Somewhat ignorantly, I didn’t realise this was all in Spanish with subtitles. Not that it matters (and I usually prefer the original language with subtitles than dubious dubbing), but I was a little surprised.
I was also surprised by how nasty the film was. I knew it was considered a “fairytale for grown-ups”, but somehow this made me expect something more akin to Stardust, when, in fact, it seems to bear more resemblance to something like Platoon. Sort of.
A young girl and her mother are taken to a remote mill where some soldiers (the leader of which is the mother’s new husband) are stationed to deal with some rebels left over from the Spanish Civil War. Probably. That bit isn’t really important. What is important, however, is how the girl gets caught up in fantasy folklore, and is given three tasks to carry out to prove she is an ancient princess trapped in the body of a mortal. At the same time, in the real world, she has to cope with her new stepfather and look after her pregnant, and very ill, mother.
I can’t go into too much more detail about the plot as it’ll ruin it, but needless to say there is a lot of gore, pain, torture, nastiness, blood, shooting, stabbing, surgery and more blood. And violence. Strangely, these mostly “real-world” parts of the film make the “fantasy” parts seem tame, even though they too are more evil demon and less Snow White than you might expect: if the film was entirely fantasy it would appear to be horrific anyway. Desensitising, innit.
Despite the sometimes difficult-to-watch violence, and the horrible deaths, and the fairies that get their heads bitten off and eaten, it remains a compelling film. Even if it does contain absolutely no David Bowie whatsoever.
Verdict: 4/5
