El páramo (2011) Reviews

• Acting that can shame a lot of Hollywood stars.

  Christine_Plymouth_Fury19582012-07-29

  As with the first two reviews, I have to agree that there were no weak acting here. Every single one of them were marvelous. The cinematography and especially the atmosphere were very effective and notable. However, I would not classify this as a horror movie. I'm inclined to say that this is more of a suspense/drama. Admittedly, the director was extremely talented in building up the tension, though it is quite tiring to always have that accumulate inside you without having any form of release as nothing of significance really happens. Granted, that he wasn't going for cheap thrills, which I can respect, but a movie gets anti-climactic fast, even with superb actors and atmosphere, if it's not going anywhere. This would have been great for a short film, but made into a full length movie, it became a bit diluted. Still, I did not regret watching this for the positive points already mentioned above. Those were so good, it salvaged the entire film.

• Quality Colombian Product

  graeme-206-2550022012-06-19

  Having waited for this release an eternity, I was desperately clinging onto the slim chance that it may have been a worthwhile wait, especially given that in most cases, the wait is better than the end product. Not in this case however. El Paramo (The Squad) is a highly polished, very well produced, dark thriller from a country who in my experience aren't noted for successful movie exports. It puts many mega budget blockbusters to shame, filmed with such care and attention, that from the first scene until the last, I was hooked. No hammy acting or poor scripting dialogue in this - everything was way above and beyond anything I've seen for a long time, and belies the country of origin and also the relatively smallish budget. All actors delivered their lines with ease, their emotions throughout heightening the tension that the writer and director were aiming for, and the locations used were suitably spooky and dark. It's a difficult movie to classify - some will say horror, others thriller - to me this was more a psychological thriller more than anything else - a lot of unseen tension based on unseen forces. Going down that route is a very difficult skill to master as a writer and a director - keeping the audience glued to the screen whilst not showing anything of horror is a talent that abounds in the movie - to successfully manage to portray a story of the breakdown of a regimented society in a short space of time,whilst running with an underlying hint of the paranormal worked perfectly. It's a shame this won't get the release it deserves, however, I'd really like to see more from the writers and director as they've got a supreme talent that deserves more recognition. Top notch 8/10

• Good film making with average source material

  shanksinha2012-06-23

  El Paramo (The Squad) is neat little film coming out of Colombia. It is extraordinary in many ways. Coming from a non-prolific film industry, it falls within the extremely small sub-genre of military horror films. Although to be fair, it is really a psychological thriller. The writer/director Jaime Osorio Marquez handles the story well for a novice film maker. Constraints of low budget are hard to spot, largely due to superb on location filming. The director appreciably discards the urge to let things over the top and follows a minimalist approach. In many ways El Paramo is a minimalist film. The storyline itself is bare minimum and so are the dialogs. Acting is largely good again not requiring much from the actors. A notable exception is the actor Andrés Castañeda (he plays sarge), who hams in a few intense scenes required of him. May be the minimalist approach itself is the biggest flaw of the film. With absolutely no storyline to hold things together, nobody has anything much to do. The basic premise itself, of a tightly knit group of soldiers encountering the unknown and the eventual break down of all form of cohesiveness, is hardly new. The basic storyline is surprisingly similar to The Bunker (2001)by Rob Green and also has shades of South Korean films The Guard Post GP506 (2008) and R-Point (2004) by Kong Su-Chang. Osorio Marquez's film making craft however is inferior to none. He handles the mood building well, aided by a suitably spooky soundtrack. The misty desaturated colours help set the tone. The overall pace may be a tad bit slow and since nothing much happens along the way, the eventual feeling is not satisfying. A lack of a tangible outside threat means that the squad members are ultimately fighting their internal demons. The director gives a hint of the underlying tensions in the opening scenes as well. That part however, is underplayed by the script giving scant background to the viewers. The director obviously fights the urge to provide quick and cheap thrills to the audience and instead chooses to build the tension up gradually through the interplay of the squad members and reaching a crescendo when all military discipline breaks down ultimately. The problem is that the characters themselves are not well developed, and initially it is difficult to differentiate between them due to the desaturated colour tones and overall white gray background of mud and fog. Watching them run around in circles helplessly and turn against each other is a slow painstaking process, something not enjoyable to all. In the bottom line, El Paramo is certainly quality film making. It scores big on atmospherics, photography, sound design and production value especially considering the limited budget. The script is weak however, and is now getting predictable.

