Paradise by the Lighthouse Light

Rating: 7/10 (12 January 2008)

Greetings again from the darkness. We are blessed with so few horror movies for grown-ups because it is a nearly impossible genre to succeed in. There is such a fine line between suspense and stupidity, and to succeed there must be an air of believability. This film manages to walk the high wire and maintain the balance ... to the point of a few good scares and more than enough suspense!
Produced by the great Guillermo del Toro and directed by Spain's new hot shot director, Juan Antonio Bayona, the film has some very basic, even cliché, story lines and premises. Still the quality is so high and the acting so strong that it does suck the viewer right into this world. The simplistic approach is what makes it work. The house creaks, clanks and other noises are extraordinarily creepy and not over the top. The best moments are the "little" things and I really enjoyed Geraldine Chaplin's time as the medium.
OK, it is a horror movie, but this is a very good performance from Bolen Rueda, who was so memorable in "The Sea Inside". Ms. Rueda is Laura, who wants to set up a house for a few needy kids in the same house in which she lived as an orphan when she was a kid. Guess what? There is more to the story than that! Laura's own adopted son is played by the extraordinarily cute Roger Princep as Simon. Big eyes and bushy hair, he is like a living (or maybe not) doll.
It is so difficult for these films to find an audience, especially when released in the U.S. with sub-titles, but this one deserves attention to anyone who enjoys a little suspense and a few good darkened theatre jumps in the seat!