On the fourth day of the Sitges Festival we saw Aaron Schimberg’s A Different Man, Carly May Borgstrom’s Spirit in the Blood, Ant Timpson’s Bookworm and Enrique Buleo’s Bodegón con Fantasmas.

The first movie of the day was A different man by Aaron Schimberg with Adam Pearson, Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve in the three main roles of the film. Shcimberg’s work could be described as a black comedy in which he tells us the life of Edward, an aspiring actor with a deformed face who will end up making the decision to be a trial patient for a surgery that will give him a new look. Conflict will arise when his life role requires him to return to his previous face and his new life ends up turning into a nightmare.

Schimberg takes no shortcuts in the film and his speeches and messages are very clear against the superficiality of today’s world and the value we place on our appearance. To do this, he ends up building a work with a large component of black comedy and a bit of terror, in terms of what we understand as fear of one’s own body and that of others because they are different.

It also ends up resorting to metanarrative and plays with various explicitly exposed intertexts, as in the case of Beauty and the Beast. The film turns out to be a very interesting journey through different genres, but one of the most important assets that can be noticed is the use of the sounds of the street and Edward’s house as fear. to the outside world and the people around him, a very important theme that changes throughout the film.

Although it may seem a little pedantic, the metafictional aspect is intended as part of the director’s game with his characters which are played fabulously. Sebastian Stan travels with his character through all possible points, from being endearing to being scary to not knowing what he will do with his life and the lives of others.Adam Pearson, magically appears to play Oswald and from his entrance the character ends up being a comical earthquake that destroys Edward’s life. Finally there is Renate Reinsve who plays the playwright and Edward’s neighbor and raises some of the moral questions that recur in the plays.

After Schimberg’s film we had to regain our strength, since we had to see three feature films in the afternoon, including the central one at the Prado. First he touched Spirit in the blood by Carly May Borgstrom the story of a group of girls in a city with strong religious beliefs and a being that threatens the citybut above all to his girls. The film is very strong in cinematography and in the protagonist, but the screenplay unbalances the balance, as it tends to want to play and distract the viewer from the main conflict by hiding it with other concepts such as witchcraft or religion.

Many of its ideas are well executed, but misleading the viewer and the origin of the monster undermines much of the footage and the impact its ending could have had, which is quite powerful. Borgstrom’s debut film ends up being a coming-of-age journey that reflects the fears of this group of girls who band together to fight a greater evilbut that doesn’t entirely indicate a good ending.

Now it was time to rush to the Prado to see Bookwormthe new collaboration between Ant Timpson and Elijah Wood. A very fun and comfortable film that takes Elijah on a new journey through the mountains of New Zealand. Bookworm tells us about Mildred’s journey with her father, who has been absent since her birth and focused on his career as an illusionist. Timpson has created one of Sitges’ funniest couples with these two actors who leave you with a smile on your face throughout the film watching the complications that arise during the camping trip.

The film conveys a lot of the idea of ​​Timpson’s references to making it, the 80s adventure films dedicated to children, but this time it has a more adult approach (although the director underlined that it is dedicated to children), for its jokes and situations which at certain moments can be very violent. The terrain of New Zealand is also very important and the director makes it an even more important character. of the film and could also make references to other fantasy films shot in those magical lands.

Finally, it was another little ride in Tramuntana worth seeing Still life with ghostsone of the great Spanish sensations of the Sitges Festival. Enrique Buleo’s debut film conveys a lot of affection for his land, Castilla La Mancha, and an attempt to close ties with its ghosts and fears. Buleo presents us with 5 final stories within the same city that play with the concept of the spiritual, ghosts and the affection we feel for those who are gone.but all in the key of black comedy with hilarious messages and a fight against the most dirty humor.

The 5 stories are jewels of instant comedy, but without a doubt the first and fifth won my applause. In the first we are told the story of an old lady who meets her father in the form of a ghost asking him for a big favor.I won’t say what it is because it would break the magic that story has. The fifth story tells the story of some brothers who need to earn money and are looking for a way to scam a family who wants to know if there is an afterlife.tremendous ride almost playing with the shot Bitelchus.

Still life with ghosts It is a hilarious surprise that of the Sitges Festival which has won the applause of the audience several times for the creativity of its jokes and situations that mix costumes and the paranormal in a unique way.. But it also has a very distinctive visual and sound presence, defining each short film with a specific color or tone and a song that serves as a leitmotif. Without a doubt, Enrique Buleo has presented himself as a great filmmaker to follow for his edgy comedy.