Good concept, poorly executed.

Brilliant and touching

A Major Disappointment

Blistering performances.

Maybe because it's a foreign film (only Americans classify anything non- US as such) it looks more than it is but this highly predictable plot drags for too long and shortly after about 1/3 it is very obvious where it is going. Stuck between Misery and Psycho, this movie doesn't have much else to offer. Hoping it would go somewhere I watched to the end but particularly the last 20 minutes were just hard to sit through. Clichés galore and some of the most irritating, like dragging a wounded person lying on your back. Come on, just get up, grab them under the armpits and schlep them away. It could have done a lot more with just suspense and less gore.

A long anticipated Spanish horror for me, with a strange name and great cast, Shrew's Nest lived up to my expectations. Spanish love residential chillers, and this one proved to be no exception. With one twist, it's centered around agoraphobic woman and her younger sister, their relationship and turmoil, which will lay foundation for grief to come.Macarena Gomez plays the role of troubled Montse, left to care and provide for her much younger sister after their parents have passed away, a bit too early. She has a severe case of agoraphobia, heightened by her overwhelming guilt which is not rooted 'in nomine patris' only but also her difficult childhood made unbearable by her strict, religious father. The father, played by ever malevolent Luis Tosar sometimes appears as a hallucination, a superego, relentless critic during Montse's attacks and crisis. Catholic upbringing, the conservative, post war 50s and Montse's strange illness are bread and butter of the story. Macarena Gomez plays the demanding role well, she is sometimes OTT but from her every move, obsession or thought her past and fixations shine through.Some might argue this is a Spanish version of Misery, misery is plentiful indeed, and indeed the main character displays some traits that are very 'out there'. The lead actress reminded me more of Bette Davis than Kathy Bates, in all honesty, as she had displayed certain mannerism but the familiar facial features as well. How do you play agoraphobic - turned psychotic, anyway? These areas of human behavior and neurotic disorders have seldom been successfully caught on film. I can name but two others, but here it serves a vessel to tell the story and paint the character's background. Montse's acting out might seem 'loco' and far-fetched. She has much bigger problems than being unable to leave the house, though, her rage and high strung personality affects her sister, 'la nina' whose name we don't get to learn, herself and everyone she comes in contact with.But suddenly, Montse meets a man, wants out, she wants love but the superego - eternal critic - has 'forbidden' her to live so she built giant coffin out of their apartment and buried herself in it. By pure chance and 'courtesy' of the nextdoor neighbor, Montse takes a glimpse at the world she has forsaken and abandoned, he reminds her of the possibility of love, desire and a will to free herself, but these new found urges come with a price: and she may be too far gone for normal life.The cinematography? Well, it is Spanish, isn't it? Only top notch visuals, and great atmosphere awaits you here. Drama - like qualities get abruptly interrupted by the violence and gore, very nice and somewhat shocking scenes get things going and escalating after a relatively slow build.This is a tale about shrews, mole - like rodents who live their life away from the spotlight and stay hidden from the public eye. And the overwhelming grief that has turned destructive for everyone involved. 'Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.'

The movie is a mishmash of "Misery" (a male character trapped by the lover-hater) and a ancient and more than overused theme from Spanish cinema (the catholic family obsessed with sin and guilt). From "Misery" even the broken leg(s) and the intoxicating substance make an appearance. From the Spanish theme be sure to expect crosses, prayers, black dresses, physical punishment and the whole shebang. Nothing remarkable about that. On the contrary. Having watched the first few minutes of this movie, anyone will be capable of deducing its story line. From head to toe. Moreover there are no really interesting or original aesthetic features in it. A lazy camera work adds itself to a big pile of clichés: crazy ladies with some sort of supernatural strength, Christian images everywhere, a dark secret to be disclosed and, from some point on, blood, lots of blood. "Laziness be thy Sin."

I have to admit, that when I saw where this was going (you can spot the signs early on), I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I did in the end. Predictability aside, this is very well acted. It's graphic at times (with the violence), but it's what it does in your head, that is most effective.If you do love horror movies in general, then this might be one for you, otherwise the drama aspect of it, might not be enough to keep you interested. I do think they mix it up in a nice fashion, acting contributing and elevating a sort foreseeable outcome or at least direction this is heading.