Atrocious is a 2010 Spanish found footage horror film, written and directed by Fernando Barreda Luna, and starring Rafael Amaya, Cristian Valencia and Clara Moraleda.
In April 2010, the Quintanilla family travelled to their old farmhouse in Sitges, where teenagers Christian and July set about investigating the Legend of the Girl of Garraf Woods , a local legend of a ghost haunting the nearby area. Using video cameras, the brother and sister recorded their findings as they went along. Five days later, the Quintanilla family was found murdered under strange circumstances. The local police reported the existence of 37 hours of recorded evidence. Atrocious finally reveals the shocking true footage of those tragic five days…
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“There’s the kernel of a really strong horror film here, and Luna certainly has talent, though perhaps more as a director than as a scriptwriter. For all its unevenness, many genre fans will find this appealing, and it’s a great calling card – let’s hope there’s more, better work to come from this talented team.” Jennie Kermode, Eye For Film
“Even in a horror subgenre that I don’t care very much for in general, it still doesn’t take me a whole lot to sell me on a movie. A decent story, execution that doesn’t betray the concept, and the all-too-rare likeable characters are all I really need. It doesn’t seem those few things are all that much to ask for, but it’s shockingly seldom that that these piece come together in a horror film these days. Luckily, this short, sweet Spanish entry hits the right notes for a scary little time that I can totally recommend.” DVD Verdict
“Although the found footage subgenre has certainly thrown up a few gems over the last few years and probably still has room for a few more before it disappears into the ether, Atrocious is sadly not one of them. The film is definitely towards the bottom of the barrel, and even ardent fans of Paranormal Activity, Blair Witch and their many imitators are likely to struggle to find much to enjoy – mainly due to the fact that almost nothing happens during the entire running time. For the most part the film is made up of the two unlikeable protagonists wandering aimlessly around, with Luna seeming to be under the impression that the mere sight of the semi-picturesque hedge labyrinth is enough to make things atmospheric and creepy.” Beyond Hollywood
IMDb | Wikipedia | Related: found footage | Spanish horror
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