Picture

36 Pasos/36 Steps (2006)

Horror     Not Rated

Plot

A demented captor holds six women against their will, forcing them to celebrate a former classmate's birthday in this well-crafted splatter-fest from Argentinean director Adrián García Bogliano. All's well as long as the ladies obey the house rules -- silence, obedience and happiness -- but if they step out of line, the first punishment is removal of a finger ... and the penalties escalate from there.

Acting

Decent enough b-level cheesy acting, with a stand out performance by Noelia Balbo.

Gore

Women are crushed by cars, decapitated (which is a great scene), have limbs severed, their heads smashed, and get a knife through the head.

Sex/Nudity

Women are topless in the shower, topless while changing, and fully nude in an odd montage type scene.

Final Thoughts

This is a Spanish language movie that blends together elements of Saw, Hostel and Happy Birthday to Me, and its batter than the latter two movies, and about on par with Saw. While the plot is a basic torture porn type plot, it puts a fairly unique and enjoyable spin on the generic formula. A very good movie that i certainly recommend buying (I got it used on Amazon for $5 including shipping) and viewing at least once, its a true hidden gem, and one of the best "torture porn" films I've ever seen. There is only really one thing i can point out as being a negative and that is the fact that at some points the subtitles moved at such a rapid pace, that it was damn near impossible to read it before it moved on to the next one. GO SEE THIS MOVIE it's a fun time, with great elements of Horror, as well as some funny moments. A true hidden gem.

Overall Rating

B