Second Name (2002) Poster

(2002)

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6/10
Dark intrigue with frightening events and strange atmosphere
ma-cortes5 February 2011
Warning: Spoilers
The film starts with the suicide of an old man , he results to be Theodore Logan , the father (Craig Hill, an American resident in Spain who played several Spaghetti Western) of Daniella Logan (Erica Prior) a young woman expert on entomology . Later on , she visits her crazy mummy (Teresa Gimpera, also married in real life to Craig Hill) at a mental hospital to tell the tragedy . Daniella seeking the truth about her origins goes to the graveyard his father and encounters that the dad's tomb had been profaned and his corpse was robbed . She decides to resolve it , and after gets a meeting a strange priest named Father Elias (O'Toole), who discloses her dark secrets about her parents . Later, Daniella meets a scared man , Toby Harris (Craig Stevenson), who claims to be his true father . Meanwhile , an obstinate Police Inspector named Potts (Frank O'Sullivan) is investigating the rare deeds are happening . Daniella gets a tape in which his father explains her the frightening events and uncovers a terrible truth .

Based on the novel written by Ramsey Campbell , titled ¨Pact of the fathers¨ and well adapted by Paco Plaza. It contains suspense , plot-twists, tension , thrills with sensationalistic scenes . B-entertainment with a fairly suspenseful and horrifying story about an ancient fanatic religious cult of followers of Abraham ¨The Abrahamitas ¨ that murders the first-child . This tale about a young girl who is involved into a twisted intrigue begins well and grows more and more until a downbeat finale . Good special effects and efficient make-up by DDT that subsequently won Academy Award for ¨Pan's labyrinth¨ . Dark cinematography by Pablo Rosso and atmospheric musical score by Mikel Salas that includes religious chores . The flick is finely produced by the chairman of Filmax and Castelao Productions , Julio Fernandez who along with his brother Carlos Fernandez are two successful producers and experts on Horror genre , producers of hits as ¨The machinist¨ ,¨ Fragiles¨, ¨Darkness¨, and many others. The picture is professionally directed by Paco Plaza (Romasanta, OT) who along with by Jaume Balaguero are the main Spanish filmmakers expert on terror cinema , both of whom have realized the box-office big successes as ¨Rec 1¨ and ¨Rec 2¨ , among others . Rating : 6 , acceptable and passable film though slow moving .
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5/10
Dull
jhs3916 November 2003
Flat Spanish horror movie (shot in English) by the producers of the excellent Los Sin Nombre. Like Los Sin Nombre this is based on a Ramsey Campbell book. Both movies are also similar in that they deal with religious fanatics and endangered children, but while many of the same elements may be in place the second time around this movie doesn't deliver any big thrills or generate much suspense. The performances are bland and the director doesn't seem to have any idea of how to ratchet up the tension even though the story is inherently creepy and should have yielded a much more suspenseful film. Part of the problem lies in the script--the police detective here is so ludicrous and incompetent that his every scene becomes painful to watch and the heroine is simply too passive to generate much sympathy. She seems to be in a valium haze throughout the whole movie and never shows the urgency that would be vital for creating some sense of momentum in the still-born material. See Los Sin Nombre or that same director's Darkness instead.
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5/10
So-so Ramsey Campbell adaptation
udar552 September 2019
Daniella Logan (Erica Prior) sees her world turned upside down when her father commits suicide. Telling her catatonic mother the news, Daniella is startled when the mom responds with the word "Josephine" and it sets her on an investigation into her past. The second of Filmax's Ramsey Campbell adaptations (after Jaume Balagueró's THE NAMELESS), this isn't as good as the first one, but it is probably just as dark and disturbing. Seriously, Campbell loves him some screwed up families. Director/co-writer Paco Plaza - who would later co-helm two of the REC films with Balagueró - doesn't have as good a style and tends to lay blasting violins pretty thick over the more emotional moments. It is still pretty engaging and has some twists that you think you have predicted, but then you get swerved again. Also has one of the bleakest endings I've seen in a long time. Amazingly, this wasn't picked up by the Weinsteins during their spending sprees and hasn't seen a U.S. release.
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Second Name = (Rosemary's Baby + The Changeling) / 3
Sam_Ethery16 May 2003
Second Name is an average mystery/thriller movie that borrows a lot from Rosemary's Baby and The Changeling but it's far from their level. 1)It fails to create real suspense and tension: it's meant to be slow and thrilling, but don't count much on the latter. There's a couple of interesting twists but... 2)It's not particularly original (that's quite an understatement) and the story is pretty much farfetched. It's one of those movies where you can't help asking yourself: but why are these people doing what they do?

