Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Brainsbell The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

Taha Avalos The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

slayrrr666 "Shiver" is an incredibly entertaining and enjoyable entry.**SPOILERS**Living with a skin-disease, Santi, (Junio Valverde) and his mother Julia, (Mar Sodupe) decide to move away from the city out to the countryside, in order to help cope with the condition. As their landlord Dimas, (Fransesc Orella) tries to help make it easier for them, his claims that something is wrong with the house is rebuffed, and even his friends at school, Angela, (Blanca Suarez) Tito, (Pau Poch) and Leo, (Jimmy Barnatan) are a little unsure of his stories until a neighboring child dies. As more villagers mysteriously die under violent circumstances while he's around, they begin to suspect him as the source of the mysterious events around town and begin to harass him for it. When they finally learn the true identity of the perpetrator of the vicious deaths around the town, they try to convince the others of their story while making sure they stop the attacks from happening.The Good News: This one here had a lot of good parts to make it extremely enjoyable and entertaining. One of the biggest parts is the fact that it manages to work in a lot of creepy and suspenseful scenes into it that are just really well-done. The first walk-through of the forest, where the bullies encounter the creature, is fantastic due to the claustrophobic and encroaching feel of the forest, aided by the fact that they're lost in the area at the time and punctuated by a series of inhuman growls and a great deal of bush-rustling that is a primal scare tactic and works wonders. Then comes the screams of pain in the distance, and the stumbling upon the mutilated body just cap off a fantastic sequence. Another big moment comes when, walking home through the forest again, another encounter is done which is just miles better. Again the rustling bushes and growling are utilized, and again they work wonderfully, but the inclusion of the game with the bouncing ball being returned every time is a great concept and is just played off beautifully. Since there's also the sound of footsteps approaching, it just so happens to feel really good that there's a good suspense tactic being employed while another one is being done, and the whole sequence is just spectacular. Along with the night-time setting making it even more dangerous and the flashlight going out, it has a lot of good workings for it and that's even before we get the brutal attack seen through the waning flashlight-light, and the discovery of that mangled body just works nicely. It's also suspenseful out-of-the-forest, as the nightmarish sequence where the shadowy figure is seen coming towards him in a darkened room during a blaring thunderstorm, and as we notice something isn't right in the room, it emerges as a shadow and uses this to great effect. Another effect one is when they board up the house after the night-time visit, and despite that, the creature still appears within and launches a chase through the house which is really enjoyable. The finale is another big plus, as the confined spaces and vicious action make it a fantastic way to finish off the film with a bang. Along with the suspense, this one has a lot of action in it, including those mentioned earlier but as well as the last sequence set in the forest, the town's manhunt for the creature. As the search party becomes lost, it echoes up the suspense earlier but the attack is just wonderful. On the other end, from the discovery of the graves to watching it through the night-vision in-the-trees to the true appearance of the creature in all its glory and the brutal kills and bloodshed during this scene, this one is a great, extended sequence. Mixed well with a fantastic opening using a great vampire-like trick to understand the condition, these are the positives.The Bad News: There wasn't a whole lot in here that didn't work. One of the flaws is the fact that there's a rather long section of the film which nothing happens at all. In the middle section, where they undergo a long time investigating what happened earlier, isn't really packed with a lot of interesting parts. From the frequent visits to the landlord that merely serve to introduce the lifestyle they should be getting accustomed to and the antics of the kids at school as well as the continued exploits of the friendship-building between everyone, these scenes just aren't that exciting and really lead that section into a dull-bit, despite the strange fact that the film is still watchable at the time. There's also the fact that the film manages to fail completely in explaining just what the villain really is. A back-story is given, but all that does is ask more questions rather than answer what was already there, and a big one it overlooks is the motive for the rampage. Mention is made of a possible one, but it just glosses over it and nothing comes of it, and is promptly forgotten quickly, not a good way to make the main villain an imposing threat. The last flaw to this one is the fact that, during the forest-stalking late in the film, the decision to film nearly the entire sequence through the night-vision camera is a disastrous idea in every way. The green that covers everything makes it look amateurish and virtually impossible to make details out, and the hand-held nature of everything makes it doubly-hard as well. A great concept, but lacking in execution, and otherwise, this one isn't bad at all.The Final Verdict: While there's a few mild flaws to be found within, this one has enough good stuff to overcome it and manages to be somewhat entertaining and enjoyable. Really recommended to those interested or fans of the style, while those who aren't should heed caution.Rated R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language

paul david 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!

bizz-2 Imagine a horror movie for 12 year old girls, not very exciting right? now imagine this 12 year old girlie horror made in Spain and produced by a TV channel...what you get? a cheesy romantic horror sort-of-vampire movie sci-fi channel style but with an abyssal budget.Spanish actors are poor as always, dialogs are non existent, the film is boring, very boring, overlong, badly executed and with no final twist as redemption.Not much more to say, with a screenplay sub par with Buffy vampire slayer, Supernatural or Charmed with unnecessary touches of Evil Dead or An American werewolf in London, all mixed up in the worst imaginable way.Don't waste your time, nor your money.

Chris_Docker Santi is a young lad with a strange disease. Bright sunlight has him running for cover. Not surprisingly, he's a hoodie with sunglasses. Mum is a translator. She works from home. Parents are separated but on good terms. Santi also gets bullied a lot (he's very bully-able – you could want to cosset or kick him).Doctor persuades Mum to take Santi to remote village. Less sunlight, you see. But kids pick on him there too. They don't understand his disease and treat him as a wimp. Shortly afterwards, locals turn on him. Especially when sheep are eviscerated. And a bully murdered. And we know there's something Nasty In The Woods. A waiting game is to see whether Shiver implodes in orgiastic excess of CGI, vampires, werewolves, radiation mutants, CIA viruses, supernatural gore or other well-worn concoctions. Remarkably, it doesn't. Even when the attacker is revealed, momentum keeps going and we can enjoy a mix of terror with fairly down-to-earth explanations.Like many other genres, horror can be more about minor deviation on clichés than whole new formulae. But although the Shiver 'monster' avoids paths too well-trodden, the backdrop of the film is highly derivative. A flitting in the trees reminds me of Predator. Farmer and policeman are stereotypes. Santi discovers truth and, guess what – his parents don't want to know. Santi susses things out on Google – the current answer for every geek-on-a-mission. And the night vision camera thing is all a bit too Blair Witch.Low-budget interactions and nice scenery are mixed with occasional fast editing, unnerving sounds, jolting cameras, and horrific dream sequences. Director Isidro Ortiz says he wanted, "to build a monster thriller where the monsters are the heroes, and where you must flee from the light to take refuge in the darkness. A back-to-front tale." This sophisticated theoretical foundation is almost more interesting than the movie itself. "I wanted the film to have two kinds of monsters," he continues determinedly, "those which are such because they're 'different' and cannot adapt to what society defines as 'normal', and those which are real monsters and hide their dark side while they look like a model of social behaviour." Wow! Is this film really deep? Or is the depth flown in afterwards as P.R.-flavoured gibberish? It sounds sensible enough, but out of place when referring to such a low-brainer.To Ortiz' credit, he trimmed down his original plan to avoid relying on American budgets, but the end result, while enjoyable enough, falls slightly short of the grand concepts he envisages. It does keep you guessing for a bit but, although decently acted, characterisation and dialogue do not have the profundity to redeem such aspirations.On the plus side, this is a broad appeal 'horror' film. It isn't offensively gory, and has an almost warm cozy feel to it. But in other words, it's a bit of a girly horror. A nice little movie with some atmospheric tension, and maybe not quite enough to satisfy late-night fans.