A bit overrated

Rating: 7/10 (8 May 2008)

As a fan of horror films I expected more from this, considering its many awards and nominations. Yet it doesn't quite live up to my expectation.
Laura and Carlos live with their adopted son Simon in a house which used to be an orphanage. At first Simon claims to have two friends around whom Laura and Carlos consider as his imagination. After the Benigna's visit and the treasure hunt, Laura eventually realises that Simon's friends are more than imagination.
The first half of the story goes very well which leads us step-by-step to the truths. But the second half and especially the ending are a bit of an anti-climax. The writer and director make exactly the same mistake as Dark Water (both the English and Japanese versions). But not a bad job for people of their age.
This is basically a one-woman show and Rueda's performance is so great that it almost covers the mistakes of the plot (unfortunately just almost). The 'horrifying' music itself is very mundane and they put it in every single supposedly terrifying moment, which makes things worse. Yet other scores are pretty good.
Great acting, acceptable directing and less acceptable plot. I haven't watched any other Spanish films in the same year but this doesn't seem to deserve so many honours except for best actress. Anyway if you're fed up with the American kind of 'fake' horror movies, this one's worth your time.