Highly Overrated But Still Good

An absolute waste of money

Amateur movie with Big budget

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Earlier last year I was able to get in touch with Tomas Gonzalez Montalvo, one of the writers and makers of The Flaying, and since then I've been following this debut, so it's a pleasure for me as an Argentine and as a lover of independent and low budget cinema to be able to do a review of this film.The Flaying aka El Bosque de Los Sometidos starts with a simple but effective premise, a group of friends decide to go to a concert near the city of Cordoba, and for this they organize a trip in an old van that will take them through the country. Of course, ignoring the ominous fate that awaits them and hides somewhere in the forest.The film is very simple in terms of budget and plot but the little they have works well enough, especially in its last part in which the tension grows exponentially and then reaches a disturbing and creepy climax. This is the result of a very good combination between the way of telling the story where the suspense is the mainstay and naturalness in which the events happen.One of the first things that jumps to view is the air of the seventies that permeates the film from the first minute, a perfectly recreated atmosphere. The practical effects that will be made evident in the last stretch are appreciated in this era where the digital devours the organic.Before we get to the main course, the story focuses mainly on forest walks and gives viewers the relationship of the characters to provide them with a definition of personality. Herein lays a weak point of the film, as it is here at this point when The Flaying becomes a bit repetitive and insistent in this attempt. It is an attempt somewhat forced at times with almost vacuous dialogue and it is hard on the viewer to feel a connection with the characters.However, everything changes when they reach the cottage where something supernatural and sinister is hidden. This is where The Flaying awakens and shows potential, when these kind of demons finally make their appearance (which incidentally are superbly made).Although the film does not strive to provide the viewer the reasoning for these appearances, this is where the filmmakers use all their qualities, and countless ingenious and brilliant resources from the lighting, sound, color, the brilliant make-up, and a care for each shot and scene. This is effective direction, by giving small but strong doses of horror to the viewer.The Flaying is a very good independent film from Argentina. A small but important example of a low-budget film which is very well done, and with enough necessary scares, in addition to being really disturbing at times.Nicolas Amelio-Ortiz takes advantage of all the resources of the genre, and elements which are already in the collective imagination to reach the viewer and disturb them with almost hypnotic images that will be difficult to forget easily. Congratulations to them for such a masterful and promising debut.7 /10 Renacimiento Join us @ extremehorrorcinema.com