Following in the footsteps of previous haunted house movies like The Amityville Horror and The Conjuring comes 32 Malasana Street. Everything is in place for this film to be excellent for most people but may lose some interest for others due to the subtitles and Spanish dialogue. If you enjoy a good story about haunted houses and the fun that they bring with them, definitely add this one to your watch list.
32 Malasana Street is a haunting movie from Spain. The events in the story are supposed to be based on actual events from 1976 Madrid. A family of six moves into a large condo that has been empty for years. The family moved to Madrid in search of a better life from their previous one in a smaller village. As you can expect things do not go quite as planned. What makes this experience so interesting is the use of traditional effects instead of relying on computers to do the heavy lifting when it comes to creating the scares that make this genre so fun. From some minor wire work to camera tricks and small details that can be missed, the effects are the high points of what makes this an excellent viewing experience. By no means is the story original.
However, it does not detract from what happens with some of the situations being more on the creepy side than on the side of jump scares. The idea of it possibly being a true story or based on a true story makes it all the more believable and slightly disturbing. It is not a huge Hollywood budget CGI-filled spectacle. This is a tradition effects smaller budget story that nods to the original Conjuring and what made it great. It falls in line with those top haunting movies we have all come to love. Again, the only real detraction from the story is having to read it, which may cause certain details to be missed. The things that happen as the events unfold are easy to follow without having to understand what is being said.
In today’s era of giant budget, special effects laden, jump scare horror, 32 Malasana Street stands out with its simplicity and creepy situations. All of this is done with little to no special effects other than camera tricks and built up tension. This is what makes this such a good movie as a whole. Overall it is a somewhat generic story with a minor twist I didn’t quite expect, but it was an extreme viewing pleasure that I will be going back to watch again and see some of the background things I may have missed. Overall, I highly recommend adding this to your list of must-see horror movies for fans of haunted habitations, supernatural scares, and general real-life special effects that do not rely on the Hollywood polish and fame of wide theatrical releases.
RORSCHACH RATING
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Victims and Villains is written Josh "Captain Nostalgia" Burkey (and produced by) and more. Music by Mallory Johnson and others. 32 Malasana Street is property of Shudder. We do not own nor claim any rights. This review was edited by Cam Smith. 32 Malasana Street is now streaming exclusively on Shudder.
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