In the end it's not completely bad, it's watchable, but do not expect big emotions, it's just another cliche film, keep it at the bottom of your stack and watch it when there's nothing else left)

5/10 (1=turn it off now! 2=abysmal 3=very bad 4=not good 5=watchable 6=decent 7=good 8=very good 9=must see 10=masterpiece)

I recommend the aforementioned classics instead, or Darkness (if you were looking for a more recent Spanish mystery/horror movie)
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1/10
Crap ending.
saberx21 April 2003
Warning: Spoilers
I'm not sure who decides what category a movie fits into, but this movie is NOT a horror movie. As for the story, it was fairly interesting, but rather slow. I was especially disappointed with the ending though.

**spoiler**

Tell me why on Earth does she run over to her uncle's(?) home without at least calling the detective or the police first? She knows exactly what's going on at that point, plus she has a video tape as proof. Instead, she runs over there and starts going nuts and saying "I know everything, I have proof! You didn't expect proof, did you?!" Then she acts surprised when her uncle stands up and starts walking over to her as if he's going to harm her. Well DUH! Of course he's going to harm you idiot, you just told him you know everything and have proof to expose everything. What a dumb ending.
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7/10
Dark Family Secrets
claudio_carvalho13 March 2007
After the suicide of her beloved father, the biologist Daniella Logan (Erica Prior) visits her catatonic mother in a mental institution to tell the tragic event and her mother calls her "Josephine". Daniella goes to the cemetery and finds that her father's grave had been opened and his corpse was profaned. She decides to investigate, and receives a message of a diabetic priest, Father Elias (John O'Toole), who tells her about an ancient fanatic religious sect of followers of Abraham that kills the first child. Later, she meets a weird man, Toby Harris (Craig Stevenson), who claims to be his legitimate father. Daniella continues seeking the truth about her origins and discloses very dark secrets about her family and friends.

"Le Segundo Nombre" is a great low paced horror movie and the association with "Rosemary's baby" is inevitable, in spite of having different stories. The non-linear and intriguing plot is complex and very well tied without any flaws, with an interesting mystery and disclosing a very dark secret in the end. I only do not understand why a Spanish movie is released spoken in English instead of in the original language. Hollywood complex? My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Segundo Nome" ("Second Name")
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1/10
Terrible acting from all involved
Nuwidol10 May 2003
I have never seen such terrible performances in all my life.

Everyone in the entire film was absolute rubbish.

Not one decent actor/actress in the whole film, it was a joke.

Reminded me of drama at school...
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2/10
Enough of Spanish Horror Movies
Castor T-210 August 2003
After the overrated success of Amenabar and Balaguero, Spanish Horror Movies spread like a disease in the increasingly sad world of horror movies. The result is all in films like El segundo nombre, a TV-like production bad written, but acted and directed even worse. I didn't read the Ramsey Campbell book, but I'm sure that the author of The Doll Who Ate Its Mother didn't have much in common with this terrible production. Avoid it at any cost, unless you're searching for a quiet sleepy night in a fresh movie theater. 2/10
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2/10
Boring
jined22 August 2003
Spanish horrors are not bad at all, some are smart with interesting stories, but is not the case of "Second Name". It is badly directed, badly acted and boring...boring...boring, a missed chance for an interesting story.
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8/10
Heavy subject, interesting movie
arjenp10 September 2003
Warning: Spoilers
Because of the other comments on this movie, I thought I'd write my review.

First of all, I really liked the acting. It all was very natural to me and every character clearly had something unique to them.

The story is intruiging, and deals with (what it looks like to me) the subject of what people are willing to sacrifice and suffer for their faith.

Also the scenery and environments in this movie really stand out, a sort of dark and foreboding feeling does it show, a bit like Se7en (but less grainy and more 'stylish').

