"The Wasteland" Review: A Dull Descent into Madness

In 19th century Spain, Salvador (Roberto Alamo), Lucia (Inma Cuesta), and Diego (Asier Flores) live isolated from the rest of their war-torn country. As they live off the land, Salvador's push for Diego to assume responsibilities as the man of the house conflicts with Lucia's desire to foster her son's sensitive side. When an injured man washes up on their river bank, a visually shocking act of self-defense leaves Salvador to leave his family to reunite the man with his family. While fending for themselves, a creature from a story told by his father starts to stalk Diego and his mother, though only Lucia seems able to see it. She reacts strangely to the beast's presence, beginning to shut herself off from Diego and becoming increasingly more paranoid. While trying to protect his mother from the unseen beast and her own erratic behaviors, Diego attempts to fill the void left by his father. Walking his mother back from the brink of her own sanity is one thing, but when the Diego begins to experience the beast's presence himself, he fights to not just preserve their lives, but the connection they once shared.

This is a film that attempted to capture a style walking the line between the newer arthouse style horror and the atmospheric focus of more classic horror films. To create that atmosphere, the film's production design brough its set pieces to life with muted colors and aged wood tones. A lot of shadow work was used to help highlight how isolated the family was, with candles providing the primary source of light. While I can see how the film attempts to create a sense of claustrophobia and exaggerate just how isolated the family is from the rest of the world, it never accomplishes making it feel as though the family is trapped with the beast. Perhaps there was not enough closed-in camerawork or maybe it was the actors never really reacting to their isolationism, but regardless of the reason, any sense of urgency or tension was far and few between. I do think the set design was pretty good in capturing the time period, while also bringing a sense of decay. It just was not used in a way in which it could provide more than just a nice background.

In terms of the arthouse nature of the film, those aspects are brought to the forefront by the analysis of the human condition and the beast's deeper representation. In the same vein as films like “The Babadook” and “It Follows,” the beast that is stalking this family is not a monster for the sake of scares. Rather, it carries a representation for the breaking down of Lucia's psyche. Whether you perceive that as paranoia, depression, or grief, the creature's proximity to the mother would increase as she became more reckless and unstable. I can always appreciate an exploration of one's psychological condition, but this movie offered nothing new and felt very cookie-cutter in how it approached the tension caused by the Diego's dealing with his mother's condition and the beast slowly closing in on them. The beast itself is rarely ever seen, but is rather implied until the final moments of the film's third act, which has become very commonplace for modern horror movies. Even then, its tall, skeletal shape is masked by shadows as Diego fights to save his mother. For as little and simple as this movie's visuals were, other than a few violent moments, it would have benefited from a bit more creature work to help translate the true threat that Diego and his mother were facing.

The movie's narrative was, surprisingly, held up by Flores' portrayal of Diego and his forced growth from child to man. His character started the movie being portrayed like a big baby, coddled away from the responsibilities of living in a desolate place. But as the movie progressed and Diego struggled to interact with his mother as she attempted to kill herself multiple times, stopped eating, and became hostile towards him, Flores executed Diego's growing up in such a naturally progressive manner. It was so surprising, that it was not until the end of the film that it hit me, which was highlighted by how physically different Diego seemed after the ordeal with the beast had concluded. He looked older, and thus, his transformation was complete without a single speed bump. This was the strongest focus of the movie's narrative, although Lucia's slow descent into self-destruction was well-acted as well. The movie's ending left a lot to be desired, with implications for Lucia that were a bit too on the nose, and a conclusion based on Diego's evolving will and confidence. The virtuous win over a dark creature always runs the risk of coming off as a bit too preachy for the horror genre, which was the case here.

"The Wasteland” tried to be a film that already exists from multiple angles and in more effective ways. Having a sea of modern horror films from which to draw inspiration and ideas, this a movie that does almost everything at a mundane level. The movie's highs never felt high and its lows never felt impactful enough to move the meter of emotional tone. The narrative does eventually draw your interest into how bad Lucia's mental breakdown can get and what it means for Diego's scrambling to maintain what is left of his connection to her, but that interest comes much too late. Had it come out eight years ago, this movie would have had more impact, when its direction and underlying themes would have felt more original. If you enjoyed films like the aforementioned “The Babadook” or “It Follows,” you may enjoy this inferior cousin of a film. But for everyone else, this is a movie that has come too late with an overdone message wrapped in an uninspired direction.

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RATING: 💃 💃.5 / 5

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