User Reviews

Santi is a young lad with a strange disease. Bright sunlight has him running for cover. Not surprisingly, he's a hoodie with sunglasses. Mum is a translator. She works from home. Parents are separated but on good terms. Santi also gets bullied a lot (he's very bully-able – you could want to cosset or kick him).

Doctor persuades Mum to take Santi to remote village. Less sunlight, you see. But kids pick on him there too. They don't understand his disease and treat him as a wimp. Shortly afterwards, locals turn on him. Especially when sheep are eviscerated. And a bully murdered. And we know there's something Nasty In The Woods. A waiting game is to see whether Shiver implodes in orgiastic excess of CGI, vampires, werewolves, radiation mutants, CIA viruses, supernatural gore or other well-worn concoctions. Remarkably, it doesn't. Even when the attacker is revealed, momentum keeps going and we can enjoy a mix of terror with fairly down-to-earth explanations.

Like many other genres, horror can be more about minor deviation on clichés than whole new formulae. But although the Shiver 'monster' avoids paths too well-trodden, the backdrop of the film is highly derivative. A flitting in the trees reminds me of Predator. Farmer and policeman are stereotypes. Santi discovers truth and, guess what – his parents don't want to know. Santi susses things out on Google – the current answer for every geek-on-a-mission. And the night vision camera thing is all a bit too Blair Witch.

Low-budget interactions and nice scenery are mixed with occasional fast editing, unnerving sounds, jolting cameras, and horrific dream sequences. Director Isidro Ortiz says he wanted, "to build a monster thriller where the monsters are the heroes, and where you must flee from the light to take refuge in the darkness. A back-to-front tale." This sophisticated theoretical foundation is almost more interesting than the movie itself. "I wanted the film to have two kinds of monsters," he continues determinedly, "those which are such because they're 'different' and cannot adapt to what society defines as 'normal', and those which are real monsters and hide their dark side while they look like a model of social behaviour." Wow! Is this film really deep? Or is the depth flown in afterwards as P.R.-flavoured gibberish? It sounds sensible enough, but out of place when referring to such a low-brainer.

To Ortiz' credit, he trimmed down his original plan to avoid relying on American budgets, but the end result, while enjoyable enough, falls slightly short of the grand concepts he envisages. It does keep you guessing for a bit but, although decently acted, characterisation and dialogue do not have the profundity to redeem such aspirations.

On the plus side, this is a broad appeal 'horror' film. It isn't offensively gory, and has an almost warm cozy feel to it. But in other words, it's a bit of a girly horror. A nice little movie with some atmospheric tension, and maybe not quite enough to satisfy late-night fans.

Shiver starts out as a promising Vampire / Werewolf story but actually travels into a much more plausible (well not really) plot about a boy who has a skin condition that doesn't allow him to be exposed to the sun and a girl who has been raised by wild animals. The style and story reminds of Let The Right One In but it's not as satisfying. It's as if you were expecting a story about Frankenstein but then it turned into a story about a lunatic who thinks he's a scientist who is involved with another lunatic who thinks he's come back from the dead and you think, hey, this is artsy I'll keep on watching but it's not artsy enough so you start yawning but you are compelled to finish it regardless. Then you say, I'll give it a 6 because it was well made, though it did make you yawn, so now that you think about it, you are going to give it a five.

A teenager suffering from a skin disease called photophobia(..the sun inflicts damage to the flesh)moves with his book translator mother to a village in the mountains as a means to get away from the city, hoping for a fresh start. Santi(Junio Valverde)and his mom, Julia(Mar Sodupe) move into a villa with a dark history regarding a German couple and their adopted daughter(..Erika, who grew up in the wilds of Africa). Something lurks within the wilderness near Santi's home and it feasts of animal and human alike. When bloody bodies turn up with Santi placed at the scene of the crime, he becomes a suspect to the locals and police, needing to clear his name.

