| Eskalofrío | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Isidro Ortiz |
| Produced by | Guillermo Del Toro |
| Written by | Hernán Migoya Jose Gamo Alejandro Hernandez Isidro Ortiz |
| Starring | Junio Valverde Blanca Suarez Mar Sodupe Francesc Orella |
| Music by | Fernando Velazquez |
| Cinematography | Josep M. Civit |
| Editing by | Bernat Aragonés |
| Distributed by | Cine Video y TV |
| Release date(s) | February 8, 2008 |
| Running time | 91 min. |
| Language | Spanish |
Eskalofrío (from escalofrío, Spanish for "Shiver") is a 2008 horror-thriller film directed by Isidro Ortiz and produced by Guillermo Del Toro.
Contents |
The film begins with Santi (Junio Valverde) waking up in a cold sweat after having a nightmare wherein he died running from the sun. Santi has photosensitivity and never leaves the house before the sun goes down. During the night he attends school, where he is bullied by most of the students. His doctor tells Julia (Mar Sodupe), his mother, that his condition is getting worse and that she and Santi should move somewhere with less sunlight. She is reluctant at first, but gives in after encouragement from Santi and the doctor.
They rent a home in a small, foggy, seemingly peaceful farm community with little sun. The first night, a nearby neighbor (Fabian) finds one of his sheep has been killed, and he shoots at something running in the distance. The next day, Fabian carries the dead sheep into the local grocery (owned by Dimas, the man Santi and his mother are renting from) and exclaims that this is the third sheep of his found killed. Dimas tells Julia not to go into the woods. Then, a young boy (Tito) is shown skipping kicking a rock down the road and accidentally kicks it into the bushes. He attempts to retrieve it, but when he enters the woods he hears a growling sound and runs off. Later that night, Santi is awakened from sleep by a loud sound coming from the attic.
The next day Santi, Jonas (a boy from school) and Tito go into the woods to figure out what beast made the noise that scared Tito the day before. The beast runs past the boys and Tito, frightened, flees. Santi goes after him, but cannot find him, and becomes lost. He hears a shrill scream coming from where Jonas is, and runs toward him. He falls, disoriented, onto Jonas' corpse - his throat had been ripped and his blood was drank. The town immediately suspects Santi of the crime except Angela, the lead detective Antonio Cifuenta's daughter.
The next night, Santi is walking home from school near the woods in the dark and beast throws a soccer ball at Santi, and Santi runs, colliding into Fabian. Santi tells Fabian the beast is in the woods and Fabian forces Santi to show him. After the two enter the woods, Fabian is attacked by the beast and Santi sees the beast sucking Fabian's blood. Santi tells Detective Cifuenta that the beast is Erika Hassel, the daughter of the previous tenant whose picture Santi found under his bed. The Detective says that is impossible, because Erika moved to Germany a year ago.
That night, Erika breaks into Santi's house while he is home alone. The next day Santi, along with his friend Leo and Angela, research Erika and find that she was lost in the jungle before she was caught by hunters and sent to a nearby hospital run by the Sisters of Mercy. She escaped and has been living in the woods, but no one will listen to Santi so he and his friends decide to find Erika in the woods and tape her. They find an overturned car with German license plates, probably that of Erika's parents, who may be buried nearby, and notice the car is probably Erika's hideout. Dimas and Oskar (Santi's father) go into the woods after the kids. Erika kills Oskar by stabbing him through the leg and hitting him. Meanwhile, Santi falls into a trap and can't move, so Leo goes for help and runs into Dimas. Leo explains to Dimas what he knows, and Dimas begins beating Leo, not knowing that he is being filmed by Santi. Antonio runs after Santi and falls down a hill, hitting his head and passing out.
The next day Julia goes to Dimas' house to ask his father about all the things that have happened. While the man is occupied and unbeknownst to his mother, Santi sneaks into the house to look for clues about the girl/creature. While in the home he accidentally locks himself in the basement. When Dimas returns he forces Julia out and realizes that Santi is inside. He escapes, but Dimas rallies the neighbors to chase him down. Santi outruns them, returning to his home and locking himself in the attic. Dimas finds Santi and plants a knife, intending to kill him and claim it as self defense. But as Dimas is about to shoot Santi, Erika jumps out from the shadows and kills Dimas. She then covers Santi as the neighbors charge in. Julia and Antonio arrive to find Santi and Erika and realize that Santi was telling the truth.
In the reveal, Dimas' father explains that Dimas attempted to rape Erika's mother. She resisted, and in the ensuing struggle, was shoved. She fell, bashed her head on the corner of the stove, and died. Her husband walked in and saw her dead, so Dimas killed him. He then locked Erika in the basement, but she escaped into the woods. In the final scene, Erika is shown back at the Mercedary Hospital as she picks up a sharp rock and goes after one of the nuns.
The Movie Spot gave the film much praise saying "Great Spanish horror movie. Creepy and unnerving. Junio Valverde who plays Santi was great. Highly recommend it."[1]