Highly Overrated But Still Good

Admirable film.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Shiver starts out as a promising Vampire / Werewolf story but actually travels into a much more plausible (well not really) plot about a boy who has a skin condition that doesn't allow him to be exposed to the sun and a girl who has been raised by wild animals. The style and story reminds of Let The Right One In but it's not as satisfying. It's as if you were expecting a story about Frankenstein but then it turned into a story about a lunatic who thinks he's a scientist who is involved with another lunatic who thinks he's come back from the dead and you think, hey, this is artsy I'll keep on watching but it's not artsy enough so you start yawning but you are compelled to finish it regardless. Then you say, I'll give it a 6 because it was well made, though it did make you yawn, so now that you think about it, you are going to give it a five.

Shiver is a story of a boy who suffers from photo phobia which forces him to move to a location with less sunlight & shorter days,unfortunately this place also hides something very terrifying and so the real story begins.The film was good with a some really terrifying sequences and an interesting story.It makes you feel like watching the Swedish masterpiece 'LET THE RIGHT ONE IN' in a different way,but the films differ very much on many grounds and i am sure that many would agree.Many of my friends who have seen it believe its the best Spanish horror flick of all time,i believe a horror fan(&otherwise also)should never miss such an interesting film which now has prompted me to search for other Spanish thriller/horror movies...definitely better than your average horror flick...

This is an excellent Spanish horror thriller which follows closely in production both The Orphanage and Pans Labrynth and there is also a touch of 'Orphan' about it with the 'wild child' theme.The fact that Santi has a suffering of his own with the skin disease and that Santi quite possibly sleeps in the bedroom that would have been Erikas when she lived at the house with her German parents suggests that she felt a sympathy for him. His suffering is apparent from the opening scene and I think paramount to the film itself; many of the key events happen at night, there is a lot fine attention to detail on this issue.The story is acceptable enough with the Mother working as a translator and opting to take Santi with her to a northerly point in Spain (on medical advice) where Santi will have the effect of the sun least.The 'Gecko' has its role to play in its relation with Santi and in his relation (call it that) to the wild child who saves him at the end.the very final scene is baffling to all and myself included and I have watched it through on many occasions. The rock in the hand and the gecko have some relevance (and who comes into the room?) but it shouldn't detract fromt he entertainment value of a very fine film.Think I would have preferred it in original Spanish language and not dubbed over with American accents, so unnecessary, I would have been content with English subtitles, as in many foreign language movies.Nothing vampiresque about this movie despite the blood-letting by the wild child but Twilight comes slightly to mind in the flirtatiousness between Santi and the Policemans Daughter.SHIVER is of course the English title to the movie. definiely a movie for DVD and to wonder about almost every scene. A horror film which really makes you think, it is intelligent slick worth watching without a doubt!

A teenager suffering from a skin disease called photophobia(..the sun inflicts damage to the flesh)moves with his book translator mother to a village in the mountains as a means to get away from the city, hoping for a fresh start. Santi(Junio Valverde)and his mom, Julia(Mar Sodupe) move into a villa with a dark history regarding a German couple and their adopted daughter(..Erika, who grew up in the wilds of Africa). Something lurks within the wilderness near Santi's home and it feasts of animal and human alike. When bloody bodies turn up with Santi placed at the scene of the crime, he becomes a suspect to the locals and police, needing to clear his name.Gosh, I seem to watch a lot of movies about killer kids these days. I give this movie a lot of credit..the kid in this one is pretty scary. A girl, with cannibalistic tendencies, with an ability to move about the darkened forest(..interesting idea by the filmmakers to have their protagonist a young man who can not have sun shining on him, providing reasoning for much of the film's being shot at night)as victims, with shot guns, are unable to see her, soon paying the price for attempting to harm whatever it is they are looking for. With sharp teeth, dirty/unwashed hair, and filthy body, the primal girl is quite a freakish sight, with director Isidro Ortiz and company carefully shooting her in odd angles, often slightly out of frame(..cleverly using out of focus camera work and darkened parts of rooms where Santi is often at her mercy). There's an effective sequence, my favorite, where Santi bolts and locks all the doors and windows to the villa, setting up a couch, butcher knife in hand, only to fall asleep, awakening to find her right next to him! I also thought the scenes where characters find themselves deep in the heart of the woods of the village, at night mostly, were well developed and suspenseful for it was never sure where the girl might be. One sequence, in particular(where Santi, his girlfriend, Ángela, portrayed by Blanca Suárez and best friend are searching for Erika to prove to the police inspector that she is in fact real, not a figment of his imagination), when Santi's leg gets caught in an animal trap(..a goat farmer's response to whatever predator is munching on his flock)is plenty intense as Ángela continually attempts to free him. Also well orchestrated is how Ortiz establishes Erika's presence as flashlights point into the bushes and we see brief glimpses of her moving quickly past. I have to say that Spain has established itself as a country spawning a wealth of talent in the horror genre, from actors to cinematography, plenty of quality is coming from this part of the world. This one has a pretty good twist which comes smack dab out of nowhere, a startling discovery regarding the German couple's car and a grocer named Dimas(Francesc Orella)add much to the proceedings. A nice surprise. Santi is nicknamed "vampire" because of his inability to withstand sunlight and his shark-like teeth. Santi is often shown wearing a hoody and sunglasses which makes him stand out to others as a strange oddball, even though he's just a sweet, innocent kid with afflictions that keep him from living an ordinary life.