Purgatory

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Audience Member For those who wonder about the last name, yes Oona Chaplin is the granddaughter of the iconic Charlie Chaplin. Some may have seen her in HBO's Game Of Thrones, Quantum of Solace (2008) and The Longest Ride (2015). Chaplin takes on the leading role in Pau Teixidor's Spanish psychological horror thriller Purgatorio (Purgatory) which debuted in the official selection at the Festival de Málaga. It is the first feature length film for director Teixidor and is written by Luis Moreno and Sergio G. Sanchez (The Orphanage 2007). Purgatorio begins with Marta (Chaplin) moving into an almost empty new apartment with her husband (Andrew Gertrúdix), in hope to start anew as they both grieve for the loss of their child. Act 1 basically introduces us to the newly constructed apartment, where its almost empty and lifeless presence is used as the premise of the story's suspense. Lifts aptly not working, entire building's lights on motion-sensor where it goes pitched dark. With several overstretched sequences, some may argue that the plot dawdles quite a bit for the first part, making the film seemed like a low-event script thinly spread over its running time. Act 2 of Purgatorio takes a brusk twist as someone knocks on the door one night when Marta is home alone. It turns out to be one of the very few neighbors in the building (Ana Fernández) desperately asking Marta to look after her son Daniel (Sergi Mendez) while she rushes to the hospital after receiving news that her husband has just been in an accident. Marta is loath to oblige but eventually agrees. What seems to be just a reluctant act of kindness soon proves to be the biggest mistake for Martha as she quickly learns of Daniel's splitting transition from a brat to an unsettling and impetuous stranger, prone to bringing violence into her new home. There's no hiding of Daniel's perilous nature, but somehow you just couldn't put your finger to his intentions. The mourning mother is thrown into a sick game of guessing and hide-and-seek whilst she continues to be haunted by glimpses and memories of her son. The suspense soon takes another jolt as Daniel announces that there is another boy hiding in the house, whom only he can see. Both the leading casts Chaplin and Mendez give a commendable performance, making full use of the constrained environment. As lean as the story offers, get ready for a double-barrelled twist. The plot does suffer several unevenly paced stretches but nothing grave in my opinion. One of the better films I've encountered in the horror genre. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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