Anguish
Anchor Bay Entertainment
DVD, 1986, 89mins.

review by Shade Rupe

Although every other appearance of Zelda Rubinstein, the pint-sized, horrendous voiced woman from Tobe Hooper's Poltergeist has me glancing through a magazine when she appears onscreen, her performance as the demented mother of Michael Lerner, urging him on to collect eyeballs, is a riveting bind that holds this viewer upon repeated viewings. But it isn't Rubinstein's performance alone, it's the movie-within-a-movie tension of the young terrified filmgoer and the whirring spinning spiral and accompanying noise that sends one into a vertiginous goose-bumped ride through this dynamically orchestrated appraisal of movie-going terror.

Much more accomplished in style that Lamberto Bava's Demons, Anguish develops a full-strength tension that builds and builds until the end credits roll. I truly do not wish to 'give up' the plot, as the first realization of the film's intent can be a shock enough, though I feel safe in mentioning the pacing of each killing, movement of corpses, and the intense fear of the two girls who end up being the central characters are exquisite examples of high-tension fear.

Peppered with comic moments through dialogue and acting, Anguish succeeds in, literally, multiple levels. Best-known to American arthouse audience for his films Jamon Jamon, Juevos de Oro, Chambermaid on the Titanic and his short for Lumiere and Company, to date Luna has ignored the horror film, which we can only hope he will find the time to correct.

Rumours of a commentary track from Mr. Luna sadly did not become reality, and we are only given a Spanish theatrical trailer, with English subtitles.

Official Website:

http://www.anchorbayentertainment.com