Review of Anguish (1987) by Victor T — 19 May 2017

When it comes to Spanish filmmakers, the go to director is Pedro Almodóvar but another Spanish director that had a notable career and even launched Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz´s careers: Bigas Luna.

John is an ophthalmologist´s assistant who is quite inept at his job. Back at home his overprotecting mother Alice hypnotizes him and orders him to murder his patients and retrieve their eyes.

When it comes to "foreign movies" (aka non USA movies), not only does the language differ but most importantly the style is completely different. Regarding horror movies the aesthetic is quite different from the jump-scare and focused on body count of USA style, so it's no wonder why I enjoyed "Anguish" as much as I did. "Anguish" counts with a fantastically clever storytelling, a peculiar story (any movie that starts with a warning saying that it will subject the audience to mild hypnosis and mild subliminal messages has my attention, even if it turns out to be bullshit) which premise reminds me of "Demons", Luna´s direction is quite clever as he seamlessly confuses the audience by blending the line of fiction and reality, it has some creepy imagery, and overall is quite fun to watch. But even if this is a clever and fun film, it has major pacing issues. By the time the third act starts, the film ran out of ideas.

"Anguish" is an intriguing, clever and highly enjoyable horror film that stands out in its genre. While it isn't anything groundbreaking, as I said it is quite similar to "Demons", it is a horror movie worth watching.