Gosh, I seem to watch a lot of movies about killer kids these days. I give this movie a lot of credit..the kid in this one is pretty scary. A girl, with cannibalistic tendencies, with an ability to move about the darkened forest(..interesting idea by the filmmakers to have their protagonist a young man who can not have sun shining on him, providing reasoning for much of the film's being shot at night)as victims, with shot guns, are unable to see her, soon paying the price for attempting to harm whatever it is they are looking for. With sharp teeth, dirty/unwashed hair, and filthy body, the primal girl is quite a freakish sight, with director Isidro Ortiz and company carefully shooting her in odd angles, often slightly out of frame(..cleverly using out of focus camera work and darkened parts of rooms where Santi is often at her mercy). There's an effective sequence, my favorite, where Santi bolts and locks all the doors and windows to the villa, setting up a couch, butcher knife in hand, only to fall asleep, awakening to find her right next to him! I also thought the scenes where characters find themselves deep in the heart of the woods of the village, at night mostly, were well developed and suspenseful for it was never sure where the girl might be. One sequence, in particular(where Santi, his girlfriend, Ángela, portrayed by Blanca Suárez and best friend are searching for Erika to prove to the police inspector that she is in fact real, not a figment of his imagination), when Santi's leg gets caught in an animal trap(..a goat farmer's response to whatever predator is munching on his flock)is plenty intense as Ángela continually attempts to free him. Also well orchestrated is how Ortiz establishes Erika's presence as flashlights point into the bushes and we see brief glimpses of her moving quickly past. I have to say that Spain has established itself as a country spawning a wealth of talent in the horror genre, from actors to cinematography, plenty of quality is coming from this part of the world. This one has a pretty good twist which comes smack dab out of nowhere, a startling discovery regarding the German couple's car and a grocer named Dimas(Francesc Orella)add much to the proceedings. A nice surprise.

Santi is nicknamed "vampire" because of his inability to withstand sunlight and his shark-like teeth. Santi is often shown wearing a hoody and sunglasses which makes him stand out to others as a strange oddball, even though he's just a sweet, innocent kid with afflictions that keep him from living an ordinary life.

WARNING: SPOILERS. Junio Valverde is excellent as always as the 17-year-old protagonist Santi in this flick, although the "horror" genre here calls for the kind of over-the-top acting that can't bring out the best in any actor. Although there are a few mild surprises, Valverde is really the only bright spot and the only factor that led me to actually finish the movie, aside from some neat cinematographic touches and some brief but salutary film time by Blanca Suárez as the girlfriend and Mar Sodupe as his mother. Santi's "photophobia" (actually a physical reaction to sunlight), so prominently featured at the beginning, never leads anywhere, and his growing canines are a puzzlingly naked and unresolved red herring.

Nevertheless, there is a good deal of beauty in the portrayal of the shadowy rural Spanish village among the hills which anyone can enjoy.

Seeing as this movie seems to get mostly positive reviews (at least here on IMDb), I thought I'd add my two cents to even it out a little bit because Eskalofrío didn't work quite as well with me...

On a purely technical level, the movie is done well, the actors were good, much more believable than in your-average-horror-flick, the music too was good enough for me to notice it and above all you get great shots of Spanish mountains and forests that contribute greatly to the atmosphere, both thanks to being beautiful and also a bit disturbing at times.

That being said, my main complaint is about the story and the script. This is what it boils down to, I figure - how far you are willing to stretch suspension of disbelief. I consider myself quite tolerant in this regard but this movie was really pushing it too far.

Most of it are just details but at the same time, most of it are the worst of horror-movie cliché stupidities of the type: - the young group in the forest splits up - even they themselves said they shouldn't split up! - the protagonist's "vampyrism" (photophobia) that in the end adds nothing to the story whatsoever - the protagonist suddenly becomes the main suspect based only and only on some "strange circumstances" - the same protagonists so completely mistrusts all the adults that he prefers to take on "the monster" alone with a couple of friends. At night. In a forest. That is filled with traps. Yippee for common sense. - said "monster" is a little girl, no older than 13. Okay, this may have taken the movie in interesting directions but it didn't. I understand she was feral and living in the wild, her strength and agility developed considerably but come on... no human, no animal, can adapt to new life conditions so quickly, I mean, that's why evolution takes so many generations and so many millions of years, it's not like she's some kind of human-wolf mutant predator... - by the way, said "monster"/little girl apparently didn't age at all

et blah di blah de blah, I could go on... A shame. I wanted to like it and it had quite a lot going for it but there's only so much stupidity I can let go unnoticed...

Have just seen the Premier of this at the Berlin Film Festival. Think of Truffaut's 'Wild Child' played out as a typical 'Hidden monster in the woods' horror movie and you won't be far out. There are some genuinely creepy moments but these sadly are few and far between and at the screening I attended the audience were howling with laughter (rather than fright) at some of the supposedly scary scenes. The banal dialogue was also the subject of some laughter from the audience though this could have been due to poor translation of the subtitles. Despite all the weaknesses I quite enjoyed it in a 'so bad it's good' sort of way, but if you're looking for genuine spills and thrills look elsewhere!

