This will be the first of several reviews from this year’s Tribeca film Festival. To follow our coverage, click here.
Synopsis: In an abandoned psychiatric hospital, a theatre group experiments with insomnia for the preparation of a stage play. With the passage of days without sleep, they reach new thresholds of perception that expose them to the secrets of the place and the energies that inhabit it. When Bianca, a young, promising actress, joins the cast, competing for the lead role, she must survive not only the intensity of the work and her cast mates, but the unknown force that is pulling them towards a tragic outcome. (IMDB)
Starring: Eva De Dominici, Natalia de Molina, and Juan Manuel Guilera
Writer: Juma Fodde
Director: Gustavo Hernández
Rating: n/a
Running Time: 102mins
Trailer:
Horror films for the most part are stale so it’s nice to see a film try something different. However, the film’s execution doesn’t quite match up to its more original premise. Based on the title, it’s pretty obvious what the film’s premise is, finding horror in sleep deprivation. The film is about a young actress named Bianca (De Dominici) who joins an unusual theatre group that practices sleep deprivation in order to improve their performances.
Things begin to take a turn for the worst once the group moves into an abandoned psychiatric hospital. In their sleep deprived states, they begin to experience the horrors of the hospital’s past and the spirits that still remained. None of the horror should come as much of a surprise but the story takes a long time to get going. It also contains too many twists and turns that don’t quite fit together and just made it way too convoluted than it needed to be.
The performances are good across the board but with De Dominici’s as Bianca being the best. The story may be all over the place but she redeems it and was compelling to watch.
Overall, this was a decent Argentine horror film with an interesting concept but it’s convoluted story makes it difficult to follow, however, the lead performance by Eva De Dominici keeps it watchable.
Score: 6/10
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.