We’re going to be in for a bleak, dramatic tale. It isn’t an ordinary rain, it is almost a flood. Dark, foreboding and lingering; there’s an obsession on water in the opening sequence of the film.
The film has a grubby, retro feel about its pictures, and sets the scene well. 1968 is when our movie is set, and we’re inside a station, waiting for a bus that heads to the land of tequila, Mexico. We meet an angry, violent man who seems to have no patience at all, a frenzied woman, and they speak about their desires to travel to Mexico.
The characters seem to become more troubled than initial impressions allow, and a few swift tragedies help to build that notion. Then, there’s a prolonged seizure for the bathroom attendant. All of a sudden, there’s more to pile on top of the crazy situation; as another three people rock up, one of which is a child on a who looks like a machine, led by a tracheotomy to provide ventilation.
It’s Lord of the Flies; in a bus station, except everybody starts out pretty insane instead of slowly developing a loosening group on sanity. The film keeps you intrigued as horror and tension builds. If you don’t speak Spanish, like me, you will need to read subtitles, which immediately precludes the general film going public from truly enjoying this truly fucked situation unfold.
It is a shame, because what unfolds is true horror; and raises legitimate questions of how. The why is secondary, as it is truly wonderful watching people react to an unbelievable situation.
The Similars is dark, and doesn’t leave speculation to the audience; it is not the sort of horror you normally experience, filled with cheesy soundtracks, and shrieking strings as something suddenly springs onto screen. It is the kind of horror that will keep you awake at night.
Watch it. Alone. That is how horror is best experienced.