The only thing I didn't like about this movie was the ending. It is very harsh, and offers almost (telling would be a spoiler) nothing positive. 8/10
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2/10
Uninteresting, slow and far from the great gems of Spanish terror.
filipemanuelneto12 June 2020
Spanish terror has been a source of good films over the past few years, many of them even frankly better than their American competitors. However, after having seen this film, I think it is one of the weakest and least interesting Spanish horror films I have ever seen.

The whole story revolves around the mysterious suicide of Daniella's father. Very shaken by these loss, she visits her mother, who is in a psychiatric ward, in order to give her the news, but she calls her by another name. This small fact, associated with the desecration of her father's grave and the appearance of a disturbed stranger who claims to be her real father, set the girl on a search for the real reasons why her father decided to kill himself, discovering that he was associated with a ancient ultra-radical religious sect: the Abramites.

Well, the film has good premises and begins from a promising starting point. But everything is so slow and the film drags on so much that it becomes tiring and, after a certain moment, predictable. Another problem with this film, I think, is that it delivers much of the mystery too soon, taking away from the story a lot of strength and impact. The tension that is almost a prerogative of Spanish horror is so thin and arises so sparse that it hardly feels. The ending is, at the very least, a disappointment. I don't mean to say that all films should have a happy ending, but I think it was a weak ending to what the film promised.

The cast is headed by Erica Prior, who does what she can but does not have, I think, the ability and experience to do better. Perhaps the bet on a more experienced or charismatic actress would have been better. Craig Hill was convincing in his role, along with his real-life wife, Teresa Gimpera. Craig Stevenson, John O'Toole and Frank O'Sullivan do well in what they can do, but they are not enough to support the film, they just give as much support as possible. The rest just appear.

Technically, it is a regular film that does not stand out in any way. The best technical aspect here is the good cinematography, dark and misty, essential to keep the tension that the film, at cost, is able to build. Soundtrack also helps, but it doesn't stand out. The song at the ending seemed especially unreasonable. It could have been maintained but without voice, like an instrumental or piano solo, achieving in this way, I believe, much more impact.
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Analysis of realism
tonicxt24 April 2003
The movie was good yes, with some surprising mysteries. However, the ending not only unravels various mysteries, it unravels the plot of the movie to stupidity.

Anyone that knows their bible (well) will realize that this "cult" breaks numerous Commandments. -Thou shalt not lie -Thou shalt not bear false witness -Thou shalt not kill

Their actions make the whole cult a contradiction to religion (ie. trying to earn God's favor by condemning themselves)...

Plain stupid.
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4/10
First Born DOA
nikhil717911 May 2022
Inauspicious English language feature debut from Paco Plaza, who would go on to direct horror hits such as the REC films and Veronica.

Although his skills of visual composition and evoking a sense of mood are already present, he fails to create an engaging story.

For a mystery/horror film, there is very little of either.

The odd, stilted performances by the actors delivering odd, stilted lines of dialogue only add to the film's woes.
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4/10
Something not that good with awesome soundtrack
vercavykuk30 August 2014
Warning: Spoilers
The movie was simply weird, and not weird in any interesting sense. The main character spends most of her screen time by hysterics and running around like headless chicken, by snapping at everyone like it would be going out of style - I understand that she is going through a very difficult time and all that, but still it surprised me quite a bit that someone didn't just slap her to snap her out of it, as I probably wouldn't do much else than to slap her every five minutes, so she would make at least a bit of sense.

All in all, if not for the occasional really thrilling moment and interesting music, this movie would very easily get a complete zero from me.
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1/10
What did i watch
anwar_b_uk20 May 2020
Seems like everyone forgot how to act in this movie, the lead character has 0 emotional depth think of Kristen Stewart x 100 sad , happy , angry she cant show any emotion. For a movie set in the uk the police officer looks like he has time traveled from the 1920s. And the officers wore puffy leather jackets , the story is really badly scripted the lead character makes a lot if stupid mistakes
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10/10
Highly engrossing horror-mystery
niz17 March 2003
Second Name follows the female mystery-investigation storyline that has been used so successfully in recent horror/suspense films like Ring, The Eye etc. This time round our heroine investigates the suicide of her father in strange circumstances, leading her to uncover the secrets of her own past, and the discovery of an ancient religion dedicated to the ritual killing of their first-born.

