Rating: C+
Dir: Nicolás López.
Star: Eli Roth, Andrea Osvárt, Natasha Yarovenko, Nicolás Martínez.
This is arguably in rather bad taste, via a couple of ways. Most obviously, it was inspired by an 8.8 strength earthquake and tsunami which hit Chile in 2010, killing over 500 people. So, converting this event into what is, let’s be honest, crass disaster porn, just a couple of years later, could be seen as insensitive. Though personally, I’m more offended by Eli Roth’s acting, which showcases his training at the Quentin Tarantino Center for Kids Who Can’t Act Good. He plays Gringo, an American on holiday in Chile, with pals Pollo (Martinez) and Ariel. They end up meeting three girls: Russian Irina (Yarovenko), plus sisters Monica (Osvárt) and Kylie. Banal chit-chat ensues. For thirty-four minutes, before the promised earthquake shows up.
You would be forgiven for fast-forwarding to this point. While the attempt at character building is laudable, nobody here ever seems more than a shallow stereotype. Besides, we are not here for character building. We are here for the collapsing of buildings, around and on top of people. Once things kick off, I must say it largely delivers. The carnage is not just directly tectonic related. After things stop shaking, the city of Valparaiso quickly collapses into anarchy and chaos, with escaped prisoners roaming the streets and arguably posing a greater threat. Especially to the white women – and this brings us to the other bad taste element. For the sexual abuse which follows hit differently, knowing the director was convicted of sexual abuse in 2022. Awkward.
The movie certainly doesn’t stint on the deaths, and there is an admirable sense anyone could die at time, right from minute 34 through to, literally the final shot. [I knew how this was going to end before it did – still found it satisfying] There’s a sense of black humour present, not least in that the character least well-equipped to handle the situation, is the one who gets put through the wringer most. There are other moments too; someone loses a hand, and after searching for it frantically, finds the limb – only for it to be snatched away by a wild dog. It all feels a bit like Roth’s The Green Inferno, with tourists finding that everything in South America is trying to kill them. There are some cast members in common too.
If only I’d been able to give a damn about any of them. Given the half-hour plus spent on getting to know these people, my level of liking any of them remained resolutely low. The death which got most reaction here was likely that of the cleaning lady in the nightclub where they were when the earthquake hit. She seemed like a nice person, who did not deserve what fate had in store for her. At least she didn’t suffer much, a fate in sharp contrast to just about everybody else here. Death here tends to be drawn out and painful. Maybe disaster porn isn’t quite accurate – this sails closer to being disaster sadism.