WHO CAN KILL A CHILD? (1976) - Required viewing

[Neville]

The "good" era are the 70 and early 80s, there were many horror films made. The problem is that they became increasily cheap an tacky, to the extent a new law was passed to avoid government subventions funding those embarrasments. This, together with a reduction in the number of theatres, killed most of the genre movies. Instead, the government overfunded films they considered more important, such as documenting historical events or adaptations of Spanish literature.

The effects of this law ("Ley Miró", after minister and filmmaker Pilar Miró) are still debated. Some argue it put some order in the Spanish cinema of the time, by redirecting funds to films that at least had chances of being any good, while others argue the overfunding of a certain type of films affected the popularity of Spanish cinema among cinemagoers, asphixiated creativity and crippled the creation of a real industry not dependant on government money. 

As for good movies of the era... honestly, I'm quite ignorant. I'm a children of the 80s, and only learnt of people like Paul Naschy much, much later. There are a few interesting films in the 70s I know of, however. "El bosque del lobo" (1970), by Pedro Olea, is a gem, a realistic approach to a real-life XIX century serial killer who claimed to be a werewolf. "Furtivos" (1975) by José Luís borau is a chilling character study of marginal charactters, and "Arrebato", by Iván Zulueta, is a 1979 cult movie drenched in drug use.

And in the 80s there are a lot of interesting crime films, if that's your cup of tea. Check out "Navajeros" or "Colegas" by Eloy de la Iglesia, "Deprisa, deprisa" by Carlos Saura or "Fanny Pelopaja" by Vicente Aranda.

Spanish movies of the 90s and 00s look far more polished and are made more profesionally, but I'm not a big fan of them. They're OK but often feel impersonal, and you can get the same type from UK or France with a bigger budget, specially when it comes to horror. Still, there's a lot to like if you are into serious cinema. Anything by Montxo Armendariz, Victor Erice or José Luís Guerín is likely to fill your cultural needs for a while. If you're only interested in genre films, try Daniel Monzón's films, and those made by Lluís Balagueró and Paco Plaza before they struck gold with [REC].

[Kaped-Kaper]

I've been seeking this movie out for some time now, and just recently got a copy. I think this means I get an 'A'. 

[Jim H]

Thanks for the info Neville.  I find that kind of stuff fascinating.  So, is Spanish cinema still very dependent on government money today?  I always find that a kind of a sad situation, where countries with formerly successful film industries become reliant on handouts.  Seems like that has become increasingly the case in a lot of European cinema.  Think if I ran a government in Europe, I'd have a pretty strict theatrical quota for American film.

Oh yeah, what do you think of Álex de la Iglesia?  I liked Accion Mutante some, and really liked Day of the Beast, but haven't seen any others yet.

[voltron]

Just snagged a copy off ebay. Watched it the other night and I LOVED it! The first murder really creeped me out and I especially dug the downbeat ending. Thanx for reccomending this one. 

[Neville]

So, is Spanish cinema still very dependent on government money today?  [...]  Think if I ran a government in Europe, I'd have a pretty strict theatrical quota for American film.

I'm afraid it still is. As for "foreign" movie quotas, I think the current policy in Spain is that a percentage of films shown in theatres has to be of European origin. Also, any TV channel operating in my country has to use a percentage of its benefits to fund movies. I can't say I find any of these policies neither fair nor succesful. Many movies are produced, but very few end up being really succesful. A failed filmmaker recently criticised the system, stating that local producers are scamming the government by underfunding movies, giving them a s**tty release and then covering up their expenses, and even making a profit, cashing in from the government. It's a disgrace.

Oh yeah, what do you think of Álex de la Iglesia?  I liked Accion Mutante some, and really liked Day of the Beast, but haven't seen any others yet.

He's become one of our more succesful filmakers, although he still has to replicate the succes of El día de la bestia, or to completely fulfill the (admittedly, extremely high) expectations that were put on him. Yet, all of his films are worth watching, they all stand well above the media, both in entertainment value and in quality. I'd specially recommend Muertos de risa, a very dark comedy on a duo of comedians who hate each other but can't succeed on their own, La comunidad, a blend of dark comedy and thriller about a real state salesman who finds a fortune on an abandoned flat, and Crimen Ferpecto.

His other films are good, but those are his best. Right now he's been busy creating a sci-fi sitcom on TV, but he's supposed to be shooting a new movie anytime soon.

[BeyondTheGrave]

I was very excited when this finally came to dvd not to long ago. Such a great and creepy movie. 

[Swamp Thing]

This is in my top 50 horror movies of all time for sure. Just misses the top 10.

When I was in my early teens we hired heaps of horror movies but they were all the basic ones that everyone knew about like The Burning, Candyman, Friday the 13th etc. But the one movie I hired the most was Children of the Corn. And when I started getting right into collecting horror movies in 2004 this was one of the first movies that grabbed my attention because the plot sounded so much like Children of the Corn. And once I got it in 2004 I knew where Stephen King got the idea for the Children of the Corn short story that was made into the movie. Can also tell he used The Wicker Man, and The Omen as influences. But enough about Children of the Corn.

How great is Who Can Kill A Child? and how great is Spanish horror? Such atmospheric movies and in my opinion they make the best horror movies in the world and they are my favourite kind of horror movie. I love the settings and locations of Spain and I love the language. I think I like the sound of it better than English! Some of the movies they have made really blow me away. King of the Hill for example. Really great filmmaking.

[The Burgomaster]

How great is Who Can Kill A Child? and how great is Spanish horror? Such atmospheric movies and in my opinion they make the best horror movies in the world and they are my favourite kind of horror movie. I love the settings and locations of Spain and I love the language. I think I like the sound of it better than English! Some of the movies they have made really blow me away. King of the Hill for example. Really great filmmaking.

I'm a big fan of Spanish horror too.  Particularly Paul Naschy's movies.