Purely Joyful Movie!

Memorable, crazy movie

It is not only a funny movie, but it allows a great amount of joy for anyone who watches it.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Hey there, looking for an action packed horror flick? Try somewhere else. El Paramo, or 'The Squad' (so we can all pronounce it fairly decent) is more of a psychological thriller in which a group of nine pro soldiers of a special anti-guerrilla unit are sent to an abandoned base located over a mountain in the Colombian Andes which has lost contact a few days ago. Why? Supposedly because they were under attack. At the time the commandos arrive, they find only one survivor. And that's where the game begins.Suspicion, paranoia and treason. The root of all evil is inside the group itself and that's what makes this film stand out. It might seem like a bit of a spoiler but I think it's really important for the viewer to concentrate on the right aspect as soon as possible, in stead of waiting on something that will never come. It is what it is, and it's shockingly suspenseful. The misty hills of Colombia are the perfect place for such an isolated horror flick in which the tensions get so high that you yourself will get desperate and confused. The visual style is creepily dark and unpredictable. Because of the mist it's hard to look any further than a few meters (get used to it Americans) ahead and that adds up to the 'locked up' feeling the soldiers must have. They can't go anywhere and have to deal with their fears and disagreements on the spot. When all structure is lost, who will come out alive in the end? Total anarchy, whooo! A must see if you're not a neurotic adrenaline beast, just sit back and get dissolved in this wall of suspense and strong written conversations. It had to be well acted to come across and thankfully they had a great group of unknown yet ambitious guys to form a convincing group of depraving commandos. Two thumbs up for this foreign piece of delicious psychological horror.

How much do you know about the Colombian film industry? Probably more than I do. 'El Paramo' is a heck of an introduction; opinion seems to be rather divided here and I won't pretend that everything is perfect with this movie but I found it very watchable. Yes, it follows a well-trodden path but is none the worse for it. I thought it a shade heavy on the melodrama and it lacked a little refinement here and there, hence only 8/10 but artistic direction and photography were tight and sensitively handled throughout. I enjoyed the device of concentrating totally on the actors to the exclusion of just about everything else -there IS a lot of darkness and mist around, so may be best avoided if expensive sets and grand scenery are more to your liking. Or if somewhat grisly scenes turn you off! The basics of the story (which all unfolds quite nicely) are no more than have been revealed by other reviewers, so I've nothing to add except praise for the well-designed music soundtrack and a warm recommendation overall.

This film is estimated at $1,300,000 budget. Acting, camera, environment and direction are superb.This is a psychological triller edging to the horror genre. The tension the movie manages is not like all the other many Hollywood movies where it is mostly sound effects that make people to jump off their seats, with a boring story used many times. Hollywood please it time to change the genre a bit, this movie put Hollywood movies in shame considering the budget. Sound effects are well managed, lightning, location create the eerie atmosphere that makes it a good movie.Movie will be remade the new movie makes justice to this original version.

Unfortunately The Squad fails to deliver on its interesting premise and promising first ten minutes. Competent camera work and a decent cast is unable to make up for a lack of plot, structure or coherent direction. I can appreciate what the director was attempting to do with lingering close-ups of grim, suffering faces, subtle sound cues and atmospheric lighting, but one can only rely on those techniques so long before delivering some kind of pay-off. For me the film completely failed to rack up any tension or arrive at a destination. I was more concerned with wondering why the characters - supposedly trained soldiers in a war zone - were behaving more like angsty teens who've fallen out with their parents.The message that in a civil war everyone looks like the enemy could have been portrayed far more effectively without tacking on a poorly-realized supernatural element. The film-makers tried to do both and ended up with neither. I hate using the word, but 'boring' really is the only word that comes to mind.