Audience Member
This seems like a clever Faustian concept film. What the "hombre's" followers got out of it is unknown. The producers show their ambition and the film has a nice pace with some naturalistic and devilish imagery. Some scenes it seemed like the producers overreached, but it's fast and efficient.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
01/27/23
Full Review
jesse o
My favorite horror movies, not necessarily in terms of the actual quality of the end product at least, are those that take risks. I think it's easier to take risks in the horror genre than, say, in the superhero world simply due to the fact that you'd want something that would bring as many people to the theaters (or to the TV) in order to make back the money you put into the project. Horror movies don't really have those restrictions because, at the very least, if a horror movie is good, it'll find a crowd of geeks to invest in it. I've always said this and will continue to say this, horror films have the most dedicated fanbase of any film genre in existence. The only thing that comes close to that is the superhero genre, but even that is splintered with people faithfully supporting different companies and their favored superheroes. But that's neither here nor there. The point is that telling a story that goes off the beaten path is more viable in the horror genre than anywhere else. Which brings us to this movie. The thing that's most impressive about this movie isn't really the fact that it goes to some places you wouldn't expect, though that's certainly part of what I liked about it, is the fact how it gets there. I don't wanna say that it's a completely unpredictable film, because it's not that unpredictable, but it takes a very interesting road to get to its conclusion. The film starts out straightforward enough, all things considered. Virginia's daughter, Rebecca, is kidnapped and she, naturally, goes after her. After getting in a car crash, and dying, this strange man brings her back to life for 8 hours and gives her a chance to save her daughter, who has been kidnapped by this Satanic cult (though it's never explicitly said) as part of a ritual. They also kidnapped two other kids and their respective mothers are also contacted. They're told that, for their respective children to survive, they need to find this white coffin (which is what the title of the movie translates to) and bring it to the ritual site. Of course, this creates a situation where the mothers turn against each other, naturally, as they want to be able to save their child. And I thought that that worked very well as it does showcase the lengths mothers would go to to save their children from certain death. Oh, and there's another thing. The woman who brings the white coffin to the site also has to choose which child will be sacrificed as part of the ritual. So, yes, the movie isn't afraid to go to some very dark places. There's three kids that are part of the ritual, one of them is burned alive. You obviously don't get to see it, you just get to hear the screams of pain. It's quite horrifying honestly. The subtext is also very obvious indeed. The man who has attempted to help Virginia on her quest is an allegory for the devil. Perhaps the fact that it's so obvious might be a turn-off for some people, but I think it works given the fact that Virginia is just blindly following him due to the fact that he is offering a way for her to save her daughter. That doesn't mean that it couldn't have been more subtly done, but I don't know how you do that in this context. But I can understand Virginia not thinking things rationally given the short time she has and the fact that her daughter's life is in danger. Which also brings us to the ending. Where, again, the film isn't afraid to go to some dark places. SPOILERS...She kills the mother of the other girl, who refuses to sacrifice Virginia's daughter as part of the ritual. Virginia, on the other hand, has no problems sacrificing this woman's daughter. She puts her in the white coffin and, basically, cremates her alive. You get to see the coffin burning and hear the child's screams of pain as she is burned alive. I give the film props from not shying away from this, even if it might make some uncomfortable. The film ends with Virginia realizing that her daughter will now be raised by this man and that, really, she made the wrong decision in trying to save her. Now Rebecca, the daughter, will grow up, in theory, to do this same thing to other peoples' children. The strange man who helps her even says that there are worse things than death as he walks away with Rebecca. So, of course, I liked this movie. It's not the best horror movie I've seen. Hell, it's not the best horror movie I've seen this past month (The Wailing would take that honor). But it's a good movie that goes to some very interestingly dark directions. And the movie runs at 66 minutes (which may have been done on purpose), so it's a movie that you will get through very quickly. This is an easy recommendation, really, if you love horror movies. Again, it's not the best of its kind you will ever see, but the film manages to carve out its own identity while telling a solid story. In short, this was a good movie.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
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