A warlock, Mordecai Salas(Patrick Gordon)buried, with his chained flock inside a chamber within a devil-worshiping church, under water thanks to a mayor who was able to sink the village of Marienbad with developing deals promising a brighter future for the landscape. 40 years later, after the mayor's death, Mordecai threatens a grand return. The mayor's granddaughter, Clara(Charlotte Salt)is the one Mordecai has his eyes on, while also infecting the townspeople nearby with a type of mental sickness, and others with a black sludge-like substance derived from the muddy soil of the water covering Marienbad. Mordecai needs Clara's submission while also awaiting the collapse of the poorly structured dam, built hastily 40 years prior, giving way to a massive crack running down it.Standing in Mordecai's way are Clara's mother, Teresa(Raquel Meroño), a would-be reporter returning home after a stint in London, and a recently arrived photo-journalist, Dan Quarry(Michael McKell) who is haunted by the death of his son. Dan is on assignment covering a story on Marienbad's history and Teresa is looking for a hot story. Both will find much more than they bargained for.
Well, I explained the synopsis to the best of my ability, but director Brian Yuzna often abandons story logic in favor of bizarre gore and supernatural violence. Unrestrained, Yuzna doesn't seem obligated to tell a cohesive narrative instead taking Mordecai and allowing him to use his dark powers to torment and destroy through mind control while we see the black sludge turning citizens into creepy blob monsters. There's a jam-packed climax which includes the bridge showing signs of crumbling, the earth trembling, a festival commemorating the 40th anniversary of the dam's building which turns into a crazed orgy of sexual deviancy and Dan, quite a skilled scuba-diver, who finds the chamber where Mordecai and his followers' monstrous remains are awakened(..while also holding a book of black magic spells Mordecai used to summon his dark powers)under the sea. I think a history lesson told to Teresa and Dan by a survivor from the past, Luis(Manuel Manquiña)who saw his childhood pal Teo murdered after releasing Mordecai from his roped hands, helps the viewer out somewhat, but Yuzna's been around long enough that he ought to be able to use such an interesting premise(..an underwater village housing an evil presence which rises to terrorize)and make a better film than what we wind up getting on screen. And, I can not understand why Yuzna just won't make a Spanish horror film using the language of the cast. Why try to make a foreign cast, in a foreign setting, speak a language they are not accustomed to? There's enough gory insanity to perhaps please some horror fans(an infected policemen chops off his limbs, one poor soul is "sludged", one victim gets his face ripped apart from the mouth), but the film could've been a sleeper and instead comes away a sad disappointment.
Well, I explained the synopsis to the best of my ability, but director Brian Yuzna often abandons story logic in favor of bizarre gore and supernatural violence. Unrestrained, Yuzna doesn't seem obligated to tell a cohesive narrative instead taking Mordecai and allowing him to use his dark powers to torment and destroy through mind control while we see the black sludge turning citizens into creepy blob monsters. There's a jam-packed climax which includes the bridge showing signs of crumbling, the earth trembling, a festival commemorating the 40th anniversary of the dam's building which turns into a crazed orgy of sexual deviancy and Dan, quite a skilled scuba-diver, who finds the chamber where Mordecai and his followers' monstrous remains are awakened(..while also holding a book of black magic spells Mordecai used to summon his dark powers)under the sea. I think a history lesson told to Teresa and Dan by a survivor from the past, Luis(Manuel Manquiña)who saw his childhood pal Teo murdered after releasing Mordecai from his roped hands, helps the viewer out somewhat, but Yuzna's been around long enough that he ought to be able to use such an interesting premise(..an underwater village housing an evil presence which rises to terrorize)and make a better film than what we wind up getting on screen. And, I can not understand why Yuzna just won't make a Spanish horror film using the language of the cast. Why try to make a foreign cast, in a foreign setting, speak a language they are not accustomed to? There's enough gory insanity to perhaps please some horror fans(an infected policemen chops off his limbs, one poor soul is "sludged", one victim gets his face ripped apart from the mouth), but the film could've been a sleeper and instead comes away a sad disappointment.