Review by Peter Syslo
TO LET (2006) is another one of those 6 FILMS TO KEEP YOU AWAKE, which I have been reviewing these past few weeks. Again, this was Spain's version of the “Masters of Horror” series and thus far, I have been very pleased with these films. They are well-crafted, they are written with fresh and intricate storylines, the visuals are superb, and the acting is excellent. I do recommend picking up this DVD collection because of the above reasons and also because this is a good “snapshot” of what is going on in the Spanish horror scene. If you are into foreign horror, like me, the DVDs are a nice treat. But, despite my satisfaction with the 6 FILMS, I have to say that TO LET is my least favorite, so far. It has some good points, but overall, I had no real reaction to it. I feel that I have seen this type of story many times before and that is why it left me in “the middle of the road”.
TO LET is directed by Juame Balaguero and is written by Alberto Marini and Balaguero. The film stars Macarena Gomez, Nuria Gonzalez, Adria Collado, Ruth Diaz, Roberto Romero, and David Sandanya.
The story of TO LET is pretty straightforward. A couple is looking to move into a new apartment. After seeing an ad, the man and woman go to look at an apartment and meet a very peculiar, female, real-estate agent. The apartment building looks like it is about to be demolished, but the agent insists that the city is renovating it. While the agent is showing the couple the apartment, the man and woman start to notice strange things – notably, some of their personal possessions are already in the apartment. Realizing that the situation is bad, the man and woman try to escape. That is when the agent attacks the man, wounding him severely. The rest of the film is about the woman trying to escape from the apartment building while trying to avoid the insane, Hitchcockian real-estate agent.
The film really wasn't that bad, but it didn't move me, either. It is based upon the somewhat tired slasher premise of innocent people, trapped in a strange building, who are being stalked by a crazy person. It was very well-filmed (it looks beautiful), despite the fact that the sets are a little on the bland side (lots of grays), and all of the actors did a fine job, but I just felt that the story wasn't “there”. This movie is pretty much a “one room” or single-set film, meaning that all of the action takes place in one single area. Except for the last 20 minutes of the film, there wasn't enough action to carry the story for the full duration. I thought that the pacing was a bit off and it could have jumped into a faster pace, after about 10 minutes of introduction; there wasn't enough interesting dialogue or color to drive the film towards the climax. You do have a few violent/bloody scenes and the real-estate lady did seem genuinely crazy, but I wanted to see a little more “oomph” in it.
Gnawing through the flesh: TO LET was okay. It could have used a little more originality and it could have used a little more action. Though, the ending was actually pretty good; like I said before, the last 20 minutes were exciting and there was a nice twist at the end. All of the production aspects were strong, the acting was good, and the film looked great. However, the film needed more “punch” earlier on, which could have set up a better pace and a better build to the end. On the other hand, there were a few splashes of blood/insanity which kept me watching. Most memorable was a scene where a woman's hand becomes acquainted with a kitchen garbage disposal – not overly gory, but still satisfying. In short, TO LET was worth experiencing for the quality of it and keep in mind that it wasn't a remake – I feel that I have to note that when it occurs. I give it a 5/10.