The imagery is solid, the terror real and plausible. Definitely one of the most suspenseful films in recent memory. I usually reserve the 8 for the top notch films, but this film was just so close to that mark I feel bad giving it a 7. I wish that IMDb had half stars, because I was torn between a 7 and an 8. Its unexpected denouement would be worthy of the master of the macabre himself, thus completing an original and disturbing classic.A Spanish orchestra conductor (Quim Gutierrez) deals with the mysterious disappearance of his girlfriend (Clara Lago). Like the work of that master of the twisted tale Roald Dhal, The Hidden Face keeps the best shock to last. The strains of classical music which echo round the dimly lit mansion as Adrián pounds his grand piano late at night would be enough to send anyone over the edge, let alone the fragile Fabiana who increasingly believes that the house she has moved into is haunted. Though the secluded country house which Adrián and Belén move into is your typical 'haunted house' with twisting corridors, wide open rooms and dodgy lighting which fails just when needed most, it creates an added air of menace through its beautiful yet austere decor. Setting and soundtrack are as important in the creation of the film's suspense and atmosphere as the characters. However, despite Adrian's distress at the apparent loss of Belén being brought to life with believable intensity by Gutiérrez, it is Lago and García's performances as the suspicious Belén and bewildered Fabiana which stand out, leaving the viewer's loyalties torn between the two with equal sympathy and contempt. Eschewing gore for subtlety, the film builds tension by encouraging your affinity with the individual characters. The Hidden Face works because it has no such constraints. Productions from large Hollywood studios seem honour-bound to include as much visual mayhem as they can, meaning that audiences increasingly have to look beyond mainstream American cinema (in this case to Spain) for cutting edge frights. In the age of the modern horror movie, film-makers appear to have forgotten that often what isn't seen is much more unsettling than anything CGI wizardry can come up with. Everything is fine until Fabiana begins hearing sounds when alone in the house, becoming convinced that there is more to her strange new home than meets the eye. Accepting that she has gone for good Adrián moves on and meets a young waitress called Fabiana (Martina García) with whom he falls in love and brings to live in the house. Then suddenly one morning Belén disappears. As time passes Belén convinces herself that Adrián is having an affair with a member of the orchestra, which leads her to become increasingly paranoid and hostile towards him. John / Starring: Quim Gutiérrez, Clara Lago, Martina García / Release Date: TBC Though The Hidden Face, the new thriller from Andrés Baiz, the director behind 2007's critically acclaimed crime thriller Satan á s, is not strictly a horror film, it has all the qualities for a truly unsettling experience - atmosphere, suspense and a twisted climax which leaves you guessing until the final credits.Īdrián (Quim Gutiérrez) and his fiancé Belén (Clara Lago) move into an isolated mansion outside the Colombian city of Bogotá, after he takes up the position of conductor in residence with the city's orchestra. Review: Hidden Face / Cert: TBC / Director: Andrés Baiz / Screenplay: Andrés Baiz, Stewart St.
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