El Sanatorio (2010)
9/10
So Mae in Costarican means DUDE!
10 November 2010
I got the pleasure of watching this movie during this years edition of Morbido Film Fest in Mexico. I got to say, I felt really grateful with this festival, cause when I come to think about it, there was no way I would've watched a horror film from Costa Rica, if this festival did n't showed it.

My first impression was that I was n't gonna be happy. When the director introduced the film as a horror comedy I thought It was probably something close Scary Movie or something like that. However when the movie started, I realized I was witnessing something new. It had a complete different tone from what I've seen, people keep talking Paranormal Activity and Evil Dead. But this movie brings something completely different to the table. This movie is a real roller coaster or a trip, through the whole legend of the Sanatorium Duran, and through the eyes of different witnesses, and guess what? You become a witness yourself, because the film have something magical, the characters break the 4th wall constantly and talk to you directly, and it's done so smoothly and natural, that it feels like if you are there with them. So suddenly and through the ¨found footage¨ deal, you become a victim of the Sanatorium. Why do you become a victim of the Sanatorium? cause the place becomes another character in the movie. I was blown away of this movie and kept thinking What if?

What if? Judd Apatow had made this movie? what if? the movie had more budget? what if? ...

This could be easily the next REC or the next LET THE RIGHT ONE IN. If somebody is clever enough to buy the rights of this film, the remake would make bank in the states. Cause my only con with this film, is the slang, it has a Costa Rican slang that would probably prevent it to become a more universal film, at least in Latin America. I read somewhere that the movie budget was less than $100,000. First time I saw an Alex de la Iglesia Film I became an instant fan. I saw El Sanatorio, and I've became an instant fan of his director Miguel Gomez. The mix of dark humor, horror and straight comedy just got me. I need more, and I need it soon. I can't wait for next year Fantastic Fest, cause I feel somehow this little movie is gonna make it and it's gonna give us a lot more to talk.
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