Info
Original Title: No estamos solos
Country: Peru
Director: Daniel Rodríguez Risco
Release: 2016
Genre: Horror
Language: Spanish
31.03.2020: This review was first published on 20.11.2018 and is being updated for a more complete review, together with the publishing of the YouTube Version.
Hello There! I’m dos Santos. Welcome to Ulven Reviews!
No Estamos Solos, or, We Are Not Alone is a Peruvian horror movie from 2016 directed by Daniel Rodríguez Risco. A photographer tries to bond with her stepdaughter in their recently bought and clearly haunted mansion.
No estamos solos
Mónica (played by Fiorella Díaz), Mateo (played by Marco Zunino) and his daughter Sofía (played by Zoe Arévalo) move to an old house, with a lot of space and surrounded by nature, perfect for Mónica’s work as a photographer.
Sofía still has problems accepting her stepmother, while Mónica tries to earn the girl’s trust. Mateo is barely at home because of work, leaving the two girls with time to bond.
It doesn’t take much time until the house began to show its teeth, manifesting strange occurrences during the night. Fast forward, some events later, they decide to call a priest to give the house a spiritual inspection.
Father Rafael (played by Lucho Cáceres), a man with his own history with the house, is the chosen one for the task. Later, one person within the family is possessed by Satan knows whom or what, and the Priest has to perform the Rite of Exorcism.
It breaks my heart to say it, but We Are Not Alone is awful. You know where the plot is going from miles away, there’s such a lack of originality, to the extent of being insulting to the audience.
Every horror movie trope ever, you will find it in We Are Not Alone: child spirit; female evil spirit; family finding belongings of the dead; claw marks; clueless father; self-sacrifice for others. The list could go on forever.
Even the characters’ arc is too obvious, the main one being of Mónica and Sofía. They don’t get along well and have to become close during the struggle against the evil spirits.
The acting is good enough from all the adults. The one who is a little bellow the others is Zoe Arévalo, but man, she was around 8 or 9 at the time, she’s probably already better, and if she’s not, she has everything to get way better. It’s part of the process, we evolve.
The characters, though, don’t have anything going on for them. They’re just there, things happen, and they have to react. They don’t feel like humans, they lack substance, and like the movie itself, they’re generic.
The musical score is also generic, of course. It resembles a lot the music I use in these videos of the channel, but I don’t have the budget of a feature-length movie, I only use free songs.
Since we’re talking about our hearing sense, We Are Not Alone is full of loud noises in the attempt of jump-scares. It doesn’t work, it’s obvious when it’s going to happen, and you’ll only be startled if you’re really inexperienced with horror films.
The cinematography, for me, is the star of the movie by far, and it has the same level as many Hollywood productions. The camera movements are on point, there are many nice-looking shots with a clear image and perfect use of the lighting.
The problem with the exceptional camera movements is that you have this skillful handling of the equipment, but you use it in unnecessary scenes. Some scenes shouldn’t have a place in the movie, because it serves no purpose.
I wanted to watch an enjoyable South American horror movie, but it was the most generic film I’ve ever watched. The very few positive points could not save it, and for this reason, I’m giving We Are Not Alone 2 Moons.
That’s it for now. Don’t forget that if you’re possessed, you’re actually just mentally ill. Bye!
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