"Escalofrío" (1978) is an atmospheric and delightfully bizarre and slice of Spanish Occult Horror that especially fans of the sleazier kind of European cult-cinema should not miss.
The beginning of the film is as promising as it gets already, when a sinister long-bearded fellow (Fernando Jiménez del Oso, who apparently was a specialist for pranormal and supernatural phenomena and the occult) gives a bizarre preface about how Satan is real, and about how Satanists have been worshipping their master in bizarre rituals and sex-orgies for centuries. The actual film begins with such a bizarre Satanic orgy, then switching to the home of Andres (José María Guillén) and Ana (Mariana Karr), a married couple expecting a child in a few month. When driving around on the weekend, Ana and Andres are invited by another couple Berta (Sandra Alberti) and Bruno (Ángel Aranda), who claims to have gone to college with Andres, even though Andres is sure never to have seen the man. Nonetheless, Andres and Ana accept the sinister couple's invitation and follow them to their eerie remote mansion, which is full of occult stuff...
While I thoroughly enjoyed "Escalofrío" from start to finish, I must say that it could have maybe been even better if the first part of the plot didn't completely lack any logic. Even though they are too anxious about their unborn baby to even go dancing, Andres and Ana have no problem to accompany a strange couple to their creepy domicile. And even after their mansion is full of satanic objects, they stay. Ana even witnesses Berta eat raw, bloody meat out of a through like an animal. Still, they stay. Even when their hosts begin to carry out satanic rituals, they stay. Heck, I've heard about people acting stupidly in Horror films, but... come on! However, these illogical elements add something to the 'camp' factor of the film, which makes it all the more enjoyable. Furthermore, it gets a lot better and VERY creepy in the second half. "Escalofrío" is beautifully shot and the eerie old mansion is the most perfect setting imaginable. Both female cast members are beautiful, and the film is full of sleaze from start to finish. The performances may not be great, but the cast-members all fit in their roles. I almost cheered when I saw that the mansion's gate-keeper was played by Spanish Cult Horror / Exploitation regular Luis Barboo, a creepy-looking fellow who also was in many of Jess Franco's films. In the second half, the film gets magnificently bizarre, creepy, macabre and delightfully weird, which almost makes "Escalofrío" a must-see for my fellow Eurohorror fans.
"Escalofrío" is definitely a strange little gem, and while it is quite camp in the beginning it gets really creepy and intense in the second half. The film contains some of the sleaziest Satanic activities in European Exploitation cinema, and the satanic prayers include the most exotic and smuttiest nicknames for the Lord of the Flies - such as ("Father of Incest, Prince of Necrophilia,..."). If possible, it is recommendable to get a (subtiteled) Spanish language copy - I saw the English dubbed version, which is a prime example for the often horrendous dubbing of European Horror films (though, personally, this doesn't really bother me). My rating of "Escalofrío": 7.5 out of 10.
The beginning of the film is as promising as it gets already, when a sinister long-bearded fellow (Fernando Jiménez del Oso, who apparently was a specialist for pranormal and supernatural phenomena and the occult) gives a bizarre preface about how Satan is real, and about how Satanists have been worshipping their master in bizarre rituals and sex-orgies for centuries. The actual film begins with such a bizarre Satanic orgy, then switching to the home of Andres (José María Guillén) and Ana (Mariana Karr), a married couple expecting a child in a few month. When driving around on the weekend, Ana and Andres are invited by another couple Berta (Sandra Alberti) and Bruno (Ángel Aranda), who claims to have gone to college with Andres, even though Andres is sure never to have seen the man. Nonetheless, Andres and Ana accept the sinister couple's invitation and follow them to their eerie remote mansion, which is full of occult stuff...
While I thoroughly enjoyed "Escalofrío" from start to finish, I must say that it could have maybe been even better if the first part of the plot didn't completely lack any logic. Even though they are too anxious about their unborn baby to even go dancing, Andres and Ana have no problem to accompany a strange couple to their creepy domicile. And even after their mansion is full of satanic objects, they stay. Ana even witnesses Berta eat raw, bloody meat out of a through like an animal. Still, they stay. Even when their hosts begin to carry out satanic rituals, they stay. Heck, I've heard about people acting stupidly in Horror films, but... come on! However, these illogical elements add something to the 'camp' factor of the film, which makes it all the more enjoyable. Furthermore, it gets a lot better and VERY creepy in the second half. "Escalofrío" is beautifully shot and the eerie old mansion is the most perfect setting imaginable. Both female cast members are beautiful, and the film is full of sleaze from start to finish. The performances may not be great, but the cast-members all fit in their roles. I almost cheered when I saw that the mansion's gate-keeper was played by Spanish Cult Horror / Exploitation regular Luis Barboo, a creepy-looking fellow who also was in many of Jess Franco's films. In the second half, the film gets magnificently bizarre, creepy, macabre and delightfully weird, which almost makes "Escalofrío" a must-see for my fellow Eurohorror fans.
"Escalofrío" is definitely a strange little gem, and while it is quite camp in the beginning it gets really creepy and intense in the second half. The film contains some of the sleaziest Satanic activities in European Exploitation cinema, and the satanic prayers include the most exotic and smuttiest nicknames for the Lord of the Flies - such as ("Father of Incest, Prince of Necrophilia,..."). If possible, it is recommendable to get a (subtiteled) Spanish language copy - I saw the English dubbed version, which is a prime example for the often horrendous dubbing of European Horror films (though, personally, this doesn't really bother me). My rating of "Escalofrío": 7.5 out of 10.