The Wasteland

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Gabriel S The debut feature film of David Casademunt is an interesting folk horror piece that works as a whole, but it is not without its flaws. With its interesting design and pacing, it captivates horror fanatics, but throws away generalists. The story follows Diego and his parents who live a secluded life in rural Spain, away from whatever current war is happening at the moment—I guess the Second War? Their lives are modest and ordinary, as mundane as you can get living in a big barren land in the middle of nowhere. That is until Diego's father, Salvador, tells the scary story about The Beast and how it tormented his sister. From there on, it is down hill for Diego and their family, and we get to watch them wither and wither. The Wasteland is one depressing piece, and that is a positive thing: the story is very compelling. We root for Diego and his family, and we also want to understand what the hell is this entity, if there is any. But The Wasteland is off on a few things. The visuals are great, so is the horror element, but the pacing is somewhat repetitive. The story is keeping us in this enclosed space where there is nothing more to do (or lose), and well, the gist is also the blist that, after a while, we are kind bored that all we get is the same house and the same haunting scenes and nothing much is really happening and, oh well, we are at the end of the movie. The ending is nice though. Super nice, actually, so it compensates for the runtime—but getting there, will ya, is a bit of a chore. If you endure, the film will deliver its final blow with glory. Overall, The Wasteland is like an experimental story, one that works great on paper—like in a book with introspection and a lot of foreshadowing—but kind does not translate well to the screens. The movie is short for today's standards, so you can give it a pass, if you are a horror fan. Casuals, I believe just avoid. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 10/14/25 Full Review Lovell T Beautifully filmed, visceral and surreal. But that's pretty much it. Almost 90 minutes of chasing, or being chased by shadows, and constantly startled by unknown sounds in a completely desolate no-man's land where sustainability is practically zero just to expound metaphors of war trauma, self-isolation, desperation and paranoia is akin to watching storm clouds moving across the sky for the same duration. On the same premise, The Sand Castle, also on Netflix, is far superior. Rated 1.5/5 Stars •  Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 07/10/25 Full Review Nelson M Never thought I would write a review for a movie but here we are. First off this movie has a great vibe you feel like your In the movie. Loved it very well told Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/11/24 Full Review Madeleine S Awful, plot was non-existent. Don't waste your time. Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 11/24/23 Full Review Jerod S A solid start, opening with a family in severe isolation post war and a dying man floating up on their land. But when papa leaves and something sinister shows up (or does it) - things go sideways...and so does the film. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 07/15/23 Full Review T T This movie was not good at all. There really is no actual horror, in the classic or literal sense. Just a neverending buildup to that supposed horror. The actual horror is how horribly this film was directed and filmed. The lighting was absolutely terrible. I couldn't see so much of the film because of the amateurish lighting and filming skills of this film's director. The movie started out ok, because the story itself and the setting were excellent. This could have been a good horror movie, but the director totally ruined it. There was almost no clear visual of the "entity" when it finally decided to make an appearance. Most of the movie was this boring and tense buildup that went nowhere. The movie had no direction. It was lost and aimless. Then finally when the entity decided to show up, you couldn't even really clearly see it. Due to bad lighting and filming, it's difficult to follow some of the details/developments of the film. I could have done a better job with my cellphone camera. Really, what a shame because the setting and story had good potential. Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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