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A group of
girls are being held captive inside a
house. At all times they must act as if everything
is all right and that they're very happy, or else
they will be punished. They're currently planning
a birthday party for a girl named Tamara who nobody
knows. Who is this mysterious Tamara girl? And how
long can these girls go without turning on each other?
You know, I've never seen that black and white
Argentinean horror flick "Room For Tourists" but I've
heard great things about it, and since 36 Steps was
made by the same people, I figured I'd give it a
shot. The result? Well I wasn't really blown away
to be honest with you, it's a bit too abstract for
my personal liking and you all ready know how I feel
towards artsy stuff. 36 Steps is some strange kind
of mixture between My Little Eye, Texas Chainsaw
Massacre and Battle Royale I guess. It's obviously
shot on a very low budget - in fact, every member
of the production company plays a character in the
movie and considering the budget I do appreciate
the outcome because it does have its moments of glory.
Unfortunately, the moments of glory are quite rare
and for an obscure splatter film, it's awfully dry.
The story revolves around a group of rather anonymous
girls - I mean, we get short introductions on each
of them but unfortunately it's not quite enough. Anyway,
these girls are living in a mansion and at first
sight everything seems fine but it soon turns out
that they are being held captive against their will
and if they try to leave the house at any time they
will be punished. There are also a couple of rules
that they have to obey in order to stay alive. Who
the villain is? I don't know, some fat retard with
a silly hat and a sledgehammer. Yeah, I know right.
So we have a pathetic villain and some random girls.
Establishing good characters obviously isn't these
guys strong side. The basic story-line has potential
but the movie goes exactly where you expect it to
go and there are quite a few scenes that seem to have
been thrown in just to give the movie an artistic
feel to it. It doesn't really work and feels out of
context. I will give the director some kudos for
some very interesting angles and a job well-done
in general though. I also have to say that 36 Steps
isn't completely awful, it's actually quite easy to
sit through... once anyway, probably not twice.
You know, Argentinean horror flicks really aren't
that great in general but at least they're trying
and I hope that we some day soon get to see a big
theatrical horror flick from Argentina (even though
the last one, Winter Visitor, flopped badly). This
may not be what I would like to call a step in the
right direction but it's something anyway.
A decapitation, a lot of blood splatter and some
more minor gore. Not very gory.
Very very odd soundtrack, I don't even know what to
call it. Obviously indie productions made by friends
of the production company.
It has potential but calling this a quality horror
film may be a bit of a stretch. No wonder Latin
American horror flicks never find their way outside
Latin America. 36 Steps is watchable at best but
if I were you I'd probably save my money.
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