With America rocking the found-footage business, Spain gets into the act with Atrocious. Its concept is that sibling urban-legend investigators Cristian and July (unknowns Cristian Valencia and Clara Moraleda, respectively) are dragged by their parents to spend Easter weekend in a nearby village, where stands the family’s castle, empty for 10 years. Certain to be bored to death, the brother and sister shoot video of the entire trip.
Legend has it that a girl disappeared from the grounds decades before, never to be found. Also, there’s a gated labyrinth adjacent to their property they can’t wait to explore, but their father forbids them to step foot there. So naturally, they do, and find a lot of prickly branches there. Oh, and a well. And anyone who has seen The Ring knows those things are bad news. Especially later when they find a fresh trail of blood leading to it.
That’s not all. The kids hear weird sounds emanating from the maze while they’re trying to sleep. Things really escalate when their 8-year-old brother can’t be found, leading to a too-long run through the dark. (Hope you like night vision!)
The mere title of Atrocious invites trouble (I assume it was chosen to resemble the smash Insidious), but actually, the movie isn’t even close to awful. It’s not great, either, but it is muy bueno, with a rather effective final 10 or 15 minutes that are undeniably creepy, even if you’re short of being scared. —Rod Lott