Shiver (2008)

I'm a huge fan of Spanish and Argentinian thriller movies. I love my plot twists and Spaniards and Argentinians do it very well (see The Tunnel, Wild Tales, The Bar, The Orphanage, The Secret in their Eyes, Nieve Negra, Contratiempo, Abre los Ojos, La piel que habito, Tarde para la Ira, Lucia y el Sexo, El Cuerpo, El Desconocido and many more). Having said that, Eskalofrío isn't the best example of a good Spanish horror flick, but it's also not the worst. Actually it's better than many American fantastic horrors I've tried to watch but couldn't go past the first fifteen minutes. This movie has interesting premises, timely twists and reveals, besides a wonderful filming location (that deserved better treatment from the cinematographer). But acting is atrocious. That's what kills the whole buzz. The mother is played in such an unconvincing manner, by an actress that seems to be inadvertently flirting with all other characters. Either this or she's constantly zoned out. The boy is not such a bad actor but the shivering was just too much. The rest of the cast is embarrassing. Oh, and the plot holes... Enough to make a trypophobic's skin crawl. The last scene: totally unnecessary. It does not do the movie justice. A very cheap, unoriginal, not scary at all, jump scare scene. But throughout the film, the suspense had me on the edge of my seat a few times. I only wish this movie had been more carefully and professionally executed.

Seeing as this movie seems to get mostly positive reviews (at least here on IMDb), I thought I'd add my two cents to even it out a little bit because Eskalofrío didn't work quite as well with me...On a purely technical level, the movie is done well, the actors were good, much more believable than in your-average-horror-flick, the music too was good enough for me to notice it and above all you get great shots of Spanish mountains and forests that contribute greatly to the atmosphere, both thanks to being beautiful and also a bit disturbing at times.That being said, my main complaint is about the story and the script. This is what it boils down to, I figure - how far you are willing to stretch suspension of disbelief. I consider myself quite tolerant in this regard but this movie was really pushing it too far.Most of it are just details but at the same time, most of it are the worst of horror-movie cliché stupidities of the type: - the young group in the forest splits up - even they themselves said they shouldn't split up! - the protagonist's "vampyrism" (photophobia) that in the end adds nothing to the story whatsoever - the protagonist suddenly becomes the main suspect based only and only on some "strange circumstances" - the same protagonists so completely mistrusts all the adults that he prefers to take on "the monster" alone with a couple of friends. At night. In a forest. That is filled with traps. Yippee for common sense. - said "monster" is a little girl, no older than 13. Okay, this may have taken the movie in interesting directions but it didn't. I understand she was feral and living in the wild, her strength and agility developed considerably but come on... no human, no animal, can adapt to new life conditions so quickly, I mean, that's why evolution takes so many generations and so many millions of years, it's not like she's some kind of human-wolf mutant predator... - by the way, said "monster"/little girl apparently didn't age at allet blah di blah de blah, I could go on... A shame. I wanted to like it and it had quite a lot going for it but there's only so much stupidity I can let go unnoticed...

"Spoiler"I did not know much about Shiver before I watched it. The only thing I did know was that Dark Sky films was releasing it and they are a company that I really trust right now. I can gladly say that they did not abuse that trust. Shiver is a good, albeit flawed, fright flick. It starts out in one direction and goes to a very unexpected place. The film follows Santi, a young man who has an affliction not dissimilar to vampires. Santi is highly sensitive to sunlight and also has fangs. However, this has little to do with the actual plot other than to make you think Santi could be a monster. Because there is a monster of sorts that lives in the woods near the small village where Santi and his mother have moved to. There are a few animal mutilations and murders that coincide with Santi's arrival and the townsfolk believe Santi to be responsible. I don't want to give anything away, but Santi is not the killer. The killer's identity is a highly original concept and it's what I think will separate Shiver and make it memorable. Also, there are a few scenes in broad daylight that gave me chills. That is an incredible accomplishment to me. And that's why I recommend seeing the picture. I think towards the end of the film Shiver becomes a little too routine. That is my main complaint. It goes down the same tired road we've been down before. It had a lot of potential to be different and it didn't take full advantage of that. I still think it's a good film because it did give me the "shivers" and I suggest seeing it especially if you are a fan of Spanish horror.

This movie is not truly a horror, more of a mystery thing, but it reminded me of some of the good John Saul books. It has a complex plot and it is very well done. Hard to say anything about it without spoiling it, so I will just say that I enjoyed it very much and I highly recommend it.I would make a parallel to Let the Right One In, but the main character in this movie is more human friendly. The movie is better though than the Swedish one and, if that is rated 8, this can only be given a 9. Maybe people should stop rating films on how much they like the language in which they are spoken.Bottom line: very good thriller and a nice story.