Load of rubbish!!

There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

An average, but still interesting Spanish take on found footage. But the chosen genre is actually where it fails - believebality starts as so-so, then they just throw it out of the window, especially with some joke elements of the story being introduced (which essentially make the fun of it). And the way the end scenes were filmed...yeah...like it's a staged TV show rather than found footage.The story is relatively interesting to follow, the characters are nothing interesting, but at least they're not your typical robotic and overcliched Americans you usually see in horror movies. Their motivations to stay in an obviously haunted hospital are very weak, despite the contract being the reason (the medium decides to walk away then with just some irrelevant talk with one of the others decides to stay again and then very sure about it all of the sudden). It still manages to be creepy and the visual effects are good.

I was studying Spanish in Costa Rica till last week, we went to see this movie because it's a local effort and I was blown away of how much fun this movie is. This movie is nothing like Paranormal Activity, in fact, I dare any American, to watch this movie(I hope it make it here,via Netflix or amazon) and compare it to Paranormal Activity 1 or 2, I think El Sanatorio is way better.It has this genuine humor and this genuine vibe that I haven't seen in a movie for a long time. I laughed and get scared and that was great. It starts like a documentary, becomes a comedy and ends like a horror film. SAY WHAT ? Yes, this movie is like that. I was surprised cause during my stay I was shown 2 other movies, and both were awful, I think they are funded by the government cause one was about being a pregnant teen and it was like watching 90210(morality from the 90's and all) in the third world, the other one was about a Nicaraguan soldier (didn't get that one either). So when I heard about watching this movie about THE DURAN SANATORIUM (a must to any tourist) , I thought it was going to be another "Borefest". This movie is awesome, check it out, buy it from amazon, rent it from netflix, watch it at your local Festival, do what you need to do and check some serious Talent. You don't laugh genuinely and get genuinely scared in other horror movies like you'll do in this one.

I'm writing this review after watching El Sanatorio. I have to say, that at first, I felt like in Paranormal Activity and Blair Witch Project. That was after the first 5 minutes, then if just feels like if Spinal Tap had a monster baby with Drag me to hell. The film is really amusing and clever introducing all the characters, it has deep characters that build around the story. It also feels like a joke. 2 film students, and atheist musician, an egocentric producer, one sexy girl and a clueless medium go to a haunted hospital with cameras and microphones to record the ghosts in the place. From there it sounds like a cliché film but nothing could be more far from the Truth. The film has some great visual effects, they don't feel like those cheap effects in nowadays horror films. They feel more like 80's horror films, where the blood is real and the monster is real. I just felt so pleased at a full theater where the entire audience is laughing and then the film starts switching genres and becoming a horror film. The director is really clever, he knows the formula for comedy, and he knows the formula for horror, so the movie delivers for sure. Be ready for some scenes parodying the Paranormal Activity movies. But don't be fooled by other reviews, this film has it's own monster laying within, and when it comes out it would take your mind for a few hours after watching it.

I got the pleasure of watching this movie during this years edition of Morbido Film Fest in Mexico. I got to say, I felt really grateful with this festival, cause when I come to think about it, there was no way I would've watched a horror film from Costa Rica, if this festival did n't showed it. My first impression was that I was n't gonna be happy. When the director introduced the film as a horror comedy I thought It was probably something close Scary Movie or something like that. However when the movie started, I realized I was witnessing something new. It had a complete different tone from what I've seen, people keep talking Paranormal Activity and Evil Dead. But this movie brings something completely different to the table. This movie is a real roller coaster or a trip, through the whole legend of the Sanatorium Duran, and through the eyes of different witnesses, and guess what? You become a witness yourself, because the film have something magical, the characters break the 4th wall constantly and talk to you directly, and it's done so smoothly and natural, that it feels like if you are there with them. So suddenly and through the ¨found footage¨ deal, you become a victim of the Sanatorium. Why do you become a victim of the Sanatorium? cause the place becomes another character in the movie. I was blown away of this movie and kept thinking What if? What if? Judd Apatow had made this movie? what if? the movie had more budget? what if? ...This could be easily the next REC or the next LET THE RIGHT ONE IN. If somebody is clever enough to buy the rights of this film, the remake would make bank in the states. Cause my only con with this film, is the slang, it has a Costa Rican slang that would probably prevent it to become a more universal film, at least in Latin America. I read somewhere that the movie budget was less than $100,000. First time I saw an Alex de la Iglesia Film I became an instant fan. I saw El Sanatorio, and I've became an instant fan of his director Miguel Gomez. The mix of dark humor, horror and straight comedy just got me. I need more, and I need it soon. I can't wait for next year Fantastic Fest, cause I feel somehow this little movie is gonna make it and it's gonna give us a lot more to talk.