• Disappointing

  cliogupr2012-09-21

  Unfortunately The Squad fails to deliver on its interesting premise and promising first ten minutes. Competent camera work and a decent cast is unable to make up for a lack of plot, structure or coherent direction. I can appreciate what the director was attempting to do with lingering close-ups of grim, suffering faces, subtle sound cues and atmospheric lighting, but one can only rely on those techniques so long before delivering some kind of pay-off. For me the film completely failed to rack up any tension or arrive at a destination. I was more concerned with wondering why the characters - supposedly trained soldiers in a war zone - were behaving more like angsty teens who've fallen out with their parents. The message that in a civil war everyone looks like the enemy could have been portrayed far more effectively without tacking on a poorly-realized supernatural element. The film-makers tried to do both and ended up with neither. I hate using the word, but 'boring' really is the only word that comes to mind.

• Colombia/Argentina/Spain co-production about a group of soldiers who experience something supernatural at a military base set on top of a mountain.

  ma-cortes2014-08-27

  A special high mountain command (stars : Juan David Restrepo, Mateo Stevel, Andrés Castañeda, Daniela Catz, and Nelson Camayo, among others) of nine is sent to a military base in a desolate high-plains moor of Colombia , but all contact with the military base high in the desolate wastelands of Colombia has been lost . Contact was lost several days ago and was believed to be target of a guerrilla attack . Upon arrival, the only person found inside the base results to be a woman , as the men discover a shocking scene of carnage, and only one survivor , a peasant who is heavily chained . Gradually , the team is disturbingly hooked by isolation and the impossibility to escape , and creating them doubts about the true nature of that strange woman . They start to question the identity of their enemy, and the true nature of the strange , silent woman . Is she a terrorist ? A victim? Or something more sinister? Something supernatural… Paranoia takes root . Prisoners of fear and the terrible secret they share , and the events go wrong . This stirring as well as violent film has breathless , brutal scenes , a gut punch of an action film , it creates a nice amount of tension and fright . It begins when authorities – believing a military base to have fallen to a terrorist attack – send a nine-man squad to investigate ; as a special unit of combat taking on the challenges of dealing with pressure themselves , isolating , fright and fighting at an unnamed war . This is a thrilling picture with terror elements in which a squad is submitted to strange horrors and impossibility of escape that undermine the integrity and sanity of the soldiers, causing them to lose the certainties about the identify of the enemy . It's an interesting movie , from the beginning until the end the frightening and scary action is unstoppable . It's a thought-provoking and clever studio of an Elite Squad , about some experienced soldiers, and unflinching remark at the lack of communication , as a group inability to communicate with the outside world originating upsetting feelings , hatred and confrontation . The film turns out to be a crossover from various flicks , as it takes parts here and there of The Bunker by Rob Green , Deathwatch by Michael J. Basset , The Guard Post , among others . The flick has an eerie atmosphere , it is in gloomy color , enhanced by the mud of trenches and with lights and shades that originates a ghostly setting . Set design is alright , the movie is enough atmospheric , the dark sludge , the dirtiness and filthiness with the muddy trenches are very well designed . Jaime Osorio Marquez makes his acceptable writing and directing debut with this tale of an elite team of soldiers , though overusing the Steadicam . American remake rights to The Squad (El Paramo) have already been snatched up by a Hollywood producer. Colombia Reports says Scott Lastaiti (his previous credits include executive producing Turistas , Love in the Time of Cholera and Stan Helsing) saw the film, thought it was "chilling," and ultimately purchased the rights.