El páramo / The Wasteland, movie (2021) - Watch the trailer on YouTube
Watch the trailer in Spanish - Watch the trailer in Hindi
video © Netflix
The The Wasteland (2021) is a historical supernatural horror film. The movie was reviewed by Kadmon.
Product: El páramo / The Wasteland, movie (2021)
Original title: El páramo, English title: The Wasteland
Series: -
Setting: historical fantasy Earth
Product type: Film, Genre: historical supernatural horror, Style: historical, fantasy, horror, supernatural horror, creature
Release: Premiere: 2021.10.11 (Sitges Film Festival) , Release: 2022.01.06
Reviewer: Kadmon, Type: Male, 40s, Preferences: Immersive, logical story, consistent setting, prefers surprises to spoilers, prefers establishing elements before referencing them
Watched: very recent (2022.01), first time
Rating: Weak (2- out of 3 points), Enjoyment: Weak (2- out of 3 points)
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This is my review of The Wasteland, a historical supernatural horror movie from 2021. It's about a family having a bad time because of a threatening presence. The The Wasteland film is watchable, but I can't recommend it to anyone but the most dedicated fans of horror.
El páramo / The Wasteland, movie (2021)
image © Netflix
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Review (spoiler-free) - The Wasteland, movie (2021)
I randomly ran into this movie, as it was recommended as a horror film. As I like good horror films, I gave it a try without watching the trailer.
The The Wasteland movie is about a family having a bad time because of a threatening presence.
The story is not very good, nor is it interesting. The pacing and mood is consistent. There's a character arc for the main character. I didn't find major logical problems.
The cinematography is great, they get the most out of the scenes. The film is not very interesting visually, we see the same set all the time.
Although there are only three characters in the whole movie, we don't really get to know them. The actors are okay.
The music (by Diego Navarro) is good, atmospheric, fitting the movie.
The Wasteland is a watchable supernatural horror movie, that I think only dedicated fans of the genre could enjoy.
My experience
I was not satisfied with The Wasteland (2021). I was waiting for something interesting to happen, until the end credits started to roll.
Rating: Weak (2- out of 3 points). The Wasteland is a watchable, but somewhat pointless film.
Enjoyment: Weak (2- out of 3 points). The Wasteland is boring.
Rewatchability: I'm not sure. I think it's mostly the surprise of the story that makes you feel interested. But I can imagine someone feeling engaged with the mood or the characters, who'd like to watch this multiple times.
Chance of watching it again: Nope.
Chance of watching a sequel: Probably, if I'd see good reviews.
El páramo / The Wasteland, movie (2021)
image © Netflix
Will you enjoy this?
If you like supernatural horror movies, you might like The Wasteland.
If you like horror or action thriller movies, you might like the film, although there are not many action scenes or scary scenes in the The Wasteland movie.
If you can get through the first half hour of the movie still interested, the rest of the movie will be similar, but maybe less interesting.
If you hate subtitles, you are in luck, as there's already an English dub for the movie.
If you prefer visuals over story, you'll be probably bored by The Wasteland.
Watching for plot points
If you are interested in supernatural horror stories, it might be worth watching the The Wasteland movie for the plot points, although ready the summary is probably enough.
Should you watch this on your own screen at home, or is it worth going to the cinema?
The visuals probably look better if you watch it in cinema, but I think the overall experience would be similar.
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El páramo / The Wasteland, movie (2021)
image © Netflix
Review with spoilers - The Wasteland, movie (2021)
I didn't really like the The Wasteland movie.
By 1 hour, I started to get bored. While the film looks good, and the actors are good, nothing really happens, and we don't even learn anything about the characters.
Cover
The cover of the movie is okay, it doesn't say much, but it doesn't spoil the movie.
The trailer
The trailer is good, it shows us the premise of the movie, without spoiling it.
Promise of the first scene
A kid goes out to the privy, and his father brings a gun to accompany him. I assume the place is not safe, but I have no clue where will this story go from here.
Execution: Well, something like that, the place was really not safe, but a better first scene could have make it a better promise.
