The Squad (a.k.a. El páramo), 2011.
Directed Jaime Osorio Marquez.
Starring Juan David Restrepo, Andrés Castañeda and Mateo Stevel.
SYNOPSIS:
A team of elite Colombian soldiers are sent to investigate a remote military outpost where they make a horrifying discovery.
The survival horror has been a reliable go to for low budget cinema over the years. At best the films delve into the psychological make up of its characters and indeed human nature in general. This little known Colombian horror brings out the survival horror playbook. Does it tick off all the boxes?
The Squad features an anti-guerrilla commando unit sent in to investigate a camp which has been out of contact for days. The setting is isolated, foggy, and totally desolate. Once there they initially find nothing but a chillingly empty camp, with signs of struggle. There are writings on the walls that suggest something unnatural has happened. One of the team finds a lone woman tied up having been trapped inside a room with a concrete wall put up to keep her in. As the team find more and more, it’s suggested that she may be a Witch, responsible for the disappearance of the previous inhabitants. It sounds sillier than it is.
Really this is a psychological horror. It’s about the way each deals with their past, their sins, their current locale and their own fears. Director Jaime Osorio Marquez crafts a slow burning (perhaps too slow at times) yet atmospheric and involving thriller. For something so low budget you may have expected it to resort to little more than a gore-a-thon and rely on by-the-numbers acting, but to the film’s credit, it’s played out with great conviction by its cast and takes time to ingratiate the audience into the claustrophobic setting. As the squad die one by one and each man breaks down, more and more is revealed – not only about who is responsible, but also about the sort of things they’ve done in the past. For its genre, the film is surprisingly clever and surprisingly human and philosophical.
The cinematography is effective. It’s mostly handheld with the colours saturated, and while it’s something of a very well worn stylistic choice, it’s effective with the setting and tone of the film. The whole approach to the film is minimalist – the look, the action, dialogue. That is also true of the score. It’s very simple, creating an unnerving atmosphere and building to the odd tingling crescendo. There’s a certain element of early John Carpenter about this film, both visually and in terms of the music. It brings to mind The Thing, which also saw the group involved struggling to cope with their isolation and their mental states. That’s not to say this is anywhere near as good or effective. If anything this film perhaps lacks the showier elements that something like The Thing had. The Squad isn’t trying for that in fairness and nor does it have the budget. While the human side of things is noteworthy and commendable, it will probably disappoint horror fans expecting a bit more in your face horror.
In all this is well made. Certainly the cast and crew give it a real sense of conviction in what’s been done, whilst involving the audience, but it just falls short in the thrills department. This is well worth a watch but probably just the once.
The Squad is released in UK cinemas this Friday and is available on DVD from Monday June 18th.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Tom Jolliffe
