike ride and decide to negotiate with her..they will send down a rope and pull her out if she forks over the two million she stole. Things get really complicated, to put it mildly. The only really identifiable trait regarding Christmas is that the severely malnourished and suffering robber is wearing a Santa costume, used when she held up the bank. Maru Valdivielso is Rebeca, the woman whose leg is broke, she's being starved by the kids, and after several days is deteriorating mentally and physically. By the end, she's half-crazed and in pursuit of those brats who have failed to help her, carrying an ax, prepared to inflict some serious bodily harm. Lots of pop culture references, including one kid named Tito(Pau Poch)who adores The Karate Kid(..including references to "V", zombie movies, Dynasty, Freddy Krueger, specific toys of the 80's(..it's set in '85)among other things). The main culprits behind holding Rebeca hostage are Peti(Roger Babia)and Eugenio(Daniel Casadellà), willing to deprive her of food and any creature comforts in order to attain the money in her possession..even if it means starving her to death. And, that's what is interesting about "The Christmas Tale"..you become sympathetic with Rebeca's plight for we must endure seeing her wasting away both psychologically, as her body responds negatively to the harsh conditions. Her face is ripe with cuts and sores, we get a long look at her badly damaged leg, and when she attempts to climb out of the pit a rotted finger nail gives way. It becomes quite an unpleasant sight to behold. In a funny turn of events, one can almost root for her to splatter the kids all over the place with the chopping ax for their treatment of her. The only kids who wish to get Rebeca out of the pit are Moni(Ivana Baquero)and her little boyfriend Koldo(Christian Casas), but as part of the pack, the others hold influence until it's all but too late. Thrown in for fun, there's a possible act of voodoo which might bring Rebeca back from the dead to get revenge. The finale is rather exciting, as the kids run for their lives with Rebeca following them into a theme park. Not as grisly as it could've been, but what Rebeca goes through is rather unsettling. Eugenio and Peti's inhumane behavior is rather troubling. From the director of REC, Paco Plaza. Part of the popular Spanish "6 Films to Keep You Awake" series.

• An unsatisfying experience

  Guratza2016-03-29

  It's not that this movie is bad... But it certainly doesn't belong in a series called "movies to keep you awake", since I doubt it would even keep a twelve year old awake at night. Although the direction by Paco Plaza (of REC fame), and the general production value is obviously on a very good level, the movie is a combination of Stand By Me, Home Alone and of "The Three Investigators" juvenile mystery books (i.e. having a trailer parked in a backyard as headquarters is a direct link between the latter and this film I think), with none of the aforementioned is what I would consider "spine chilling". The heroes of the movie are conveniently "nerdy" kids that obsess over classic cult movies like Karate Kid, portraying the filmmakers' nostalgic intentions and paying homage to them. Overall though, the movie is what has been described above: a movie about a bunch of kids, that resembles a "Goosebumps" episode, more than a real thriller. I can definitely see why someone can like this one a lot, but it just didn't work for me.