Dark Sky/MPI
Director: Adrián García Bogliano
Writers: Adrián García Bogliano, Ramiro García Bogliano
Stars: Facundo Espinosa, Marina Glezer and Camila Velasco
(From imdb.com)

What they say: When Roman’s girlfriend disappears, he expects to find her in the arms of another man. And find her he does but there is no lover on the scene, only a pair of crazy old men keeping her locked away in the basement of their crumbling mansion. Armed with wild-eyed political ideals and case after case of decades-old and highly unstable dynamite, the villainous duo are conducting illicit experiments on a string of young women lured to their home via the internet. If Roman cannot free his young love, she is likely to end up in pieces, thanks in part to a generous slathering of nitro-glycerine.

A delirious, old-school horror picture with the most memorable villains in years at its core, Adrian Garcia Bogliano’s COLD SWEAT was a huge hit at SXSW thanks to its creator’s wild imagination and sense of showmanship. Loaded with memorable characters and stylish action, COLD SWEAT is a shocker that never fails to entertain.

What I say: It’s about time a film got the internet/social networking world of today right. You can tell most filmmakers haven’t touched a computer or smart phone…ever. Naturally, it wasn’t a US film, but Argentinean film festival hit Cold Sweat. There is even a hilarious scene when one of the victims uses his cell phone to post on Facebook that he was kidnapped. Plus the killers attract young women in internet chat sites by using pics of a boy they kidnapped. The film, the idea of which came from the revolutions of the 70s in Argentina, does a brilliant job of making the tired kidnap and torture genre feel fresh and now.

The film stays consistently entertaining and moves at a brisk pace. The killers are older gentlemen which leads to some tense scenes since their bad eyesight makes hiding a crap shoot. As I said it is really refreshing to see a horror film, especially with this subject matter, be fun. I mean some dark, messed up stuff goes on, but the film can’t be held back by that. It rolls right on as the characters interact in a hopeful scenario. The characters never give up, and the film is better for it. Especially of note is the strong female characters. There are no crying passive women here. They stand up for themselves and fight for their freedom, also a welcome change from the norm. I can definitely see why it was such a hit at SXSW.

Picture quality wise, the film looks very good if a little dark. Sound is nice as it really encloses you in the action.

Special features:
Commentary with Director Adrián García Bogliano
Deleted/Extended Scenes
Behind the Scenes
Storyboards
Gallery
Trailer
Radio Spots

Film: 9/10
DVD: 8/10
Recommended!