Kanterbru B
C'est lent, mais que c'est leeeeeeeeent j'ai tenu jusqu'à la fin mais vraiment j'en pouvais plus
Rated 1/5 Stars •
Rated 1 out of 5 stars
05/28/23
Full Review
Late R
Beautifully shot, making full use of its locations, this is a very slow-burn thriller that was clearly written, before anything else, as a character study of a very damaged man -- Antonio de la Torre's outstanding and subtle performance as said man is the centrepiece, and Olimpia Melinte is wonderful as co-lead. These things alone make it worth a watch. That being said, there are problems. Firstly, apart from the above, what also keeps you watching is the anticipation of something unexpected happening, but it never really does; secondly, it's a character study, but we're given too few details about the character and it therefore lacks the impact you might want. ‘Canibal' plods along until it reaches its somewhat frustrating ending and it certainly won't be for everyone, but despite wishing it had done some things better, I still think it has its merits and I enjoyed it a fair bit.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/03/22
Full Review
jesse o
This, technically, isn't a bad film in the slightest. It's beautifully filmed with an excellent central performance from Antonio de la Torre. But, honestly, a lot of this film feels incredibly self-indulgent. And what I mean by that is the fact that this feels like a short film stretched out to two hours. The movie, honestly, really starts at around the midway point, when Alexandra's sister comes into the equation. Everything prior to that is a set-up, a red herring if you will. It's, honestly, a bit of a dull movie to watch at times because scenes are stretched out past their breaking point. I watched this in two sittings and I, definitely, think that helped a lot cause I don't know how I would've gotten through it in one sitting without dying of boredom. Again, it's never a bad film and it has some interesting ideas at play here with this cannibal falling in love, theoretically, with one of his potential victims. But those ideas simply aren't enough to carry a near two-hour movie. It just feels empty and shallow despite, again, having some interesting ideas and religious symbolism at play here. And I say 'theoretically falling in love with one of his victims' because there's no real sense that Nina, Alexandra's sister, was really anything special to Carlos, with the exception of, maybe, the last couple of minutes. I know that Carlos is purposely distant, cold and unapproachable, due to the nature of his more violent nature, so I'm completely aware of the fact that he isn't a man who will openly showcase his emotions, this is where Antonio de la Torre shines, at being understated and subtle, but there isn't a believable connection between Carlos and Nina at all. The film doesn't have a lot of conventional dialogue, so that's not really it, but their moments together lack a certain spark. It's something that you see when two people are really in love, like they don't even have to say anything and you sense a connection between them. This movie fails at that. Maybe the chemistry between Antonio and Olimpia, who plays both Nina and Alexandra, isn't there, but they're not bad together. It's not like their chemistry creates a black hole that sucks in everything else in the film. It's just really lacking. The individual performances are strong, but they just don't come together as well as the film probably thinks it does. So that lack of sparks between the leads and the self-indulgent nature of scenes being 10x longer than they need to be really holds the movie back, to me. It's not a bad movie, but it definitely would've benefited from a lot of time-shaving. Honestly, I wouldn't have even bothered introducing Alexandra. Maybe you show her moving in and everything, but Carlos has no interactions with her, then Nina comes into the equation after Alex goes missing and everything plays out as it played out without actually revealing that Carlos is a cannibal until the climactic act of the film. That, to me, sounds like a better film. But it was not to be and I have to review the film as it is and not as I wished it would've been. I still think the film is a little laborious to get through and not that rewarding of a watch. Excellent performances from the leads doesn't really do anything to change that. If you must watch this, then go right ahead, but it's a film that's not really gonna make much of an impression. It's beautifully filmed, but you can watch beautifully shot footage on YouTube. That's simply not enough to justify watching this. Good concepts and themes, shoddy execution.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Manuel Martín Cuenca's film is exquisitely shot, acted and somehow almost empathetic. At no time does he present his story as anything other than what it is. It defies the idea of a "horror film" because while it does depicts a serial killer guilty of the most vile and cruel atrocities, it Cuenca's aim is not to scare us -- his aim seems to change the anticipated manner in which something this horrific is captured. Antonio de la Torre delivers a highly effective performance that is at turns sad, lonely, concerned, caring, cruel, sadistic and a man without any level of remorse or guilt. It is an interesting balancing act for an actor if you think about it. Cuenca is not interested in presenting his lead character as a "monster" or even as easily perceived insane person. Carlos fits into his world. He is respected and successful. He appears to be religious -- though we really never know. He seems to care about some of the people we see him encounter. But he is also a deliberate, cold, cruel and unapologetic hunter of people. And he has fastidiously created a careful and methodical method to butcher, seal parcels and refrigerate his female pray. His evil is portrayed with no pursuit of horror. These moments are shot with the same patterned style as everything else. In the end we are left with the uneasy feeling that what we have seen could very easily happen and probably does. This, of course, is the truly horrific aspect of the film: The most benign and seemingly kind people can turn out to the darkest example of human evil. This film is provocative without being explicit. Whether or not a viewer will be able to walk away from it and form an honest evaluation is entirely dependent on how comfortable the viewer is with a film about a serial killer that offers no answer or clear motivation. In it's own way, Cuenca's film is one of the scariest non-scary film I've seen.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/22/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Cannibal Movie Review!
The premise is thus: A Spanish Cannibal (who works as a tailor) begins to find romance in a woman. Hi-jinks ensue.
The one thing you will instantly notice about this movie, is that it is slow-paced and rather boring. The point it tries to cross does not need a cannibal side story. It's very questionable. And yes, I'm aware this come from a book.
But if the book is as boring as this film, no wonder it has many mixed reviews.
I don't hate this movie; nor do I truly like it, but I must say I did find it intriguing. It was just flat-out boring.
I'm giving this movie a 4 out of 10 (2 stars)
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
01/21/23
Full Review
Audience Member
This kind of film is normally way out of my comfort zone, but I found this intriguing. A psychological thriller wrapped around a love story, this somewhat reminded me of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The ending struck me as strange, and maybe even a little weak. But, knowing what we knew about Carlos, the meek tailor with a dark secret, there was a sense of foreboding that carried throughout the film that kept the tension level at a peak. In Spanish with English subtitles, currently available on Netfilx streaming.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/31/23
Full Review
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