La casa muda - The Silent House, 2010

La casa muda - The Silent House, 2010
Director: Gustavo Rojo
Cast: Gustavo Alonso, Florencia Colucci, Maria Salazar, Abel Tripaldi



La casa muda in short: Laura ( Florencia Colucci) and her father ( Gustavo Alonso) settle down in a cottage which seems to be off the beaten track in order to update it since its owner ( Abel Tripaldi) will soon put the house on sale. They will spend the night there in order to start the repairs the following morning. Everything seems to go on smoothly until Laura hears a sound that comes from outside and gets louder and louder in the upper floor of the house. Wilson goes up to see what is going on while she remains downstairs on her own waiting for her father to come down. The plot is based on a true story that happened some time ago in a small village in Uruguay. "La Casa Muda" focuses on the last seventy eight minutes, second by second, when Laura intends to leave the house which hides an obscure secret and she hopes to leave unharmed. REAL FEAR IN REAL TIME, this is the most remarkable underlying feature of the film which will not go unnoticed by all those who may be willing to experience this different and disturbing filming experience.


Stage: Movie theatre Vič, Festival Liffe
Preps: I just follow the recommendation list and notice which movies at the festival get more attention. However, I expect to see a horror movie up to some extent. I also think the movie might be a bit static, however I am not sure. Reading the synopsis doesn't give me much clues.


Reality: : It strikes you, how well the horror part of this movie is constructed. Nothing but imagination and music. A little of blood and static movements throughout the scenery. All the time you expect something to hit, especially after the first third (when the father of the girl is out of the picture). She spends whole amount of time exploring the house and none clues still what is happening. As her father dies, she doesn't really behave normally. How would someone behave? Don't really know, but there's something in her act that makes me suspicious. And I see in the last third that I am right. A wisely built horror turns out into a revenge movie, criminal movie, where all the elements of the horror dissappear. As you realize she is the one standing behind this, you start to wonder, why. In my mind, several scenes from "The Others", where the house holds a secret and the main cast explores it to its deepest dark soul.
It is a tragic reminder, to what it may lead, to molest a child, or to abuse a child. In this movie, the tragic secret is revealed in the final - at the last few minutes it is quite clear, what crime happened and revenge of a goddess appeared. Goddess? Maybe not really, not in full sense, because she has lost her mind because of the pain, caused by her father and his friend. The defilee (last minutes of the movie) reveals hideous photographies, where you just might want to nod your head and rest in silence. Devastating finish with the girl, walking around the forest, with her doll, simulating that she has her unborn child with her.



My personal rating: 8,0 (a smart reminder what not to do. Can leave you with your eyes and mouth wide open..)
La casa muda on IMDB
La casa muda official homepage