Absolutely Fantastic

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

There is a lot of good ideas in this movie. Actually you could make at least four really good horror movies based on these ideas. Unfortunately the director decided to add all these ideas in one single package and created total mess.First, there is a legend of abandoned woman who drowned with her child and haunts the place. Good.Second, there is a legend of elderly woman who lived near the haunted place and may haunt also the place. Good.Third, there is a story of two twin sisters that may kinda share their mind and communicate with each other. Good.Then there is a story of two men who have trouble distinguishing these sisters and may or may not love the wrong one.Then there is a story of a cop who somehow tries to resolve the strange accidents happening at Kilometer 31.Then there is a story of people being killed at the Kilometer 31 even though they have been already dead.Then there is a story of a ghost leading to his own body.Then there is some mess about the sisters that might or might not killed their mother for some reason.Then there is some transmigration and some sacrifice and some ghosts wandering around. And also a lot of people getting hysterical while driving and running from their cars in the middle of the street in the middle of the night so they are getting hit by cars of other people also getting hysterical.I kid you not. This movie has more twist that a complete season of South American soap opera and more ghosts that entire The Ring series. The result is very messy and not scary at all because you have no clue what is happening and why so you do not have any "expectations with bad feelings". You just try very hard to get any idea what is going on and what the hell is happening right now.If the authors somehow decided not to "fire all the guns" at the very same time, they had a very decent chance to make really good series similar to The Ring. Unfortunately they made one huge heap of confusing and disorienting mess.What a wasted opportunity!

KM 31: Kilometre 31 is written and directed by Rigoberto Castañeda. It stars Iliana Fox, Carlos Aragón, Adrià Collado, Raúl Méndez and Luisa Huertas. Music is by Carles Cases and cinematography by Alejandro Martínez.Inspired by the Mexican legend of La Llorona (the weeping/crying woman), Rigoberto Castañeda's movie suffers by comparison with the J-horror boom that invigorated many a jaded horror fan over the last two decades. Castañeda was quite vociferous about his film not being influenced by the Asian strand of terror, but it just seems so obvious to pretty much everyone who has reviewed the film it can't be coincidence!Anyway, regardless of influences and denials, KM 31 is a better than average shudder picture, even if it drags itself to an over extended run time and is far too complex for its own good. A shame because the style that Castañeda gives his film is very atmospheric, while there is a strong sense of the mysterious going on.Unfortunately come the second half the narrative just spins off into a baffling vortex of over cleverness, or is it ignorance? Something which is guaranteed to lose a good portion of the audience by the time the spectral apparition makes its play and the conclusion is reached.The early promise is not reached and there's a lack of genuine scares, but there's enough here to stop it being awful; particularly if you haven't seen any J-horror... 6/10

I believe this was my first experience with Mexican horror! Glad to add Mexico to my list of Horror contributors :) As a horror freak, I like to be exposed to all sorts and kinds of origins!KM 31 is an intriguing collaboration of classic ghost-stories and the semi-supernatural bond between twins (two aspects that are commonly found in horror films). The entire spectrum of human emotions is portrayed in scenes that deliver fine acting and clever screen writing. The use of audio effects was also well done (when the film ended, I was really tired and went to sleep... at a certain point my cat climbed on the keyboard and the film restarted, and I awoke in terror to the bone chilling sound of Catelina's opening speech...)There were, as in most ghost stories, some "cheats" (i.e. sudden movements in the distance with loud bass music), that these weren't overused, nor were they the main reason for the film's frightening ambiance. The ghost was very well made in my opinion, creepy and unnerving just as a ghost should be! In my opinion, the way a ghost looks/sounds/moves/behaves says a lot about a ghost-film. Another point for Mexican film making!All in all, I can't say this was the best ghost film I've seen, but it followed through on everything it should have, and in a non- disappointing way. Recommended!

It's nice to see one of the most memorable Mexican horror legends of all times coming back to life in such a reasonably enjoyable and well done little film. I suppose 'Kilómetro 31' cannot be compared by any means to some of the finest old Mexican horror films that deal with the same background story, like Rene Cardona's 'La llorona', for example. Regardless, this modern version of the crying woman certainly went beyond my expectations, since I was expecting some kind of mediocre Hollywoood-wannabe film that would probably go to far with the use of CGI. The reviews and comments in general about 'Kilómetro 31' are rather harsh and critical, which is surprising, considering how nationalistic Mexican people tend to be when it comes to standing up for their things. 'Kilómetro 31' clearly got a lot of attention when it was released in its country, but not all the attention was precisely positive. I'm not going to lie, if I have to be honest, I'd take the old Mexican horror films instead of this one, any day. However, I found this movie entertaining and dark enough to deserve approval. While it is clear that the budget was generous enough to develop a commercial film addressed to teenagers mostly, that doesn't necessarily steals Mr. Rigoberto Castañeda's merits when it comes to making a horror film.In 'Kilómetro 31' a young woman named Catalina finds herself struggling to help her twin sister Agata who fell into a coma after a mysterious car accident. These two sisters share some kind of special bond, a strange ability to communicate with each other without even saying a word and being miles away. When Catalina realizes that Agata is suffering some kind of torment even though she is almost dead to the world, she has to find a way to save her from the darkness, until she finally wakes up. However, playing the detective turns into a rather dangerous game for Catalina when she realizes that her own life is in danger too and that the legend of 'the crying woman' is not gibberish after all.Leaving aside the fact that the last minutes offer a little bit more than I bargained for 'Kilómetro 31' is a pretty good choice for anyone who is in the mood to party with an old Latin American horror icon, which is La Llorona in this case. This time, she's back in the road (literally) and with some brand new tricks to chase her victims. The story was obviously changed to a certain extent, but the essence is still the same and let's be grateful that they decided to be respectful to the well known story. 'Kilómetro 31' succeeds more than anything when it comes to developing the right atmosphere and dark scenarios. It looked quite artsy to me and even though the last minutes offered a few sequences loaded with CGI, this film is rather simple for the most part and it doesn't try to emulate those ridiculous super-productions with explosions and digital creatures all over the place. The moderated use of CGI somehow manages to remain almost natural and endurable for old-fashioned horror lovers who pretty much are not into these things.