The House at the End of Time

The House at the End of Time

Starring Ruddy Rodriguez, Rosmel Bustamante, Gonzalo Cubero, Guillermo Garcia

Directed by Alejandro Hidalgo

Synopsis:
In 1981, Dulce (Ruddy Rodriguez) awakens to a horror.  Her husband, Juan Jose (Gonzalo Cubero) has been murdered, and she witnesses her young son Leopoldo (Rosmel Bustamante) get sucked into the basement by an unseen force, never to be seen again.  She is arrested for their murders and spends the next 30 years in jail.

Now an old woman, Dulce (still brilliantly performed by the great Venezuelan actress Ruddy Rodriguez) is released on humanitarian grounds, but she is forced to live in the house where all the horror took place.  With the help of a local Priest (Guillermo Garcia), Dulce begins to unravel the secrets the house holds, and what really happened on that fateful night.

Review:
This is the first horror film out of Venezuela, and they spared no expense.  Director Alexandro Hidalgo cast one of Venezuela's most prolific actresses to play the lead, and Ruddy Rodriguez delivers an impeccable performance as the very damaged Dulce, living with the knowledge of her innocence, having to deal with the fact that the son she loved is gone forever, and coping with living out the rest of her life in the house that took away her joy. 

In flashbacks, we see a much happier Dulce with her two young sons, who spend a lot of time playing baseball and with other kids in the neighborhood - this is how you know it's a foreign film, because if it was an American film all you'd see the kids doing would be playing on their iPads.  This gives the film a lighthearted atmosphere as the scenes are filled with vibrant color, the music is upbeat and positive, and you enjoy seeing kids doing what kids do.

This is in stark contrast to Dulce's world, which changes into more sullen and darker colors, with very little happiness to be seen.  Her life is a life of sadness, and to top it off one night she has an unsettling visit from spirits who haunt not only her, but her children, leaving behind a very ominous warning of the future.

The setting and minor characters are also very hugely connected to the whole of the film.  The house is a labyrinth of rooms and tunnels, and it acts as the biggest character of them all, as you see spirits floating through rooms, people running down and up stairs, and even a dead-end tunnel in the basement that adds a completely eerie feeling to the film.  The Priest seems to have a bigger agenda than just helping Dulce to come back to the church, and there's one totally unrelenting scene with a psychic in which Dulce is told to close her eyes and listen to the spirits - and the audience is treated to the same fate as the screen goes to black and all you hear is eerie disembodied voices.

While the film centers around supernatural occurrences, there's also a mystery embedded into the story, as to what happened at the beginning of the film and how it all transpired.  Needless to say, this film really messes with your head, and it's much more than just another "haunted house movie."

The only small negative is the makeup job for the older Dulce, which reminds me of the terrible job done to Leonardo DiCaprio in "J. Edgar," but to have that be the only real negative in the film means the rest of it is simply astonishing.  This belongs with some of America's best horror films of the last few decades such as "The Others," "The Conjuring" and "Oculus."

Summary:
Fortunately, this movie is much more than just a haunted house horror, but it delivers a highly cerebral story and leaves the audience better for the experience.

My Rating: A