Venus

And a mucho mucho dark horror story coming outta the rather bad ridden parts of madrid of spain, a new queen of the kingdom of darkness is to be found, the desperately searching disciples turns the world into turmoil to find the right person...

at the same time a local drug kingpin is robbed off in his club by one of the clubs dancers. The loot of human demolition aka blue crysalis tablets worth its weight in gold really makes havoc in the gangster community, and a killer squad is sent out to find the thieving magpie...

a very well made spanish mystery horror flick, not the most elaborated story, but neatly dark and bloodgored to the fingertips, cast well chosen for the acts, and the sleuth ideas of a plot will for sure make even the most squemish viewers shed a tear when the clashes of the titans starts. So a recommend from the grumpy old man.

Director Jaume Balagueró is internationally known mostly for his Rec zombie flicks, and one more time he dwells into the pits of the horror genre - and he delivers: Venus is a well made trip with a solid production and good acting. The story: a dancer girl takes a good load of drugs from a drug lord and then gets some more deep trouble because some elderly women have some devilish plans of their own. Venus is for sure not a new classic or brilliant movie and will not stir as much fuzz as the first Rec movie did, but in the endless ocean of mediocre to bad horror movies that are produced these days, it is an entertaining entry, and that's not the worst thing to say about a movie of that genre.

This was at least a little original and was well acted throughout. It was actually a great watch until the end. It was like the writer couldn't figure out how to end the film. It felt cheap and rushed. Also, considering there was lots of blood, there was nothing horrific or scary about it. It couldn't decide if it wanted to focus on the crime aspect or the supernatural. This is definitely worth a watch, but it could have been sooooo much more than the mediocre offering it became. In the right hands, this movie would be served well with a remake, that focuses more on the supernatural, adds a few more kills, and cleans up that absolutely idiotic ending.

Jaume Balagueró is a filmmaker who loves telling stories about horrors that take place in apartments. REC, REC², Sleep Tight, To Let, Inquilinos (short).. the list goes on. Venus is a genre-bender with heavy inclinations towards cosmic horror (loosely inspired by H. P. Lovecraft's short story "The Dreams in the Witch House"). Venus begins as a crime-drama about stolen drugs, though the film drops early hints about the horrors that await the protagonist Lucía. Things aren't what they seem, and there are mysteries surrounding the building she takes refuge in, i.e. Her sister's residence. Fernando Navarro's writing gives nearly equal footing to both crime and horror angles, but I was obviously more invested in the latter.

The visual style of Balagueró is still something to watch out for, and when coupled with practical effects, the outcome in certain scenes is a Lovecraftian horror fan's wet dream. That said, the way both stories eventually blend into one isn't really smooth, and as a viewer, you have no choice but to lean into the absurdity of it all. Ester Expósito gets a meaty role and she's the only one in the film to come out looking absolutely badass. The other characters purely exist as victims or villains. The finale will leave some viewers perplexed (like, THAT'S IT?) whereas some may deem it poetic justice.

Whoa! A LOT of blood, violence, gangsters, drugs, twisted witches and enough WTF moments. And lead Ester Expósito is gorgeous.

Also inspired by H. P. Lovecraft. This was a BLAST. Well directed and shot. Well acted and an interesting watch throughout. I watched it in Spanish and my Spanish is far from good. But Venus was easy enough to follow and has shades of Rosemary's Baby, Hellraiser, and even for some reason reminded me of Troma's Rabid Grannies, even though it is nothing like that. Venus is a solid film and I was glued. This was fun.

Highly recommended Spanish horror. From the director of REC.