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1997(1st) ~ 2024(28th)
World Fantastic Cinema
Elio QUIROGA
Spain2008 94 min 35mm C Asian Premiere
Haunted houses make a fascinating story. In movies, a place that witnessed a horrific incident greets new residents again and again, who will soon discover strange things happening on a daily basis, and the secret lurking behind those walls. Stories like that always spark our curiosity. No-Do: The Beckoning, a Spanish version of a haunted house, is about Francesca, a woman suffering from post-partum depression, and the extraordinary things she experiences as she moves into a new house in the suburbs. Despite its re-creation of haunted-house clichés, the movie offers a unique cinematic style, setting it apart from other similar fares. For example, making frequent transitions between black-and-white and color formats, the “feel” of silent movie visuals is created. With the two different styles working together to express the past and the present, you almost feel as if you were seeing two movies at the same time. Heard and seen before? Still, the whole affair is extremely intriguing, except for the occasional apparition which undermines the whole mystery and aura created and captured by the physical space of a haunted place. Digital technology is never a good thing for a film about a haunted house — the incompatibility between a classical horror theme and digital technology, if you will. (KIM Jong Chul)