Plot summary / Synopsis
In 19th Century Spain, a boy (Asier Flores as Diego) living on a farm with his father (Roberto Álamo as Salvador) and mother (Inma Cuesta as Lucía). The boy goes out to the privy, while his father accompanies him with a gun.
The father tries to teach the boy how to kill and prepare a rabbit, but the kid botches it, and the rabbit runs away, outside of the warning posts the father have set up. Outside of those post, there's a war, and nobody returns who steps outside.
The father doesn't look happy with his life here, but he tries to teach the boy how to fight and survive. The father has some old wounds on his hand, he keeps wrapping up. The mother is protective of the boy, she'd prefer a happier life for the kid.
For his birthday, the boy gets a rifle from his father, and a tin can telephone from his mother. At night, the father speaks about a malevolent creature, that consumes fear, and gets the more closer the more afraid someone is. His sister has seen the creature, and was so afraid of it, she committed suicide by jumping out of the window.
One day, a boat is drifting nearby their house on the river. The father catches it, and there's a wounded, unconscious soldier (played by Víctor Benjumea) inside. The wounds look self inflicted. The father treats his wounds, but when the soldier wakes up, he grabs a gun and commits suicide.
The father decides to ride into the town, and bring the body, so the family can bury it.
While the father is still away, the boy dreams about a girl, who jumps out of a window, and says that it is coming.
The mother sees something during a storm, so she starts to shoot at it. The storm also destroys their crops.
One night, the horse of the father arrives, without a rider. The weapons are empty, no more bullets left. The mother and the boy both see some tall creature lurking outside.
They board themselves up inside the house. By this time the mother takes up the role of the fighter, and teaches the boy how to kill a man. As they are closed in, their physical health deteriorates, and also the mental health of the mother.
Something starts harassing them, walking on the roof, causing strange noises. As the mother keeps shooting, they are down to the last shell. The boy takes the shell out of the gun, and hides it.
The mother tries to commit suicide by hanging, but the boy saves her. He ties her up for her own safety. The boy butchers his favourite rabbit and prepares it for her mother.
During an attack, the boy frees the mother. She welcomes the creature, and closes the boy out of the house. By the time the boy forces his way back to the house, the mother committed suicide by cutting herself, just like the soldier did. Enraged, the boy shoots the creature with the last shell, and sets the house on fire.
The boy gets the mother out of the house, but she probably died, so the boy puts her into the river. By this time, the boy has the same wounds on his hand his father had. He wraps his hands, while the creature watches him.
Then the boy leaves.
The setting
The story is set on a historical fantasy Earth, where magical creatures live.
El páramo / The Wasteland, movie (2021)
image © Netflix
The creature
The creature is a malevolent entity, that feeds on fear. It comes closer as the target feels more and more afraid.
It drives the targets into committing suicide.
The message of the story
I'm not sure there's one. "Try to overcome your fears."?
The structure of the story
The scenes of the The Wasteland film are mostly played in sequence, following the same storyline. There are some scenes that show previous events. There are also dream sequences.
Although there is no single viewpoint character, but the boy is very close to being one.
It has the usual arc of the dramatic structure - introduction, action, resolution.
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Things I liked
- I liked the look of the creature.
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How does it compare to the other works of the creators?
I think I haven't seen any other works of the writer / director (David Casademunt), or the writers (Martí Lucas & Fran Menchón). For a start, this is not a bad movie though.
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El páramo / The Wasteland, movie (2021)
image © Netflix
Analysis of the story - The Wasteland, movie (2021)
I didn't find logical problems that would have prevented me from enjoying The Wasteland, but I didn't like the dramatisation.
Problematic elements
Lack of a fence: Why don't they have a fence? It looks like they are far from any other home, but a fence around the house could protect them from scavenging wild animals, and it would keep the livestock inside. The rabbit couldn't have run away if there were a fence.
Lack of background: We don't get to know the family. Why are they living out there? What happened in their past? What are their dreams? What are they hoping to achieve here?
Passive defence: While this might be fitting to the characters, their waiting for something to happen didn't make an interesting movie. It might have been less boring if they were setting up traps, or doing things actively to avoid the creature.
Unanswered questions
- What happened to the father? Did he actually intend to come back home?