Imagine a horror movie for 12 year old girls, not very exciting right? now imagine this 12 year old girlie horror made in Spain and produced by a TV channel...what you get? a cheesy romantic horror sort-of-vampire movie sci-fi channel style but with an abyssal budget.

Spanish actors are poor as always, dialogs are non existent, the film is boring, very boring, overlong, badly executed and with no final twist as redemption.

Not much more to say, with a screenplay sub par with Buffy vampire slayer, Supernatural or Charmed with unnecessary touches of Evil Dead or An American werewolf in London, all mixed up in the worst imaginable way.

Don't waste your time, nor your money.

Santi (Junio Valverde - The Devil's Backbone) has a skin condition that keeps him out of the Sun. He and his mother (Mar Sodupe - Blame It on Fidel!) move to a small village that is shaded. Unfortunately, there is something in the woods there. The locals blame the new kid, of course, after he goes into the woods with Tito (Pau Poch - The Christmas Tale) and Jonas, and only he comes out.

Santi sees the creature (Berta Ros) in the woods, which raises suspicions higher as only he has been present at the two deaths.

Santi calls on his friend Leo (Jimmy Barnatán) to help, and he and Angela (Blanca Suárez), the police inspector's (Roberto Enríquez) daughter go after the child.

Right on their heels are the landlord/grocer (Francesc Orella) and Santi's father(Paul Berrondo).

Some will die before it's over, but not at the hands of the girl. There is a terrible secret that is revealed.

At least Santi finds something missing in his life. Great job by Junio Valverde.

A teenager with his mother pulls into a shady valley in the Spanish mountains, because the sun is less exposed. Around the same time sheep herders in the area see several sheep killed. The rural community is suspicious. We know, however: There is something in the forest, the animals and then kill people and it is not our enemy sun. Slowly comes a conspiracy, the elements of a "wolf boy" story with motifs of the vampire and werewolf movie combined. The whole thing works together, but so that at the end the overall impression "of a" film will emerge. Even as a rapprochement on the structuralist film phenomenon "Exposure" failed in the reality department. Pity, but even where HG Francis and the Spanish horror film have shown that new takes on the vampire or werewolf genre are possible.

I'm a huge fan of Spanish and Argentinian thriller movies. I love my plot twists and Spaniards and Argentinians do it very well (see The Tunnel, Wild Tales, The Bar, The Orphanage, The Secret in their Eyes, Nieve Negra, Contratiempo, Abre los Ojos, La piel que habito, Tarde para la Ira, Lucia y el Sexo, El Cuerpo, El Desconocido and many more). Having said that, Eskalofrío isn't the best example of a good Spanish horror flick, but it's also not the worst. Actually it's better than many American fantastic horrors I've tried to watch but couldn't go past the first fifteen minutes. This movie has interesting premises, timely twists and reveals, besides a wonderful filming location (that deserved better treatment from the cinematographer). But acting is atrocious. That's what kills the whole buzz. The mother is played in such an unconvincing manner, by an actress that seems to be inadvertently flirting with all other characters. Either this or she's constantly zoned out. The boy is not such a bad actor but the shivering was just too much. The rest of the cast is embarrassing. Oh, and the plot holes... Enough to make a trypophobic's skin crawl. The last scene: totally unnecessary. It does not do the movie justice. A very cheap, unoriginal, not scary at all, jump scare scene. But throughout the film, the suspense had me on the edge of my seat a few times. I only wish this movie had been more carefully and professionally executed.

"Shiver" is an incredibly entertaining and enjoyable entry.

**SPOILERS**

Living with a skin-disease, Santi, (Junio Valverde) and his mother Julia, (Mar Sodupe) decide to move away from the city out to the countryside, in order to help cope with the condition. As their landlord Dimas, (Fransesc Orella) tries to help make it easier for them, his claims that something is wrong with the house is rebuffed, and even his friends at school, Angela, (Blanca Suarez) Tito, (Pau Poch) and Leo, (Jimmy Barnatan) are a little unsure of his stories until a neighboring child dies. As more villagers mysteriously die under violent circumstances while he's around, they begin to suspect him as the source of the mysterious events around town and begin to harass him for it. When they finally learn the true identity of the perpetrator of the vicious deaths around the town, they try to convince the others of their story while making sure they stop the attacks from happening.

