Hierro | reviews, news & interviews
Hierro
Hierro
Spanish horror film fails to live up to its haunting predecessors
Wednesday, 16 June 2010
Maria (Elena Anaya) offers a compelling emotional core to an otherwise laborious filmGabe Ibanez
What is it with horror films and water? Think back through all the watery episodes in the horror canon, not the grandiose creature-from-the-deep type but the more domestic scenarios – beaches, showers, baths, bathrooms. From Hitchcock’s originary shower scene onwards, the list is long and gory. Most recently we've seen the elegant atmospheric manipulations of Juan Antonio Bayona’s El Orfanato with its plot-significant headland setting and dark tidal caves; now following close behind is fellow Spaniard Gabe Ibanez with his first feature Hierro.
What is it with horror films and water? Think back through all the watery episodes in the horror canon, not the grandiose creature-from-the-deep type but the more domestic scenarios – beaches, showers, baths, bathrooms. From Hitchcock’s originary shower scene onwards, the list is long and gory. Most recently we've seen the elegant atmospheric manipulations of Juan Antonio Bayona’s El Orfanato with its plot-significant headland setting and dark tidal caves; now following close behind is fellow Spaniard Gabe Ibanez with his first feature Hierro.
The future of Arts Journalism
You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!
We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d
And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
more Film
Mediha review - a brutalised Yazidi teen comes of age with a camera
A documentary frames the video diary of a Yazidi girl who suffered horrific abuse
Blu-ray: Pharaoh
Dazzling historical epic from the Polish New Wave
Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat review - jazz-themed documentary on the 1960s Congo Crisis
Musicians played different roles in the struggles of the newly independent African country
Gladiator II review - can lightning strike twice?
Sir Ridley Scott makes a big, bold return to the Roman Empire
ARK: United States V by Laurie Anderson, Aviva Studios, Manchester review - a vessel for the thoughts and imaginings of a lifetime
Despite anticipating disaster, this mesmerising voyage is full of hope
Joy review - the birth pangs of in vitro fertilisation
Subtle drama about the quest to give women a childbearing choice
Blu-ray: The Oblong Box
Vincent Price and Christopher Lee in 'Witchfinder General''s phantom follow-up
Bird review - travails of an unseen English tween
Andrea Arnold gives a hyperreal spin to her latest story of a neglected girl
The Problem With People review - local zero
Hardly a Forsyth saga, this unfunny Oirish comedy is a homage to catatonia
Anora review - life lesson for a kick-ass sex worker
Sean Baker's bracing Palme d'Or winner twists, turns, and makes a star of Mikey Madison
Blitz review - racism persists as bombs batter London
Steve McQueen's overwought World War Two boy's adventure film delivers its message
Small Things Like These review - less is more in stirring Irish drama
Cillian Murphy is exceptional as a man wrestling with his church and conscience
Add comment