- Was the mother dead when the boy dropped her into the river?
- What will happen to the boy?
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Possibilities of improvement
- Trim some scenes to make them shorter.
How it could have been better?
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Behind the scenes
Thoughts about the reviews of others
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El páramo / The Wasteland, movie (2021)
image © Netflix
Uses for the film - The Wasteland, movie (2021)
Plot
- A creature starts harassing a family.
Scenes
- The everyday happening on the farm are good to show how they lived on a farm.
Designs
Scenario ideas - Role-playing game scenario ideas
A friend of the team requests their help. He feels that some unseen presence is threatening him in his home. If the players don't take this seriously, later they find it out that he had committed suicide. Then, some time later, they run into a similar case. This time, hopefully, they will try to help against the presence.
Scenario ideas - Wargame scenario ideas
The Fright Eater: There's a creature that only attack people who are afraid of them. The defender sets up the playing area, and the defender forces anywhere on the playing area. Then the attacker deploys their forces on any edge of the playing area. As the creature takes the form of something the defenders are afraid of, the models can be monstrous creatures, or just a regular army. The creatures cause fear, so the defenders get -1 on their Morale rolls when attempting to move towards them. The creature can only move towards a defender, if the defender fails an unmodified Morale check. The creature can use ranged attacks to gain entry or to herd the defenders, but cannot attack them directly. When the creature comes into base contact with a model, the model dies if it fails a Morale check. The attacker wins if they eat more than half of the defender units. The defender wins if they defeat the attackers, while more than half of their own units survive.
Movie accurate fight: There's a single creature, but that is invulnerable (making the fight somewhat pointless).
Miniatures - 1/50-1/60 (28-32mm scale)
19th Century Spanish civilians: Human-sized human civilians in period clothing.
The creature: Large, gaunt humanoid.
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Similar stories - The Wasteland, movie (2021)
Movies
My Soul to Keep (2019): A kid is trapped in a house, while terrorised by a supernatural entity.
The Djinn (2021): A kid is trapped in a house, while hunted by a supernatural entity (genie). The Djinn is a slightly more boring than The Wasteland.
The Wind (2018): In a historical setting, strange things start happening to a family living on a farm.
The Witch (2015): In a historical setting, strange things start happening to a family living on a farm.
Z (2019): In a contemporary setting, a family is terrorised by a supernatural entity.
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Frequently asked questions - The Wasteland, movie (2021)
Will the The Wasteland movie be available with English audio dub?
The Wasteland is already available with English audio dub.
Is the The Wasteland film based on a book or comics?
No, The Wasteland is not based on either books or comics.
Is the The Wasteland film a remake or reboot?
No, the The Wasteland film is neither a remake nor a reboot.
Is there a post credit scene in The Wasteland? Does The Wasteland have end credit scenes?
No, there's no post credit scene in The Wasteland.
Where can I see The Wasteland? Where can I watch The Wasteland online? Is The Wasteland available on Netflix? Is The Wasteland on Amazon?
As of 2022.01.07, The Wasteland is available on Netflix.
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Resources - The Wasteland, movie (2021)
Official
Netflix: The Wasteland: Official article.
Information
IMDB: El páramo / The Wasteland (2021) : Database article.
WikiPedia: The Wasteland (2021 film): Database article.
Letterboxd: The Wasteland 2021: Database article.
Rotten Tomatoes: The Wasteland 2021: Database article.
Creation
: Concept art article.¤
https://soydecine.com/el-paramo-la-bestia-banda-sonora/
Reviews with no spoilers - The Wasteland film (2021)
: Review video about the The Wasteland film with no spoilers.¤
Reviews with spoilers - The Wasteland film (2021)
: Review article of the The Wasteland movie, with spoilers. Includes a very detailed plot summary.¤
Analysis - The Wasteland movie (2021)
: Analysis video, explaining the finale of The Wasteland.¤
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-wasteland-movie-review-2022
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Buying the product - The Wasteland, movie (2021)
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Have you seen the The Wasteland film? How do you like the movie? Would you recommend it to others? Do you know reviews or resources you'd like to add? What further thoughts do you have about it? Tell your opinion in the comments!
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