99.9: The Frequency of Terror (1997)

I'm not stupid and I don't have the attention span of a gnat. I LOVE movies with subtitles because (silly me) subtitled movies generally have a more interesting and original plot than what comes out of Hollywood these days. Like most fans, I'm irritated with the American Movie Machine nabbing and remaking foreign films, particularly the J and K horror films.But 99.9, IMHO, may be improved by an American schlockmeister, at least for this dim-witted old broad. Maybe then I will understand what the heck happened. I watched it twice, hoping that I was just MISSING something. Reading the other comments here, I wonder if I should get it again and watch it over. I can't be that stupid, can I? It should have been great. Creepy atmosphere. Taciturn villagers who won't give straight answers. Faces appearing on walls. Not to mention the whole effort to videotape the dreams of alcoholics and drug addicts...it should have been freaking fabulously frightening.But then...it all went spinning off to nowhere. Plot lines were dropped. Clues were brought up and discarded. And that whole ending just...well it sent me over the edge.Guess I will stick with simpleminded fare like "The Devil's Backbone" or "Cure". 99.9 is simply too esoteric and sophisticated for me.

I almost did not put this one on, but seeing that Terele Pávez was in it and that the filming was done by `el maestro' Javier Aguirresarobe, I succumbed. As I am not exactly so keen on `creepies' and horror type films, I did not expect much, so got more than I expected. Which, logically, is better than vice-versa.Firstly it was great to see Terele Pávez again, so many years after the outstanding masterpiece `Los Santos Inocentes' (1984)(qv), as well as her lesser parts in `Requiem por un Campesino Español' (1985), the not so accomplished `Celestina' (1996) and the excellent TV series `Quijote' (1991) and `Cañas y Barro' (1978). However, also pleasing was to see María Barranco in a decent rôle, as previously I had only noted her as one of `Almodóvar's girls' in the early 90s, as well as participating in films which were more unfortunate than anything else – `El Rey Pasmado' and Bigas Lunas' indigestible `Las Edades de Lulú'.In `99.9' things hold together surprisingly well, despite loose ends flying about which were not `nicely' tied up in a neat package. Deep in the depths of darkest Spain – but in effect some lovely sierras in the province of Jaen, Andalusia – some rather weird goings-on end up with Lara's (María Barranco) ex boy-friend being impaled stark naked on some railings in a cemetery right at the beginning of the film. Lara investigates and thus sets us up for a spooky session. Which may well have not worked if the cinematographer had not been Javier Aguirresarobe. This man is incredible, absolutely a perfectionist of the first order. Whether it be the dark interiors of mansions in `Los Otros' (The Others, qv), beautiful scenery and spider's webs in `Secretos del Corazón' (qv), costume pieces such as in `La Niña de tus Ojos' (qv) and Pilar Miró's `El Perro del Hortelano) or the highly acclaimed `Beltenebros', or the Madrid gangster world of Madrid in `La Fuente Amarilla' (qv), Aguirresarobe shows astonishing ability to even capture the feel and atmosphere of whatever he is shooting. Apart from that, some of the acting is pretty good, even convincing given the hardy nature of people living in some of those tumbled-down abandoned villages lost in the cold sierras. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that if I were to choose seeing this film or `The Others' again, I might just choose `99.9'. It simply has an uncanniness that the other better known film lacks.

Agustí Villaronga has made another disturbing film about the human nature. This one is nearer to classic horror films, and was Maria Barranco's opportunity to show that she could make more things than comedies. The film has two parts: in the first Villaronga brings us where he wants in his strange story, in the second there are beautiful landscapes (Aguirresarobe is still the best), but lack of fx: it seems that there was not too much money for that.Failed, but interesting.

The director, at the film's Toronto première, admitted that he did not resolve all of the loose ends, and that there were elements in the original screenplay which did not interest him very much, so he left them undeveloped. This is frustrating for viewers expecting an integrated whole. The story of the creation of this film reminded me of the genesis of David Lynch's Lost Highway. But just as that film was interesting, so is this one. If you are able to put the plot problems aside, the film has a distinctive style and is worth seeing for that reason alone. The film's title refers to a radio station frequency. It is also the number of the beast inverted. So said the director.