Review by Peter Syslo
THE BABY'S ROOM (2006 Spain) is a film that is included on the 6 FILMS TO KEEP YOU AWAKE collection. I was very pleasantly surprised by the film. Even though it is a “haunting” type of story, I thought that it was very original and it left me feeling satisfied. I know that I criticize haunting/supernatural films a lot, but that doesn't mean that I don't enjoy a good one, from time to time. My whole beef with the “haunting boom”, that began with the rise of Asian horror (with THE RING, THE GRUDGE, etc.), is that there wasn't a whole lot of originality involved. Although, I can see how someone can say the same thing about the slasher sub-genre; I love slashers but I whole-heartedly admit that most slasher films share striking similarities. It is those few that standout (every couple of years) that keep me a fan of the sub-genre. The same applies here. THE BABY'S ROOM was a haunting/supernatural film that stood out and renewed some of my interest in those types of films.
THE BABY'S ROOM is directed by Alex de la Iglesia and is written by Jorge Guerricaechevarria and Iglesia. The film stars Javier Gutierrez (Juan), Leonor Watling (Sonia), and Sancho Garcia.
The film is about new parents, Juan and Sonia (Gutierrez & Watling). They have moved into a new home, which seems to have a history. When Sonia's sister visits the new home, she leaves a box of baby items for Juan and Sonia, as a housewarming/baby gift. One of the things the sister gave the couple was a baby monitor. So, Juan sets it up in the baby's room and he and Sonia get comfortable and settle in for the night. To Juan's surprise, he hears a distinct (and chilling) adult-voice on the baby monitor. After being shaken up by this, Juan buys a video baby monitor, the next day. After that is set up in the baby's room, he awakens in the middle of the night and (to his horror) he actually sees what was making the noises, the night before. The story takes off from there as Juan and Sonia involve the police, they try to protect their baby, and Juan learns the strange truth behind these matters.
Very good film; it added some “freshness” to the typical haunting story and I stayed involved in the film, throughout. Without giving anything away, I felt that the reason that this film was successful was that it took the basic rules of a haunting story and used them as a framework for the very original underlying premise. One would argue that it is not really a ghost story, but it does use all of the conventions of a ghost story. Let me explain. You have the basic setup, where the “new” couple with a “new” baby move into an older, spooky house. This plays upon the fears of change, the fears of being new parents, etc. While all of that is in place, you also have a “soothsayer” type of character who lives in the nursing home, next door. You think that she is a crazy old woman, but she is in-tune with whatever is going on in the house. There is a historical component to the house, making it like a “magnet” for this type of activity and you also have the aspect of a family being torn apart by these occurrences, which fuels the activity. In short, all of the typical haunting/ghost story rules are in place. But, this film takes a strong detour about halfway through, which makes it much more than it appears to be. Like I hinted at before, this is often how great slasher films come about – they have the basic rules in place and they take that strong detour and bring the story to a new, unfamiliar level.
Most of the horror in this film is the psychological type (terror) but you do get to experience some blood. Most notably, there is a pretty violent kill scene towards the end, which I didn't see coming. Also, you see some killing in the “ghost” events that take place, throughout the film. One of the most striking aspects of the film is the way that they handled the whole “ghost” element. There is a large scientific aspect to this film and basically it adheres to the idea that certain electromagnetic energy won't be picked up by human eyes or ears, but will be picked up by electronic equipment. Juan finds out that he can see the “ghost” activity by using the camera and the video monitor. The filmmakers use this technique extremely well, in several scenes. One of my favorite scenes, involving this technique, is when Juan is walking down the hallway and you see cuts back and forth between what he sees on the monitor and what he sees with his eyes. You see pictures, objects, and figures that he isn't seeing with his eyes and the overall effect is awesome. I felt that the cinematography was one of the strongest points of this film; it brought out the beautiful, spooky atmosphere and it told the story with images – there was almost no need for subtitles.
Gnawing through the flesh: THE BABY'S ROOM was an excellent film. It was a breath of fresh air, for the haunting/supernatural sub-genre. The atmosphere is a perfect mix a modern urban and historical architecture and the set design is just incredible (the house was the perfect setting for this type of story). There is a lot of “meat” to the story and I really enjoyed the underlying premise of the film – I wish that I could talk more about it, but I really don't want to spoil it. It wasn't a total, “knock my socks off” kind of premise, but it made a lot of sense and it certainly made me think. Regarding the acting, everyone gave 100%; Gutierrez and Watling were great together and they played the couple-with-problems so well that you would almost think that they were married in real-life. Plus, there were supporting parts of the “soothsayer” woman, Juan's boss, and Sonia's sister which rounded out the cast and gave the story much color. If you like haunting/supernatural films, or if you want to see an out-of-the-ordinary haunting film, then you should definitely check out THE BABY'S ROOM. I know some people that are frightened by baby monitors and after watching this, I can see why. I give THE BABY'S ROOM a 9/10.