west – Movies of the Soul

Vampire Owl: We have not been reviewing many Portuguese movies.

Vampire Bat: We have only managed one, and it was not out of Portugal either.

Vampire Owl: I am sure that Bacurau will still count as Portuguese.

Vampire Bat: Yes, Brazilian movies are in Portuguese, so it counted.

Vampire Owl: So, this is the first Portuguese film from Portugal we are reviewing.

Vampire Bat: Yes, this is indeed a milestone too.

Vampire Owl: Yet we have so many Spanish movies here.

Vampire Bat: Some of these Spanish movies were true classics.

Vampire Owl: I hope that this one will inspire us to watch more Portuguese films.

Vampire Bat: Well, we are immortal and can watch them all.

[Gets a paneer masala dosa and three cups of Wayanad tea].

What is the movie about? :: Edward (Carloto Cotta) has been looking to find his family as he has always felt without roots. One day, his girlfriend Riley (Jack Haven) provides him with a DNA test kit. The results reveal more about his birth, and that he has a twin brother, Manuel (Carloto Cotta) and also their mother named Amelia (Anabela Moreira) who live in a small village in Portugal. Edward and Riley travel to the huge villa in the middle of the woods so that he can finally feel like having a family. This is a strange, but an emotional reunion. But Riley feels that there is something wrong, as the locals are hostile to them, and both the twin brother and the mother seem to be hiding something. There seems to be not much of interest being talked about, and Amelia looks and acts strange. She even hears something weird from outside the room where Manuel and Amelia are found sleeping together in a bed, making her question the kind of family which seems to exist in that seemingly perfect building.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Riley notices a strange bonding between the brothers that feels unnatural, even though they are seeing each other for the first time, and Edward was once not really sure about the meeting. Riley tries to uncover the secrets that seems to plague the villa, and feels that Amelia has some supernatural powers and is part of a ritualistic system of which Manuel is also a member. The mother-son relationship is not what seems to be from a distance. Riley’s growing realization is also supported by nightmares which seem to come to her at regular intervals. The question remains if she knows this particular world within the woods well enough and whether she can escape from it. Edward seems to be ready to remain there as part of the family, but he is also having his own dose of hallucinations. The people of the village seem to hope that they will leave soon, as if it is the right things to do. Will there be escape or will there be death?

The defence of Amelia’s Children a.k.a. A Semente do Mal :: The world has been nicely built here, and finding the roots itself was a starting which seemed to mean much more than what met the eye. This idea of discovering a long-lost family through DNA testing, only to find something supernatural associated with it, makes the whole thing interesting. The mixture of psychological with the supernatural elements gives it much more depth. Then there is the setting, the atmosphere that does a fine job. The building itself has something like we ha in Crimson Peak to add to the structural fear, even though this is not that much of a scary architecture, and never is an attempt to made to elevate the level to such a world of fear. The creepiness is always present, even they do not really come to the front. The premise has already done most of the work here. The presence of a witch provides the much-needed boost to a world which has started off well. The ending, even though not that deep into the situation, leaves us with a scope for a sequel to expand this better.

The claws of flaw :: The struggle of long run-time seems to plague this movie even though it is not long at all. There might be a little bit too much revealed early, and that might have plagued the later run and might have kept it running without much happening to create an impact. The twist should have been kept better hidden with red herrings or at least by deviating to something less important. It seems to stretch due to not trying to do well enough with the content and let everything unfold – even the leading performers seem to be left on their own rather than their characters undergoing anything. The mood seems to be mixed here, as the strongest element of supernatural horror often losses the way. The main lady character should have been the central point, and the one who should stay scared and attacked, but she seems to have a run without that big sense of danger. She does not become that big a scream queen as the usual elements of horror, and even that of slasher remains largely forgotten when dealing with her character.

The performers of the soul :: The performances are pretty good, but not much when we consider the possibilities of the horror. This is a world of scares, and the usual do not satisfy the environment that much – The Well had realized the same in Italy, but in Portugal, that blending is paused due to the lack of pace which seems to plague the characters as if it is an old award movie where not enough happens to provide the performers with scope. Carloto Cotta does quite well in the two roles, even though it is nothing out of the box, and not much expands. Anabela Moreira does well to manage the strangeness present there, while Alba Baptista who portrays her younger version does the same perfectly – she has the looks and expression to bring the strangeness of a mortal immortal. Jack Haven does a fine job, but does not seem to try that hard. There is a certain amount of predictability in the work and the journey is just accordingly, nothing more or less. The same is also applicable to the final moments when there is nothing grand in the performances, but just enough, as if playing by the safe side.

How it finishes :: Amelia’s Children could have been a classic, but it chooses not use that many scares even though it is in a village with woods and a strange villa in the middle of all – this could have been horror unleashing itself, but the movie holds itself back. The same is also done in the last moments when this could have come with a shock, but chooses to go for the unexpected. The titular character wanders in the old form too much, and the young form would have been nice if appeared at least in hallucinations often. There are moments when the mother could have been young, and there are situations when fear could have had many different faces, and even darkness could have been used better. Yet, the movie keeps us interested, thanks to the mystery that prevails throughout its run. There is always the feeling that something bigger is to come and that it is going to be a shocker, and it is that feeling and the existence of terror ready to be unleashed keeps us going. It was never going to be The Conjuring, The Nun, Annabelle, Insidious or Sinister, but manages to do enough.

Release date: 18th January 2024
Running time: 91 minutes
Directed by: Gabriel Abrantes
Starring: Jack Haven, Carloto Cotta, Anabela Moreira, Alba Baptista, Rita Blanco

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Vampire Owl: So, these people have made a movie about just one kidnapping?

