Title: Under the Rose (Bajo la Rosa)
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Director: Josué Ramos
Starring: Pedro Casablanc, Elisabet Gelabert, Ramiro Blas
Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins

What It Is: When Oliver (Casablanc) and Julia’s (Gelabert) daughter Sara (Patricia Olmedo) is taken a mysterious man in black simply known as “hombre de negro” or “the man in black” (Blas). When the family receives a call about their daughter from the man who took her they agree to meet with him in their house on his terms. What he’ll uncover is a web of lies and deceit where every stone will finally be unturned and every secret brought into the light.

What We Think: With moments of tension and terror this is a thriller that will leave you breathless. From the first touching note to the last scream of terror the twist and turns make this one of Spain’s best export in quite some time. Both Casablanc and Gelabert bring so much emotion to the lead couple and Blas is sinister from the jump as “the man in black”. There are themes here that bring so much gravitas to the characters and the plot as a whole. So much of this is built on the backs of the shadows of everything else going on.  

Our Grade: B-, The first film I screened in the proper San Diego International Film Festival 10 am on a Thursday and I was shaken! I had to take a small step back and think about what I was viewing as I was watching this. If you’re able to find this film somewhere I cannot recommend this highly enough. Don’t let the Spanish language and subtitles scare you, as these things tend to do. Look out for more great films from Ramos I know that I’ll be on the lookout for whatever he does next!