Cold Sweat is one of those horror flicks in which people constantly do illogical and stupid things — like hiding where the bad guys can (or should) find them, or failing to locate the front door — and in which the plot degenerates from the implausible to the silly to batshit crazy. But because director Adrian Garcia Bogliano is on top of his game, bringing energy, mischief, and style to his movie, Cold is eminently watchable.
Bogliano has said that he wanted to lace his horror with a little history, reminding young Argentineans that there are real-life bad guys walking the streets of their country: aging holdovers from a military dictatorship that conducted a reign of terror in Argentina dating to the 1970s. To that end, the villains in Cold are — I’m guessing you haven’t seen this before — two geezers living in a ramshackle house in the heart of Buenos Aires.
And what sort of skullduggery are these deranged coots up to? “Catfishing,” of all things. Locating young, attractive women on the Internet, the codgers lure these gullible girls to their creepy abode, sprinkle a nitroglycerine derivative onto their bodies, and then force them to … solve math formulas on a chalkboard! (Please refer here to the opening sentence of this review, i.e., people doing stupid and illogical things.)
It’s nonsensical, but if you’re willing to simply absorb Cold Sweat on a visceral level, it’s a fast-moving hoot. Bogliano knows how to pace a thriller, and visually his movie resembles The Texas Chainsaw Massacre redone as music video.
Oh, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t credit Bogliano with one of the more creative means of getting an actress to go nude: Apparently, once your body is sprinkled with an ultra-sensitive nitroglycerin derivative, your wisest survival course is to completely disrobe. I did mention the words “stupid” and “illogical,” did I not? Grade: C+
Director: Adrian Garcia Bogliano Cast: Facundo Espinosa, Marina Glezer, Camila Velasco, Omar Musa, Omar Gioiosa, Noelia Vergini, Daniel de la Vega, Victoria Witemburg Release: 2010
Watch the Trailer (click here)
© 2010-2024 grouchyeditor.com (text only)
Yeah, this was a weird movie. Great review!
Thanks, H-Wood. Have you figured out the formula on the chalkboard? I’m still working on it.