I have not read the novel but judging by the film Ramsay Campbell has crafted a clever, twisting-turning tale with that elusive what-happens-next factor that will keep anyone guessing. Direction and performances are restrained, which thankfully suits the film (none of the gimmicks that damaged the US remake of Ring). And the bleak ending really packs a punch. Recommended.
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8/10
One hell of a good complex thriller !!!
Dario_the_2nd4 October 2003
Warning: Spoilers
« Los Sin Nombre 2 »

Synopsis; The story of a woman who fights against her destiny, a daughter who inherits the terrible past of her father, who will not resign herself to her given role and takes control of her fate to change things.

The beginning of the movie we see a guy getting dressed, taking his Jaguar, while at the same time there are shots edited in-between of a woman ready to give birth. The shots jump from the guy in the Jaguar to people praying in a church and back again to the women giving birth. While this runs by on your screen, the guy shoots himself thru the head. At this point we see a 'church scene' and we see the burial of this man who committed suicide. A few minutes later we will know this man was the father of the woman in labor. Why this marvelous scene was edited this way and the reason of the suicide we will discover later on, in the movie. I'm trying not to spoil too much.

The movie has a very strong opening !!! Just like, and we can compare the both of them a little, 'Jade'. Same set up as in "Jade" with that same unbelievable strong opening sequence. So you know right away from the beginning of the film you are in for some great movie quality time! Opening-scenes like this are marvelous and I just adore them!

In this movie the music is just impeccable. We have here some orchestral choir, with unbelievable great voices. Sounds bringing the right atmosphere to the whole opening scene and throughout the rest of the movie. The beginning of the movie, the editing of the shots in combination with that powerful and strong music piece gives me time after time goose bumps. The overall music ('dramatic') in this movie is just perfect. Like some of you will know, a movie stands or falls already 50% with the music they use for it !!! Here we get a mixture of some Celtic-folk, cathedral, orchestral, choir voices. At certain times my mind jumped to the sound of the "Wicker Man" and in particular "Jade". Some of the best soundtracks ever used for movies.

The main character, called 'Deedee' a special name her father gave her. Deedee = Daniella Logan played by Erica Prior. It is one of her first important roles she plays and she lives up to it. Her character is set and stands strong on screen, her acting isn't bad at all. She gives a real emotion and believability to her character.

The story further on the way is as followed. Watch, it may contain SPOILERS while you read this. For a bizarre reason when she returns to her father's grave, she sees that the grave has been broken, burnt and the body has been stolen. Police will or can't do anything about it and leave her in the cold, so to speak. This is the only predictable thing in the movie, starting her own investigation! After some days the police find her father's body; naked in a certain position all tangled up in barbwire.

We have some autopsy scenes and dead body scenes. Well the director made a good decision by keeping it in mind that quality counts and not quantity. The set-up of these scenes are very much like the first 'Los sin nombre'. This means quality FX, not overdone and in the right proportion. Thru this philosophy 'Less is more' you are in for some great FX shots. Scenes, though very disgusting by times have a very nice and peaceful overall feeling. Again, it is just knowing how to put on which music by editing the scenes. While we get along in the movie, the mother of Deedee and her uncle Harris become very important characters. As for the tree she has in her front garden. As said before already a few times the music reminds me of the "Wicker Man" but also the story has some" Wicker Man" and "Omen" -roots. I don't wont to spoil the whole movie because it is a 'Must SEE'. The only thing I want to add to end. This is a complex story that handles the subject of sects and the atrocities that flow out of religions. In this case the sect of the 'Abrahamites'. Up to you or you want to find out what this sect is all about. Seek, see and enjoy.

So you want to see a complex horror related movie that has a logical order and will explain itself minute by minute. With marvelous camera angles and shots, good acting, marvelous music go then for this one "El Segundo nombre"! He can certainly compete with the first one. "Los Sin Nombre" I would even say this one is better, much stronger. For me 8.5/10.

Dario/ Sayonara. Not to be confused with cyanide, which is, of course, goodbye in any language
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