Shrew's Nest (2014)

Thanks for the memories!

Good concept, poorly executed.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

If you have an interest in Euroflicks, you should give this one a go.While the movie starts out as some sort of post-war drama with a pair of sisters living together after their parents both die. The mother died early, the father died presumably in the war.But the movie takes a quick turn to a slasher/King's Misery hybrid and does this quite well. It even manages to covey some dark humour here and there which suits the movie well. The cast is small and basically all the action takes place in one flat (this has to do with Montse's fear to leave the flat). But the director did use this "disadvantage" to make the movie a bit more intense.Even though the story is mostly predictable the end and the final conclusion is no happy end at all.All in all the acting is very good and Macarena Gomez does really well as a twisted character. (I've seen her in Sexykiller, where she showed some comedy talent, too) The movie is no revelation, but it is much better than some other flicks covering a similar subject. As said, if you are into Euroflicks, give this one a go.

A long anticipated Spanish horror for me, with a strange name and great cast, Shrew's Nest lived up to my expectations. Spanish love residential chillers, and this one proved to be no exception. With one twist, it's centered around agoraphobic woman and her younger sister, their relationship and turmoil, which will lay foundation for grief to come.Macarena Gomez plays the role of troubled Montse, left to care and provide for her much younger sister after their parents have passed away, a bit too early. She has a severe case of agoraphobia, heightened by her overwhelming guilt which is not rooted 'in nomine patris' only but also her difficult childhood made unbearable by her strict, religious father. The father, played by ever malevolent Luis Tosar sometimes appears as a hallucination, a superego, relentless critic during Montse's attacks and crisis. Catholic upbringing, the conservative, post war 50s and Montse's strange illness are bread and butter of the story. Macarena Gomez plays the demanding role well, she is sometimes OTT but from her every move, obsession or thought her past and fixations shine through.Some might argue this is a Spanish version of Misery, misery is plentiful indeed, and indeed the main character displays some traits that are very 'out there'. The lead actress reminded me more of Bette Davis than Kathy Bates, in all honesty, as she had displayed certain mannerism but the familiar facial features as well. How do you play agoraphobic - turned psychotic, anyway? These areas of human behavior and neurotic disorders have seldom been successfully caught on film. I can name but two others, but here it serves a vessel to tell the story and paint the character's background. Montse's acting out might seem 'loco' and far-fetched. She has much bigger problems than being unable to leave the house, though, her rage and high strung personality affects her sister, 'la nina' whose name we don't get to learn, herself and everyone she comes in contact with.But suddenly, Montse meets a man, wants out, she wants love but the superego - eternal critic - has 'forbidden' her to live so she built giant coffin out of their apartment and buried herself in it. By pure chance and 'courtesy' of the nextdoor neighbor, Montse takes a glimpse at the world she has forsaken and abandoned, he reminds her of the possibility of love, desire and a will to free herself, but these new found urges come with a price: and she may be too far gone for normal life.The cinematography? Well, it is Spanish, isn't it? Only top notch visuals, and great atmosphere awaits you here. Drama - like qualities get abruptly interrupted by the violence and gore, very nice and somewhat shocking scenes get things going and escalating after a relatively slow build.This is a tale about shrews, mole - like rodents who live their life away from the spotlight and stay hidden from the public eye. And the overwhelming grief that has turned destructive for everyone involved. 'Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.'

It really is amazing that producer Alex de Iglesia has gotten so far without being a world celebrity film maker. This one is a quickie directed by a couple of his colleagues with unfamiliar players (Mrs. de Iglesea, the striking Carolina Bang, has a quite small part) and while it has a personality of it's own we can still see the macabre, master-crafted Iglesea style in it.We get one of his closed environments like the apartment block in LA COMUNIDAD or Resines' space ship in ACCION MUTANTE, here a flat in a fifties Spanish apartment block, which the camera never leaves. Shut in seamstress Gómez (who proves to have a scream queen background that includes a Stuart Gordon Lovecraft adaptation) terrorizes her younger sister, former child actress Nadia de Santiago, now at the age where getting out of the house to work has made her take an interest in boys. Then neighbor Silva falls down the stairs - and proves to have a secret of his own. Throw in religious fanaticism and morphine addiction.Gripping, perverse, bloody but not without rounded characters in the confusion. The great Luis Tosar is particularly imposing in his small footage.Giving us some idea of the shortness of the film critic memory a few writers have cited MISERY but no one seems to notice that it's retreading WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE.

Montse has hidden away many things, including herself, inside a run down apartment where she lives like a shrew in her nest. Her younger sister, whose name we never learn, lives with her and leads a relatively normal life under the care of Montse even though the latter is subject to rages and hallucinations. When the younger sister reaches 18 a crisis ensues in the sisters' relationship as Montse is aware that her influence over the girl is diminishing. Desperate to cling to the life she has established, the frail and violent Montse kidnaps her neighbour, Carlos, after he seeks her help following an accident. Some of the events are reminiscent of the film Misery.A stylish film that evokes the period well, the plot and reveals are predictable but the characters and the acting more than keep the film alive and engaging. Montse is played by an actress who looks as frail as her character's mental health. The younger sister is delicate but robust and Carlos is handsome and seductive. A supporting role for Luis Tosar as Montse's father is well done and Tosar lends a name to a relatively unknown cast. This film is the debut for the directors and it is a finely drawn psychological drama that borders on horror. Although the film is punctuated by moments of humour and beauty, the pathos of Montse's fate makes this a very poignant film. The reveal about Montse's relationship with her sister and the final scene underline how sad and heavy is the fate of both sisters.If you have the opportunity to see this film then take it. The film was delayed in production by Spain's financial woes. I hope these woes do not prevent the film getting international distribution.