They Are Watching Us – Nos Mirán (2002)

Directed by: Norberto Lopez Amado | 104 minutes | drama, thriller | Actors: Carmelo Gómez, Icíar Bollaín, Massimo Ghini, Manuel Lozano, Carolina Petterson, Margarita Lozano, Roberto Álvarez, Francisco Algora, Karra Elejalde, Joan Massotkleiner, José Caride, Fanny Condado, Margarita Lascoiti, Kevin Estiz, José Moreno, David Sánchez del Rey, Dragomir Krasimirov, Javier González, Andrea Ramírez, Eva Llobregat, Fernando De Luis, Nieve de Medina, Miguel Zúñiga, José Luis Patiño, Cristina Perales, Paco Hidalgo, José Ramón Argoitia, Marta Hazas, Julián Villagrán

The Spanish (language) fantastic film has been on the rise for years. For example, at the 2008 Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival (AFFF), all the major awards went to Spanish directors. In the horror and thriller genre, the Southern Europeans have been making their way for some time. Jan Doense, former artistic director of the AFFF and initiator of De Nacht van de Wanmaak and The All-Night Horror Show, founded his own label – Mr. Horror – on, on which he releases these films. These include some of his own favorite horror films from recent years. With the release of the films, he hopes to dispel the prejudices that exist about horror and thrillers, often fueled by the recent US slasher trend. If it weren’t for Doense, these films would probably never be available on DVD in the Netherlands. One of the first films he released is the occult thriller ‘Nos Mirán’ (‘They Are Watching Us’) from 2002. A film that Doense can certainly appreciate.

‘Nos Mirán’ revolves around Juan Garcia (Carmelo Gomez). At the very beginning of the film, we see a flashback to a pivotal event from Juan’s early years, where he is challenged by a group of friends to lie flat on the rails as a speeding train approaches. He survives the exciting event, but when he gets up it turns out that his sister, who was also present, has disappeared without a trace. It is clear that this event has left deep traces in Juan’s life. The adult Juan is an experienced and knowledgeable police officer, who is married to Julia (Iciár Bolláin) and has two young children. A case at work has recently taken hold of him. The wealthy businessman Barreiros disappeared without a trace three years ago and Juan is allowed to find out what happened. He discovers that in recent years dozens of Spaniards, from young to old, have just disappeared into thin air and his thoughts run wild. To deepen the case, he visits the inspector who previously worked on the case, but this Medina (Karra Elejalde) is in an asylum because he claimed that the dead in a kind of second dimension still see below us. They see us, we don’t see them. Juan begins to believe him and goes completely crazy, endangering himself and his family…

‘Nos Mirán’ is a supernatural thriller in the style of M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘The Sixth Sense’ (1999) and Alejandro Amenabar’s ‘Los Otros’ (‘The Others’) from 2001. And so is the list of similar films for a while. to fill in. Also in ‘Nos Mirán’ the ‘ordinary’ world and the world of the dead are mysteriously and gruesomely intertwined. For those who have seen the above films, this feature debut by the young Spanish director Norberto López Amado will be like a dime a dozen. We’ve all seen it before. And better. Because ‘Nos Mirán’ falls short in some areas. The film does take a long time to build up the story, because during three quarters of the story you have the idea that very little has happened. It is only in the last part, once the momentum is set, that the film really picks up steam. That doesn’t mean the rest of the movie is boring, quite the contrary. Thanks to the great acting of Carmelo Gomez – a great actor who single-handedly carries the film from the first to the last minute – and the strong direction of López Amado, ‘Nos Mirán’ is also very enjoyable in its less compelling parts. .

The story for this film is based on the novel ‘Los Otros’ by Javier Garcia Sanchez and scripted by a man who goes by the unpronounceable name Jorge Guerricaechevarría (who also co-wrote Pedro Almodovar’s 1997 ‘Carne Trémula’). Although the scenario is not completely in balance due to a somewhat unbalanced build-up of tension, you can still say that the story lasts. Norberto López Amado delivers an excellent debut, which is a picture especially from a cinematographic point of view. But we see that more with Spanish (language) films! In addition to the fantastic acting Gomez, we see some well-known Spanish character actors such as Karra Elejalde and veteran Margarita Lozano and also excellent acting child actors. It’s just a shame that they are actually pushed into the background because the story as a whole revolves around the character Juan. Actually a bit of a waste of all that talent. But because Gomez plays so incredibly strong, we can afford to let that happen.

For fans of blood spatter and flying limbs, ‘Nos Mirán’ is undoubtedly too dry; in this excellent occult thriller, the real scares are limited. But for those who enjoyed ‘The Others’, this film by debutant López Amado offers an excellent alternative. Here you will find the same oppressive subcutaneous tension, which slowly but surely creeps up on you as the film progresses and will eventually make you shiver. And that’s in no small part due to the great acting Carmelo Gomez, who we’d love to see more of! Just like this fine director, by the way.