La broma

THE JOKE, by Rodrigo Cortés, is probably the best of the four stories that this first season of Stories to Stay Awake contains. Full of rhythm, with an extraordinary sense of the camera, tense and vibrant, with great performances... Eduard Fernández, Nathalie Poza and Raúl Arévalo are major performers in Spain, but Rodrigo Cortés squeezes them so deeply that funny and terrible often live together in the same frame, like in the Coen's stories, as an acting lesson. Rodrigo Cortés is one of the best directors these days in terms of technique, storytelling and actors directing, and probably the best as for his masterful sense of rhythm (these 45 minutes feel like 20!), and he just made an exemplary story in the path an spirit of Hitchcock and Hammet, and especially of those who Chicho Ibáñez Serrador made on his original show in the 60s and the 70s. Great tribute. A must see.

A woman (Nathalie Poza) and her lover (Raúl Arévalo) plan to murder her husband (Eduard Fernández) who is a prank but until the last moment he will continue to play the prank. This interesting telefilm contains suspense , thrills , intrigue ,intense drama and plot twists . The picture succeeds because the thriller, tension , as well as a superbly written script delving into the human psyche in such extreme situation and dealing with a surprising intrigue with plenty of twists and turns . The movie works on many levels , being constantly reconfigured . Despite its medium budget the picture manages to be intelligent, intriguing and thrilling . Good performance from Eduardo Fernández , Nathalie Poza and Raúl Arévalo . This is a Spanish telefilm starred by all-star-cast and was compellingly written , produced and directed by Rodrigo Cortes who previously made some movies with notorious international successes such as ¨Red Lights¨, ¨Dawn in dark hill¨ , ¨Blackwood¨, ¨Love Gets a Room¨ and his biggest hit : ¨Buried¨ and another success was ¨The Contestant¨ or El Concursante that won Maestre Mateo Award to support cast , best director and editing and Malaga Film Festival, best director , best cinematography , and Rodrigo Cortés has got several Goyas and nominations.

"Historias Para No Dormir" is four independent horror stories that pay tribute to the classic format of Narciso Ibáñez Serrador, directed by and starring well known names in Spanish cinema, such as Rodrigo Cortés, Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Paco Plaza and Paula Ortiz directing "La broma", "El doble", "Freddy" and "El asfalto". The star-studded talent in front of and behind the camera are more than enough to carry this anthology series to 4 enjoyable viewing experiences. The original episode ¨La Broma¨ directed in 1966 by Narciso Ibáñez Serrador with Narciso Ibáñez Menta , Irene Daina and Pepe Martín from ¨Historias para no dormir¨. This Classic TVE series formed by a lot of episodes based mostly on Edgar Allan Poe stories , as well as Ray Bradbury , Henry James, Harlan Ellison, Robert Arthur , Robert Bloch , among others , furthermore , scripts from Narciso Ibañez Serrador .Splendid TV series written and directed by the great Narciso Ibañez Serrador and many episodes starred by his father Narciso Ibañez Menta. It starts with a prologue in which Narciso Ibañez Serrador himself explains ironically and hilariously -in Alfred Hitchcock presenta style- some events to happen in the episode . There are several episodes , outstanding adaptions based on Poe as The Cask of Amontillado , The case of Mr Valdemar , The Raven , and The Last clock with Narciso Ibañez Menta . And other important stories shot as El asfalto or The asphalt , El Muñeco , El Regreso , La casa , La Zarpa , La Bodega , Pesadilla, El Aniversario and several others . While most scenes were shot in video at Prado Del Rey studios , the outdoors scenes were shot in film , and subsequently combined .

The first remake of the original series makes for a fun enough viewing but I can't help to feel kind of empty. I still prefering the original episode.