6 Films to Keep You Awake (DVD)
Steve Barton
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Reviewed by Uncle Creepy
Starring (Blame) Nieve de Medina, Montse Mostaza, (Spectre) Juan José Ballesta, Natalia Millán, (A Real Friend) Goya Toledo, Nerea Inchausti, (A Christmas Tale) Maru Valdivielso, Christian Casas, (The Baby’s Room) Javier Gutiérrez, Leonor Watling, (To Let) Macarena Gómez, Nuria González
Directed by (Blame) Narciso Ibáñez Serrador, (Spectre) Mateo Gil, (A Real Friend) Enrique Urbizu, (A Christmas Tale) Paco Plaza, (The Baby’s Room) Álex de la Iglesia, (To Let) Jaume Balagueró
Distributed by Lionsgate Home Entertainment
Well, well, well. My initial thought upon getting this? “Wow, Lionsgate has gone from Eight Films to Die For to six movies that you need some warm milk to help you out with.” Without even a second thought I automatically assumed these flicks would suck, but then I turned over the box and was met with some really interesting names — Jaume ([REC]) Balagueró, Álex (Day of the Beast) de la Iglesia, and Narciso (Who Can Kill a Child) Ibáñez Serrador to name a few. Ok, color me intrigued. But what was this box set? Were these from a 6 Films to Keep You Awake Festival from overseas or something like that? Nope, instead they come from a foreign Masters of Horror type TV show that ran in Spain in 2006. Each film clocks in at about seventy-five minutes, give or a take a few, and I’m happy to say that each is packing all the horror goods we could hope for!
Here’s a brief synopsis for each:
Blame tells the tale of an abortion doctor who takes in a female assistant and her daughter for a little help with the job and some hanky-panky in the bedroom. Unfortunately for the good doctor, the assistant ends up getting pregnant and is in need of the procedure herself. It’s too bad the fetus seems to have other ideas.
Spectre finds an old man returning to not only his home town but the scene of a horrible crime. When he was a teenager, he fell in love and had an affair with a middle-aged woman who everyone thought was a witch. Of course the relationship doesn’t last, and as you may have guessed it, comes to a very fiery conclusion. You know what they say — love never dies, and apparently neither does the lust for vengeance.
The Baby’s Room is probably the scariest tale of the bunch and centers on two newlyweds and their first born. The happy family has just moved into the local haunted house (they got it at a great price), and before you know it, strange things start showing up on the baby’s audio and video monitors. Something absolutely malevolent.
Who doesn’t love A Christmas Tale? This offering follows the exploits of a bunch of kids from the Eighties who happen upon the body of a woman dressed as Santa Claus laying in an inescapable ditch. When two of the friends head to the police to tell them of their findings, they learn that said woman is actually a wanted thief who’s in possession of a couple million bucks. After reporting what they’ve learned to the rest of the gang, everyone decides that it would be best to keep this lady in her predicament until she ups the cash. A great idea until things go horribly awry due to some hilarious circumstances that result in the woman in the ditch turning into an ax-wielding she-bitch zombie. YAY CHRISTMAS!
A Real Friend is a tale that any horror fan can relate to. A little girl from a broken home spends her days hiding in a fantasy land where monsters like Leatherface and Nosferatu are actually her friends. When someone comes knocking from her mother’s past, her new buddies show that they have a unique way to protect their loving family. One that’s riddled with power tools and the living dead!
Things wrap up with the series’ most disturbing entry, To Let. The storyline is ludicrous, but wow, is the movie effective! A real estate agent has her life shattered when the building she’s been getting tenants for is condemned after thirty years. With her livelihood gone, she takes it upon herself to unofficially reopen the building and fill it with people whom she has captured and tortured into staying.
There you have it. The premise behind all six films. Surprisingly each of them is a winner and offers a distinctly different experience. You’ll laugh, you’ll be scared, and most of all … you’ll enjoy yourself!
In terms of extra features, each flick has nothing but a making-of featurette accompanying it that does the usual job of connecting the dots, but who cares? You get all this entertainment for one low price. You just can’t beat it, man!
Sadly, being that the series had its run in 2006, there don’t seem to be any plans for a Season 2, which kind of sucks. I’d take another six flicks of this kind of quality in a heartbeat! If you don’t mind the subtitles (there are no English audio tracks to be found) and are looking for a nice long fright-fest to usher in the wee morning hours, look no further! 6 Films to Keep You Awake will do just that and more!
Special Features
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Special Features
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2 1/2 out of 5
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