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Vacation of Terror
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Year: |
1989
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Director: |
René Cardona III
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Stars: |
Pedro Fernández, Julio Aléman, Gabriela Hassel, Nuria Bages, Carlos East, René Cardona III, Julima Cardona, Ernesto Casillas, Regina De Seeman, Ernesto East, Carlos East Jr, José Manuel Fregoso, Gianella Hassel Kus, Andaluz Russell, Roberto Schlosser
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Genre: |
Horror |
Rating: |
         5 (from 1 vote) |
Review: |
A hundred years ago in an isolated part of Mexico, an evil witch was caught and to prevent her from implementing further curses, she was tied to a tree and burned. But before the fire was lit, she had one final spell to cast, telling the assembled throng that she would be back to have her revenge on humanity through the sorcery contained in a doll. The priest present uses a talisman to counter the effects of this bold claim, and all the witch's bric-a-brac is thrown into a well and sealed. So the problem is over, right? Tell that to the family who, in the present day, inherit the nearby country house...
Yes, there have been three René Cardonas in the Mexican movie industry, and they all have a leaning towards good old fashioned horror flicks. The grandson brought us Vacation of Terror, or Vacaciones de terror if you were from his native land, which was a typical low budget chiller, although a lot milder than some; it could almost be a kids' horror movie as there are no deaths save for the witch before the end credits roll. There is, on the other hand, a lot of mayhem, none of which is especially startling, but serves to pass the time amusingly.
Cardona number three also came up with the story, which bears a marked resemblance to Poltegeist only with a South of the Border twist, complete with a possessed doll messing with the mind of a little girl, and various effects that are helped along by occasionally visible wires. The head of the household is Fernando (Julio Aléman), a well nigh insanely good natured chap who reacts to the new house that they've arrived to spend the weekend in as if it were a palace that simply needs a quick run round with a duster to make it as good as new.
That would be a house which is covered in cobwebs, has no electricity, no telephone to comunicate with the outside world and not even a stove in the kitchen to make dinner on. Nevertheless, Fernando thinks this place is the bee's knees, and they all settle down for the night: that is him, his pregnant wife Lorena (Nuria Bages), their three children, Fernando's niece Paulina (Gabriela Hassel) and her comic relief boyfriend Julio (Pedro Fernández). The first example that all may not be well is when they sit down for a meal and the light is switched on!
OK, it may not sound like much, but they didn't think there was any electricity, remember. The next day one of the twins gets stuck up a tree, and the little girl falls into the well where she finds that doll from the introduction, spelling disaster for the holidaymakers because every so often - well, actually every couple of minutes - the doll's eyes move on their own, accompanied by the sound of someone running their hand over piano strings, and the weird shit begins in earnest. It's apparent that after a while Cardona and his team ran out of plot ideas and simply fell back on victimising Julio and Paulina for half an hour, but Vacation of Terror is too brisk to be boring, and while it's not exactly frightening, it does what it sets out to do with cheap and cheerful elan. Music by Eugenio Castillo.
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Reviewer: |
Graeme Clark
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