Second Name

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

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

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.

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")

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.