Director: Cristian Ponce
Year: 2020
Country: Argentina
Alternate Titles: Historia de lo Oculto
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
Preparing for a special broadcast, the crew of a local news show is getting ready for a potentially explosive story to break regarding a connection between the government and a massive conspiracy, but as time goes on they realize there's more to the encounter than they initially expected.
Review:
Overall, this was a highly enjoyable and chilling effort. One of the more enjoyable elements here is the wholly unique and intriguing storyline that serves as a perfect launching point for its burgeoning plot points. Operating as the behind-the-scenes exploits of the crew attempting to use the broadcast and the specifics are known about how important it is to get the facts out involving their relevance and duration, the dialog-heavy plot-points mentioned here about each of the guests keep this one intriguing. The interview-based setup where the film talks with each of the specific guests about their connection to the fabled notebook brought out as the centerpiece of the show serve as a fine counterpoint to the discussions brought about through the show.
That brings about the other impressive aspect of the film in the secretive nature of the revelations that come about. With the conversations involving the supposed warlock and the doubting skeptic that tries to bring about a dubious conspiracy theory hiding behind the scenes. The way the conversations go where it spends more time on the secretive nature of their individual history with each other and how that spills into the plot points involving the warlocks' background with the occult and how the tell-all book was written generates a lot of fun moments as the tension builds throughout the night. Once it gets to the final half where the group is trying to bring the issue to a head under a time deadline and the group starts to feel the effects of the potential witchcraft being conducted against them which brings about some enjoyable flashes with the witchcraft affecting them. Overall, these elements give this one a lot to like.
There are a few minor issues to be had with the film. The main problem is a simplistic approach by being heavily based on conversations between the crew working in the background on exposing the conspiracy rather than actually generating any action. The low-key style that serves to slowly enhance the escalating dread and suspense about the conspiracy doesn't produce as much action as one might expect since it's either showing the sit-down roundtable interviews or the crew in the backstage area talking about specific points that have to be mentioned. This can be quite dull for those that want more activity in their films, which is all the more pronounced to those who aren't invested in the political intrigue featured. This isn't all that well-explained and can bring the film down somewhat.
Overview: ****/5
A fun little slow-burn effort that has some likable qualities to it although it can be a little troubling for those who want a more action-packed, spectacle-filled offering, overall this one comes across as quite enjoyable overall. Give it a look if you're a fan of the style or approach or a fan of this slow-burn minimalistic approach, while others who fall into that second aspect will want to heed caution with this one.
This film is part of Fantaspoa, which ran for free on the streaming platform Darkflix, from April 9th through the 18th. All film screenings are geo-blocked to Brazil, with additional details available at www.fantaspoa.com.
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