The Baby's Room/La Habitación del Niño (2006, TV movie) - Creepy scares in Iglesias' psych. horror

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A blood-curdling German release poster for Álex de la Iglesia's The Baby's Room

A couple moves into a new, large house with their infant baby, but soon they start to see and hear strange things around their baby on monitors and via baby alarm. - Or is it all just a reflection of the husband and father's escalating paranoia?

 

The Baby's Room is written by Jorge Guerricaechevarría (The Kovak Box (2006)) and co-writer/director Álex de la Iglesia (Acción Mutante (1993)).

Skillful actors in grim scenes work wonders in this creepy, spine-tingling psychological horror, which also uses the score (by Roque Baños (Nuestros Amantes (2016))) as a considerable part of its dark magic. The simplified plot, which uses the modern technology angle well, could have been stretched out for even greater effect.

 

Related posts: 

Other TV movies from Películas Para No Dormir series: A Real Friend/Adivina Quién Soy (2006, TV movie) - Confusing TV horror drama

Blame/La Culpa (2006) - Undistinguished Spanish abortion TV-flick 

Álex de la Iglesia is guest on a Spanish talkshow in a 14-minute clip from 2020 here

 

Cost: Unknown

Box office: Uncertain - mostly a TV release

= Uncertain

[The Baby's Room was released on DVD 31 July and on Spanish TV 12 January 2007 and runs 77 minutes. It is part of the Películas Para No Dormir TV movie series, the last in a row of similar TV movie series started in 1966 as Historias Para No Dormir by Narciso Ibáñez Serrador. Iglesia returned with Hitler Está Vivo (2006, short), El Código (2006, short) and theatrically with The Oxford Murders (2008). Javier Gutiérrez (Al Final del Camino (2009)), who plays Juan, in Días de Cine (2007); and Leonor Watling (The Vineyard/La Templanza (2021, TV-series)), who plays Sonia, in Teresa, el Cuerpo de Cristo (2007). 5,400+ IMDb users have given The Baby's Room a 6.9/10 average rating.]

What do you think of The Baby's Room?

Talk to Her/Hable con Ella (2002) - Almodóvar's beautiful coma love drama

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+ Best Spanish Movie of the Year 

 

Two beautiful women in contrasting hues of red and blue make up this poster for Pedro Almodóvar's Talk to Her

Two men forge a friendship over their common predicament of having their loved ones be in a coma.

 

Talk to Her is written and directed by Spanish master filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar (Folle... Folle... Fólleme Tim! (1978)), whose 15th feature it is.

It is one of Almodóvar's very finest, delving into themes of loneliness, desperation, abuse, pride and loss, while also dealing with phobias and bullfighting. It is a film of beautiful and unusual content with lovely performances, which is eminently beautifully filmed by cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe (Goya's Ghosts (2006)), wonderfully scripted by Almodóvar, and heightened by a piercingly beautiful score by Alberto Iglesias (Volver (2006)).

 

Related posts:

Pedro Almodóvar: 2019 in films - according to Film Excess  

Pain and Glory/Dolor y Gloria (2019) - Almodóvar's 8½ 
The Skin I Live In/La Piel que Habito (2011) or, Almodóvar's Extreme Make-Over
Broken Embraces/Los Abrazos Rotos (2009) or, Mysteries in Love and Life

2002 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 
Live Flesh/Carne Trémula (1997) or, A Spanish Fix
Labyrinth of Passion/Laberinto de Pasiones (1982) - Sexual mix-ups in screwball Madrileña style 

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Unknown

Box office: 64.7 mil. $

= Uncertain, but likely a huge hit

[Talk to Her was released 15 March (Spain) and runs 112 minutes. Shooting took place from July - October 2001 in Spain, including Madrid. The film opened #37 to a 104k $ first weekend in 2 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #22 and in 255 theaters, grossing 9.2 mil. $ (14.2 % of the total gross). North America was the film's 3rd biggest market. The 2 biggest were Spain with  The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Spain with 10.2 mil. $ (15.8 %) and France with 9.5 mil. $ (14.7 %). If made on a realistic, lavish 10 mil. $ budget, the film would rank as a huge hit. It was nominated for 2 Oscars; Best Director, lost to Roman Polanski for The Pianist, and Best Original Screenplay, which it won. Spain mysteriously nominated Mondays in the Sun for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar that year over Talk to Her. The film also won a Golden Globe, 2 BAFTAs, a César award, was nominated for a David di Donatello award, won 5/7 European Film award nominations, 1/7 Goya award nominations and 2 National Board of Review awards, among many other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 star review, translating to a notch over this one. Almodóvar returned with Bad Education/La Mala Educación (2004). Javier Cámara (Age of Monster/El Tiempo de los Monstruos (2015)) returned in Looking for Chencho (2002, short) and theatrically in Torremolinos 73 (2003); Darío Grandinetti (The Good Boy/Segundo Asalto (2005)) in Final Minute (2000-02) and theatrically in Ilusión de Movimiento (2003); Leonor Watling (Todas Hieren (1998)) in Desire/Deseo (2002); and Rosario Flores (Entreacte (1989)) in Hypnotized and Hysterical (Hairstylist Wanted)/Filles Perdues, Cheveux Gras (2002). Talk to Her is certified fresh at 91 % with an 8.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Talk to Her?