Rating: C-
Dir: Narciso Ibáñez Serrador
Star: Nieve de Medina, Montse Mostaza, Alejandra Lorenzo, Mariana Cordero
a.k.a. La culpa
Spoilers follow. While I always attempt to avoid them, in this case it’s unavoidable, if I’m to discuss this properly. It’s not a decision I took lightly. I typically start writing the review as soon as possible after watching a film, in order to capture my immediate reaction. I slept on this one, trying to figure out if I could work around the issue. But here we are, the next morning, and there’s no getting around it, save crippling my ability to review the movie. So, without further ado, let’s rip the Bandaid off quickly, and get the spoiler out of the way. It’s all in the main character’s head.
Well, not all, of course. Just the horror elements. Gloria (Mostaza) is genuinely an administrative assistant in a Spanish hospital at some point in the past. She is a single mother with a young daughter, Vicky (Lorenzo). When times get tough, they move in with Dr. Ana Torres (de Medina), a gynecologist who has her office in a large, sprawling home she rents. However, she also quietly offers abortions, at a time when (presumably – the film assumes the audience knows Spanish history on the topic) such things were illegal. Gloria ends up becoming an assistant to Dr. Torres, and when she becomes pregnant herself, reluctantly avails herself of the physician’s services. But the aborted foetus vanishes, and weird occurrences start happening, involving the house and Vicky.
And these are all in Gloria’s head, because this is one of those “horror as metaphor” movies. Specifically, as the final shot makes obvious, events are an embodiment of her remorse at terminating the pregnancy. This is where the English language title might be a mistake. Guilt is another way to translate La culpa, and might be more accurate. Though it could also be a huge spoiler itself, so I understand the decision. But can anybody, hand on heart, tell me they would not have liked a film where an abortion goes around, taking revenge on those responsible? I know I certainly would have preferred that over what is, once the imaginary elements are removed, more a Hispanic kitchen-sink drama.
I was excited for this one, which sees the return of original Stories to Keep You Awake creator Serrador to the director’s chair. However, it’s jammed with too many red herrings, such as the door on the landing whose handle keeps moving. From the opening scene, of a body being dragged away, it tries to set up Dr. Torres as the killer of a vanished former housemate called Christine. This goes nowhere, but in hindsight, she might be a metaphor for the disappearance of Christian morality from the house. Did I mention Dr. Torres is a lesbian in addition to being an abortionist? Yet she’s not the villain. Indeed there really isn’t one here, and the whole thing is very gynocentric, to the point there’s barely a man present. But it definitely needs more genuine vengeful fetus.