Amigo

Meet Javier Botet. Profession: full-time creep! The name of this Spanish actor might not immediately sound familiar, but in case you're a horror fanatic you have seen him at work already. In fact, even his face might not look familiar, as Botet specializes in playing ghosts & entities, witches, monsters, and mutilated corpses! Due to his massive height, disturbingly low weight and a genetic illness that affects his skeleton structure, Botet ironically has the ideal posture to depict menacing and nightmarish creatures. But, in all honesty, also his actual face is somewhat uncanny. He looks like a combination of Mr. Bean and that weird Spanish kid Jordi who always pops up in porno-movies. Not that I watch those, of course...

"Amigo" features an all-natural and non-digitalized Javier Botet, but still his physical appearance plays a crucial role. In this experimental and low-budgeted blending between drama and psychological thriller, paraplegic Javi is taken to a cabin in a forsaken region by his friend David who has sworn to look after him. We gradually learn that David caused a terrible accident that not only resulted in Javi's incurable condition, but also killed his girlfriend. The isolation, the cold winter, the miserable living standards, and the constant tension between the two men slowly plants the idea inside David's brain that Javi is waiting for an opportunity to kill him. Or maybe he isn't imagining things at all?

It's an admirable effort for sure, this slow burner by co-writer/director Oscar Martin. Slightly too minimalistic for my personal taste, to be entirely honest, but I certainly respect the patient but steady mounting of the tension and the intense atmosphere. The script makes excellent use of recurring gimmicks, like the little bell Javi rings whenever he needs attention or the sinister horror movies that he watches on his little TV (which may or may not inspire him to get rid of his amigo). "Amigo" also takes place around the Christmas and New Year's period, but there isn't a decoration or a joyful spirit in sight, and I estimate - based on cars, household equipment and TV-broadcasts - the story takes place somewhere in the early or mid-70s. That would still be during Franco's reign, which also contributes to the overall depressing and colorless vibe throughout the whole of Spain.

Very, very powerful final 15-20 minutes, by the way!

Following an accident that confines Javi to a wheelchair, his friend David becomes his caregiver. Alone together at David's country house, paranoia, claustrophobia, animosity and guilt eat away at them until there is little left. Misery meets The Shining.

If the enjoyable unpleasantness films is your bag, the Spanish-language Amigo might be your new best friend. But don't let that odd endorsement scare those of you who eschew the grosser offerings, for this high-brow mashup of drama and horror (with a drop of dark humor) is fueled by an almost unbearable stillness and an unexpectedly unique sense of the macabre. It's also seemingly buoyed by the real-life friendship of its creators: actors Javier Botet and David Pareja (better known as comedians) and director Óscar Martín, who know how to ring every ounce of tension from the bare-bones script that they wrote together and filmed in just one week.

Oscar Martin has an aesthetic sense that is extremely promising. Certain shots in the film are transfixing, and the deliberate pace of the editing leads to an exquisite sense of dread. He is certainly a filmmaker to watch in the genre sphere.

An interesting and and thrilling movie all in the form of brooding drama , concerning a distressed man and a suspicious friend. Claustrophobic , stagy and eerie film about a man sieged by another and some fateful consequences including paranoia , thrills, chills and macabre happenings . Following a serious car crash, David (David Pareja) decides to take in his best friend Javi (Javier Botet) at a country house and look after him . As David decides to accommodate and take care of his best friend , but resulting in a deadly battle for survival , revealing a poisoned and homicidal relationship .

At the beginning dealing with two friends , on one hand the paralyzed Javier and on the other hand the good friend David who helps him , but then , one of them goes bersek . So , while developing the peculiar knowledge in the isolated location , the two of them soon start to argue, resulting in unexpected consequences , but it's not long before quarrels between them surface , revealing a poison , homicidal relationship closer to insanity than to the friendship they seemed to have . It is a unpleasing illustration of a crippled , wheelchair young, along with his alleged friend , shot in filmic simplicity . Frighteningly realistic film made in shoestring budget and with a good though unknown cast , exception for Javier Botet who's a prestigious secondary in many terror films . It is a fiction feature film that brings together psychological thriller with extreme tension and bordering on the macabre . ¨Amigo¨ is a journey to the heart of deep , dark , Spanish gothic with brief moments of sinister black comedy , paying tributes to Spaniard Fantaterror idols , such as : Narciso Ibañez Serrador's Historias para no dormir , and Paul Naschy or Jacinto Molina . Containing echoes of ¨Rob Reiner's Misery¨, ¨Robert Aldrich's What Ever Happened to Baby Jane¨ and ¨Stanley Kubrick's The Shining¨ . And offering a radical twist to the chemistry that Javier Botet and David Pareja have displayed in their terrific interpretations . As Javier Botet gives a splendid acting as the unfortunate handicapped young who is trapped into a summer house , as well as David Pareja as the supposed , paranoic friend who feels real guilty about past deeds and suffering illusions.

It belong to a Spanish sub-genre in which disgraced people find disturbed and closed in lousy conditions , such as : "Zulo" (2005) by Martin Ferrera and "Buried" (2010) by Rodrigo Cortés or ¨Cuerdas¨ (2019) by José Luis Montesinos . Director Óscar Martín follows and paces rightly the main plot , making considerable visuals for its low budget and providing a surprising narrative dealing with the struggle between two friends turned enemies . Special mention for the suspenseful musical score , as well as adequate cinematography in dark and shading interior scenary . The film was professionally directed Óscar Martín , though it has some flaws , gaps , flaws , shortcomings and a little bit boring . Rating : 6/10 . This ¨Amigo¨ got some Awards and Nominations , such as : Alicante Film Festival 2020 Winner Golden TeselaBest Film Óscar Martín Winner , Critics Award Óscar Martí Best Director Óscar Martín , Best Actor Javier Botet , David Pareja . Blogos de Oro 2021 Winner Best Actor Javier Botet , Best Director Óscar Martín. C-FEM Murcian Fantastic European Film Festival 2020 Winner Grand Jury Prize Best Film Óscar Martín . Cinefantasy International Fantastic Cinema Festival 2021 Nominee Best Film Óscar Martín . Dracula Film Festival 2020 Winner Dracula Trophy Best Feature Film Óscar Martín , among others.