I really enjoyed this film. I would consider it "elevated horror", much like A24 horror films like Hereditary and The Witch. It is a slow burn film, but that is precisely what I love about it. It takes its time to build tension and suspense. This isn't a jumpscare film.
Anyway, I was extremely impressed with the elderly actress, Pilar. She gave out one heck of a performance. Anyone who has ever been a caretaker for an elderly family member will know what I am talking about. The actress who plays Susanna was also very talent. My heart went out to her as I watched her reach her wits end and was teetering to the point of a meltdown. She really conveyed her mental distress.
The only thing I didn't like was the movie poster because it gives away the story and ruins the mystery. They should have used the photo they used for the movie's soundtrack album. But perhaps they felt the poster on imdb would sell more tickets. I just hate it when trailers and the artwork give away the story.
Oh yeah, never mind the reviews that say it's boring. I think they are used to slashers and teen horror popcorn films.
Plot summary
A Paris model must return to Madrid where her grandmother, who had brought her up, just had a stroke. But spending just a few days with this relative turns into an unexpected nightmare.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
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Exceeded my expectations.
Incredibly slow paced and takes forever to virtually tell nothing...
I stumbled upon the 2021 Spanish horror movie "La Abuela" (aka "The Grandmother") from writer Carlos Vermut and director Paco Plaza here in 2022. I had not heard about the movie prior to watching it, but I will say that I was lured in by the movie's cover/poster, and the synopsis seemed fair enough.
And now having seen "La Abuela", I must say that this is a slow burn of a movie. The pacing of the narrative from writer Carlos Vermut is really slow and sort of mundane. If you are expecting a great horror experience, then "La Abuela" is not the best of choice.
The storyline was just ultimately too weak and slow paced for my liking. Sure, I will say that the concept of the storyline was definitely interesting, but it was just brutally killed by a very monotonously directed movie that moved ahead in snail pace.
I wasn't familiar with the cast list in "La Abuela", but I will say that the cast actually carried the movie well enough, especially when taking into consideration the severe limitations imposed by the script and storyline.
I managed to sit through the entire movie, but I wasn't particularly entertained, much less impressed. And there wasn't a single scary moment throughout the 100 minutes that the movie ran for.
My rating of "La Abuela" lands on a three out of ten stars. The movie was just lacking in crucial areas and moments to be worthwhile.
Great atmosphere but predictable plot
I really wanted to like this movie, I have enjoyed previous Plaza's films and the trailer for this one had me intrigued. The film has a great production desing and photography and a creepy score, but the plot was too predictable. Skeleton Key already pulled something like this. And also it was too slow burned for my taste. Glad I waited till it got to streaming.