Vampire Bat: You are saying that one won’t be enough?

Vampire Owl: No, I am saying that it can be like a vampire movie made out of one blood-sucking event, which won’t be enough.

Vampire Bat: It is a remake of the 2009 British thriller movie, The Disappearance of Alice Creed.

Vampire Owl: Okay, the one starring Gemma Arterton, the lady vampire from Byzantium.

Vampire Bat: The whole vampire team is indebted to her for the work in that movie.

Vampire Owl: It is my second favourite vampire movie after Interview with the Vampire.

Vampire Bat: If you add Let Me In, it could go to the third spot.

Vampire Owl: Do you realize that you haven’t reviewed a full-length German movie yet?

Vampire Bat: Yes, but there has been a short-film which left enough for us to think about.

[Gets an vancho cake and three cups of black tea].

What is the movie about? :: There is some big preparation going on with the two former convicts named Vic (Clemens Schick) and Tom (Max von der Groeben) getting something ready inside a building, just before they get prepared to commit some crime. Stella (Jella Haase), the only child of a wealthy businessman is their target, as they hope to become rich with the money of her father. This act and the resulting ransom is supposed to make sure that they won’t have to go to work for a long time. For this, they come up with some very careful planning, and leave no chance for them to escape, as they undress her and keeps her in a red tracksuit, blindfold her, tie her to a bed, and keeps her in a soundproof room, with no chance for her to even move more than al ittle. To conceal their identities, the two also wear masks while talking to her. There is a certain amount of risk involved with her knowing their identities, because she is pregnant with Tom’s child, as they were in love some time ago.

So, what happens with the events here? :: Stella tries hard to escape from her bondage, but there is no positive result for those attempts, as far as she is concerned. Tom does have a soft corner for her as he comes to know that she is pregnant only at a later moment when they threaten to cut off one of her fingers in front of the camera, while making a video which is to be shown to her father so that he would finally agree to give the ransom money to them. But the problem here is that during one of those vulnerable moments, she finds out that one of the kidnappers is Tom, and almost manages to overpower him to get hold of the gun. But Tom handles that situation as well as a few others which follow. Soon, Vic starts to have some doubts about Tom and Stella, as he is no longer the person whom he met in the prison – he is not sure if Tom can be trusted either. Now, it is to be seen how the two manage to keep the situation going. Can they get the money, or will the girl end up being dead? What will be the priority for Tom now, as he knows that she is pregnant with his child?

The defence of Kidnapping Stella :: You will notice that Kidnapping Stella, just like The Disappearance of Alice Creed and its earlier remake Reckless, doesn’t waste its time in getting into action. There are a few minutes when nobody talks about anything, and then we are quickly into the action when the girl is kidnapped and tied up without any chance to escape even from the bed where she is tied up. We do not have any subplot to take the focus away from the main thing, and even though there is a possibility of some flashback, we never really go towards it. You do have some twists, even though not used to the full effectiveness. A kidnapping scenario is also shown without any pretensions, and without showing it as someone who is locked in a random room giving them an easy journey throughout the abduction. The kidnapping programme is quite a solid one, and even though becoming only the third version of the same tale, you have to appreciate them doing this situation well enough here along with maintaining the thrills.

The claws of flaw :: If you have watched The Disappearance of Alice Creed or its Dutch remake, there is nothing much that you can find here to keep you interested, because you have seen all these in more critically appreciated movies, and the performers who have gained better applause not just in one film, but also many others. This movie also doesn’t seem to have gathered that much of an attention or appreciation as those movies which released much earlier. This one is also quite slow at parts, and for a movie which doesn’t have that much of a run-time, it is definitely a strange thing, no matter how you look at it. The movie could have used some more intense moments to make things feel better. As most of the movie is set within a small area, there was scope to bring more. When you have a film with kidnap as the main thing or rather the only thing, you would expect that something else would be there to be taken. There is always the chance for improvement as far as remakes are concerned, but we doubt if that chance was even thought about here.

Performers of the soul :: One cannot deny the fact that this movie misses someone like Gemma Arterton who has been one class actress in different roles, the best of them that we remember being Byzantium, the highly underrated and under-watched vampire movie coming from the director of the highly appreciated Interview with the Vampire. We can only guess that it would have been a fantastic performance. Jella Haase is pretty much okay as the kidnapped girl, but she doesn’t seem to raise that bar that much. The two kidnappers are actually very good though, and Clemens Schick as Vic, the tougher one comes up with a work that will make us attached to the situation here. Max von der Groeben as Tom, the guy who is caught between two sides also have our attention – he wants to do more than one thing, as there is the need to save his former lover and their unborn baby along with getting all that money from her father. There is no other character here, and these three makes the performers list fully.

How it finishes :: The movie originates from The Disappearance of Alice Creed, a 2009 British movie, which also had another remake in the form a Dutch movie named Reckless. From the reviews which we have read about this version here might be the film with the lowest rating, while the other two movies seem to be quite ahead. But for most of us who haven’t watched those two movies because we never really had much of an experience with Dutch movies and as the British movie was released a long time ago, Kidnapping Stella is going to be an interesting experience. There are enough thrills around there, and it surely feels more than the usual hostage movie. Matching The Disappearance of Alice Creed was always going to be a tough task, as it had Gemma Arterton who has been in all kinds of movies with all the glory, a performer who is difficult to match. You are free to watch all the three versions in different European languages and decide the best for yourself if you feel the need to disagree. Otherwise, you can just enjoy this newer version.

Release date: 12th July 2019
Running time: 89 minutes
Directed by: Thomas Sieben
Starring: Clemens Schick, Jella Haase, Max von der Groeben