The House at the End of Time (Spanish: La casa del fin de los tiempos) is a 2013 Venezuelan horror-suspense film written and directed by Alejandro Hidalgo.
The film was well received in its country of origin and became the highest grossing thriller of all time in Venezuela.
Plot teaser:
In 1981 Dulce (Ruddy Rodríguez) lived in an old house with her sons Leopoldo (Rosmel Bustamante) and Rodrigo (Hector Mercado), and her husband Juan José (Gonzalo Cubero). During that time she experienced multiple cases of strange supernatural phenomena, most notably an elderly woman that continues to warn her that Juan José will soon murder their children. Dulce desperately tries to keep this from happening but is not only unsuccessful, but is also shocked when the police arrive and find that Juan José has also been killed. As there are no other people in the house, Dulce is arrested and imprisoned for the murder.
Thirty years later, an elderly Dulce has been released from jail, but under the requirement that she serve the rest of her sentence under house arrest in the very house where the murders took place. Once settled, she is visited by a local priest (Guillermo Garcia) who wants desperately to get her to turn back to religion. She successfully manages to enlist his help in discovering what exactly happened in her home thirty years ago…
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Reviews:
‘ …one of the most inventive supernatural thrillers to come along in a while – an impressive, confident and creepy debut from Venezuelan writer-director Alejandro Hidalgo. This fresh voice in the genre adopts many of the usual genre tropes, however, he crafts them in a relentless, meticulous manner to serve a story that is full of shocking twists and turns.’ Ryan Turek, Shock Till You Drop
‘A cleverly constructed horror film, Alejandro Hidalgo’s The House at the End of Time plays like a surprising short story on a rainy evening. A patient, reflective work that’s less concerned with ghosts than with how we haunt ourselves, the Venezuelan feature pores over the nature of regret and personal slights, and comes to a mature conclusion in the process.’ Samuel Zimmerman, Fangoria
‘End of Time looks great, with a palette of blue, black and gold helping the story move between moments of suspense and beauty. If this is truly ‘Venezuela’s first horror film’ then it’s quite an achievement as it surpasses the majority of Hollywood horror in both direction and cinematography.
There are myriad other aspects worthy of praise including the set design, editing and especially the performances that Alejandro Hidalgo manages to coax out of an entire group of children (it’s usually a miracle to find one child actor who doesn’t grate on an audience).’ Gary Collinson, Flickering Myth
