VOD from the Dead - "La Funeraria / The Funeral Home" (2021)
The wide and diverse world of Spanish Language Horror is one that begs more attention. It wasn’t more than a couple of years ago when Shudder acquired the rights to “Aterrados / Terrified”, an Argentinian horror film that started a wave of more violent and malevolent supernatural films. In 2020, two other films, “The Cleansing Hour” and “Anything for Jackson”, (again from the fine folks at Shudder) gave us takes blood-drenched versions of supernatural horror. I’ve long felt that supernatural horror has been in need of a makeover. While some of the classics such as “The Exorcist” or “The Changeling” are fine examples of great films, regardless of genre, the sub-genre has remained stagnant since Blumhouse infused some new ideas injected into classic tropes from the sprawling “Conjuring” and “Insidious” franchises. That brings us to MAURO IVÁN OJEDA’S "La Funeraria / The Funeral Home", one of the best examples of the rejuvenated supernatural horror genre and another testament to the horror talent coming out of Argentina!
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
Bernardo (LUIS MACHÍN) is an undertake who lives with his wife Estella (CELESTE GEREZ), her daughter Irina (CAMILA VACCARINI), and a literal cemetery of ghosts. Estella is hoping to start a new life away from her deceased and abusive husband, but Irina is convinced that it is Estella’s fault that her father passed away. As Estella and Irina adjust to living with Bernardo, they come to find that at night spirits of the dead roam throughout the house. Supposedly harmless, but nevertheless horrifying spirits start to cause more physical harm to the family as they begin to learn why all of this is happening and how they can survive without dying at the hands of something ancient and evil.
Will the circle keep the spirits at bay?
HOW IS IT?
Watching “The Funeral Home” one cannot help but draw comparisons to other notable supernatural films such as 1982’s “Poltergeist”, except the inhabitants of the house are fully aware of the haunts that cohabitate with them. The comparisons don’t end there, as there is even an Argentinian Tangina in the form of a mystic named Ramona (SUSANA VARELA). I merely point these out as similarities, but in no way does Mauro Iván Ojeda’s “The Funeral Home” come off as a rip-off, but rather as an homage to that film. Tonally this is a much darker movie, having more in common with Ari Aster’s “Hereditary” and the dysfunctional family we see on display here. What’s so great about this family though is you have the chance to root for all of them. They are all flawed characters, but not irredeemable. Their feelings are valid and they never seem disproportionate. Especially Irina. There are moments when you get how Estella feels, and as the viewer, you too feel how grating it is to have Irina continually defy her and lament over a version of her father that may not be based in reality.
Speaking of reality, this movie plays around with it quite a bit. There are times when you’re wondering if what you’re seeing on the screen is some sort of hellish hallucination or just the terrifying reality this family inhabits. As I mentioned at the start, this is not a dry supernatural shocker. On the contrary, it is quite wet, but not distractingly so. I commend Ojeda on being able to balance the graphic violence with some really creepy atmospheric moments. A similar Argentinian fright-fest “Terrified” comes to mind as a fitting comparison in regards to that same level of blunt and shocking supernatural imagery. The comparison should stop there though, as this is a much more coherent narrative than the aforementioned “Terrified”. It also has heaps of heart. The ending is bittersweet and brutal, and the way the narrative unfolds both around the haunts and the family the more we learn just how deeply human and real the dysfunction is. It’s hard to find too much fault here, but there are a few ideas that aren’t fully realized about Bernardo with one scene particularly raising some alarming questions about his connection to a spirit in the house. You also have to believe the world this movie operates in without any real prefacing. It’s tempting to ask questions, but I found myself realizing that most of them had been answered by the end.
The residents of Bernardo’s Funeral Home do not Rest In Peace
LAST RITES
There’s not much but good things to say about this supernatural shocker from first time director and writer Mauro Iván Ojeda. It’s a small script packed with big ideas that are realized perfectly, and the grotesque setpieces elevate this to being the next logical progression of a genre in dire need of some adrenaline. I’ve watched the film twice already, and can’t wait to go back and watch it again!
THE GORY DETAILS
Writen and Directed By: MAURO IVÁN OJEDA
Starring:
LUIS MACHÍN (Bernardo)
CELESTE GEREZ (Estella)
CAMILA VACCARIN (Irina)
SUSANA VARELA (Ramona)
Runtime: Approx. 95 minutes
Where can you watch it?
Direct from its premiere at Fantasia, Mauro Iván Ojeda’s chilling supernatural thriller The Funeral Home comes to select virtual theaters on January 29 and digital on February 2!
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