The Good News: This one here had a lot of good parts to make it extremely enjoyable and entertaining. One of the biggest parts is the fact that it manages to work in a lot of creepy and suspenseful scenes into it that are just really well-done. The first walk-through of the forest, where the bullies encounter the creature, is fantastic due to the claustrophobic and encroaching feel of the forest, aided by the fact that they're lost in the area at the time and punctuated by a series of inhuman growls and a great deal of bush-rustling that is a primal scare tactic and works wonders. Then comes the screams of pain in the distance, and the stumbling upon the mutilated body just cap off a fantastic sequence. Another big moment comes when, walking home through the forest again, another encounter is done which is just miles better. Again the rustling bushes and growling are utilized, and again they work wonderfully, but the inclusion of the game with the bouncing ball being returned every time is a great concept and is just played off beautifully. Since there's also the sound of footsteps approaching, it just so happens to feel really good that there's a good suspense tactic being employed while another one is being done, and the whole sequence is just spectacular. Along with the night-time setting making it even more dangerous and the flashlight going out, it has a lot of good workings for it and that's even before we get the brutal attack seen through the waning flashlight-light, and the discovery of that mangled body just works nicely. It's also suspenseful out-of-the-forest, as the nightmarish sequence where the shadowy figure is seen coming towards him in a darkened room during a blaring thunderstorm, and as we notice something isn't right in the room, it emerges as a shadow and uses this to great effect. Another effect one is when they board up the house after the night-time visit, and despite that, the creature still appears within and launches a chase through the house which is really enjoyable. The finale is another big plus, as the confined spaces and vicious action make it a fantastic way to finish off the film with a bang. Along with the suspense, this one has a lot of action in it, including those mentioned earlier but as well as the last sequence set in the forest, the town's manhunt for the creature. As the search party becomes lost, it echoes up the suspense earlier but the attack is just wonderful. On the other end, from the discovery of the graves to watching it through the night-vision in-the-trees to the true appearance of the creature in all its glory and the brutal kills and bloodshed during this scene, this one is a great, extended sequence. Mixed well with a fantastic opening using a great vampire-like trick to understand the condition, these are the positives.

The Bad News: There wasn't a whole lot in here that didn't work. One of the flaws is the fact that there's a rather long section of the film which nothing happens at all. In the middle section, where they undergo a long time investigating what happened earlier, isn't really packed with a lot of interesting parts. From the frequent visits to the landlord that merely serve to introduce the lifestyle they should be getting accustomed to and the antics of the kids at school as well as the continued exploits of the friendship-building between everyone, these scenes just aren't that exciting and really lead that section into a dull-bit, despite the strange fact that the film is still watchable at the time. There's also the fact that the film manages to fail completely in explaining just what the villain really is. A back-story is given, but all that does is ask more questions rather than answer what was already there, and a big one it overlooks is the motive for the rampage. Mention is made of a possible one, but it just glosses over it and nothing comes of it, and is promptly forgotten quickly, not a good way to make the main villain an imposing threat. The last flaw to this one is the fact that, during the forest-stalking late in the film, the decision to film nearly the entire sequence through the night-vision camera is a disastrous idea in every way. The green that covers everything makes it look amateurish and virtually impossible to make details out, and the hand-held nature of everything makes it doubly-hard as well. A great concept, but lacking in execution, and otherwise, this one isn't bad at all.

The Final Verdict: While there's a few mild flaws to be found within, this one has enough good stuff to overcome it and manages to be somewhat entertaining and enjoyable. Really recommended to those interested or fans of the style, while those who aren't should heed caution.

Rated R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language

"Spoiler"

I did not know much about Shiver before I watched it. The only thing I did know was that Dark Sky films was releasing it and they are a company that I really trust right now. I can gladly say that they did not abuse that trust. Shiver is a good, albeit flawed, fright flick. It starts out in one direction and goes to a very unexpected place. The film follows Santi, a young man who has an affliction not dissimilar to vampires. Santi is highly sensitive to sunlight and also has fangs. However, this has little to do with the actual plot other than to make you think Santi could be a monster. Because there is a monster of sorts that lives in the woods near the small village where Santi and his mother have moved to. There are a few animal mutilations and murders that coincide with Santi's arrival and the townsfolk believe Santi to be responsible. I don't want to give anything away, but Santi is not the killer. The killer's identity is a highly original concept and it's what I think will separate Shiver and make it memorable. Also, there are a few scenes in broad daylight that gave me chills. That is an incredible accomplishment to me. And that's why I recommend seeing the picture. I think towards the end of the film Shiver becomes a little too routine. That is my main complaint. It goes down the same tired road we've been down before. It had a lot of potential to be different and it didn't take full advantage of that. I still think it's a good film because it did give me the "shivers" and I suggest seeing it especially if you are a fan of Spanish horror.