In the wake of many horrors, mysticism and thrillers. . . I would like to admit that I personally have a rather positive attitude towards Spanish horror films. At one time, such representatives of the genre as “Devil’s Ridge” (2001), “Fragile” (2005) and “The Shelter” (2007), I watched not without interest and, in general, was satisfied with both the quality of the script and the level of production, along with the acting performance. So when I noticed another Spanish horror film under the intriguing title The Curse of Quintanara (2020) among the new releases, and with the sex symbol of the past couple of decades of this Iberian state of Pas Vega in the title role, it naturally caught my attention. And then they decided to lure that the Curse of Quintanara was created with the direct participation of the producer of the film Platform (2019) Carlos Juarez, which was released on Netflix, and has a fairly high rating and a large number of viewers. In general, The Curse of Quintanara was in its own way a project for subjective preferences, as long as expectations were met. . .
But this did not happen, much to my regret, but about everything in order. Let’s start with the fact that “The Curse of Quintanara” is a full-fledged debut in full-length art cinema for the main director of the picture Makarena Astorga, who shot it based on the novel by Sandra Garcia Nieto, which Nieto herself adapted for the film adaptation. And here we are introduced to a popular writer named Antonio Prieto (Javier Rey), who, in search of inspiration, rushes to remote places that are not even on the map, and finds himself among the people of some secret and strange community, living according to its own laws and adhere to extremely curious but frightening legends. One of them says about a certain "Vimero" by which two strange girls often call the writer. And it is in this canvas that Antonio Prieto finds an interesting plot for his new book. He communicates with the locals, becoming more and more immersed in their folklore fears, and then begins to suffer from dreams that seem to occur in reality. And then comes the realization that the secret of the deaf places and its inhabitants is much more terrible than could be imagined. . .
And, probably, I have not seen in one film such a cluster of plot threads, references, general atmosphere, artistic techniques, as well as templates and clichés from other films, as in the Curse of Quintanara. At first, the painting by Makarena Astorga resembles a certain mixture of “The Wicker Man” (1973) and “Children of Corn” (1984). But then you somehow adjust to the mood motif, which was obtained from watching the films Sleepy Hollow (1999) and The Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001). But pretty quickly this feeling disappears, because somewhere remotely you begin to perceive the "Curse of Quintanara" reworked in a Spanish way and moved back for some time "Sun" (2019). But when more and more attention is focused on the character of Javier Ray and the development of his relationship with the heroine of Pas Vega named Bertha, then images of the films The Hills Have Eyes (1977) with Mysterious Forest (2004) appear in memory. But here comes the puncture, because in the climax of "The Curse of Quintanara" you are already clearly aware that you have a symbiosis of "The Shining" (1980) and "The Secret Window" (2004)!
And it seems good that the film was shot with an eye on really classic films of the genre of horror, mysticism and thrillers. But in fact, the “Curse of Quintanara” turned out to be a cocktail in which the balance of ingredients was not maintained, so there was a taste of some porridge-like substance in which there is no “highlight”. In addition, to the final part of the film, where, in theory, we reveal all the vicissitudes of the plot, giving answers to numerous questions, all this questions becomes even more. And it turns out that each viewer can make up their own opinions about what really happened to the writer Antonio Prieto in The Curse of Quintanara. And this is not to say that it is good for the picture from Makarena Astorga and Sandra Garcia Nieto. Javier Rey, who played the title role, diligently tried to show a multi-layered character in which there is a mystery, a spark, and talent. But he is not fully revealed, and excessive plot saturation, again, leaves serious questions for him. And why a very static role was played by Paz Vega, and the image was somehow empty, except that she became the object of the romantic passion of the hero Javier Rey.
And you know what? After watching this film, for some reason, I really wanted to reconsider the classics of the genre of mystical horrors, rather than especially think about what the authors of the folkthriller “The Curse of Quintanara” veiled us there. It is not unreasonable to assume that if the script fell into more experienced hands, then Spanish filmmakers would again provide us with an ethnically expressive sample of the genre. But we have what we have. In principle, fans of the special atmosphere of mysterious communities and numerous mysteries can recommend this picture, it is possible that such a viewer will discover something different for himself in the Curse of Quintanara and then tell us. In the meantime, the debut of Makarena Astorga and Sandra Garcia Nieto deserves on:
5 out of 10