Spanish direct Albert Pintó (RIP, Killing God) brings 32 Malasaña Street to Nightstream Fest audiences. This eerie supernatural film is written by Ramón Campos (High Seas, Cocaine Coast), Gema R. Neira (High Seas, Cocaine Coast), David Orea (Kaan Kun, 45 rpm), and Salvador S. Molin (45 rpm, Domingo). The film follows a family risking it all to move from the country to the big city in 1976 Spain. Their dreams are quickly dashed when they realize something else lives in their new home.

For the first 2/3 of this film, I was in love. It wastes no time in creating well-earned, bone-chilling scares that had me watching from behind my hands. The entire cast is also fantastic, especially Begoña Vargas (High Seas, A Different View) as teenage Amparo. Horror fans will also immediately recognize Javier Botet (Mama, The Conjuring 2) both in and out of his frightening creature makeup. The makeup for Botet’s creature is as gorgeous as it is terrifying.

It’s impossible for me to say what I didn’t like about the last 1/3 of 32 Malasaña Street without being too spoilery and revealing the climax of the film. However, I will say there are two aspects of that climax that I take issue with. It’s truly unfortunate because, up until that point, I thought the film delivered the kind of thrills and story that could allow it to stand next to other recent favorites like The Conjuring and Insidious. 32 Malasaña Street has a promising and terrifying beginning, but falls apart when it matters most.

OVERALL RATING: 5/10