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Friendship is always a fascinating subject for genre pieces. As a thesis, different filmmakers approach it in a variety of different ways. It can be something that binds our characters together, something they fight for, the thing that allows them to survive whatever horrors are thrown at them. Other times, it is more of a festering wound. Something broken below the surface. Amigo is more of the latter. The characters’ longtime friendship has been damaged in a way that is not readily apparent. Their issues emerge slowly and painstakingly and are more entrenched than either the characters or the audience thought was possible.

Directed by Óscar Martin from a script co-written by Martin and starring Javier Botet and David Pareja, Amigo starts out feeling like a buddy drama. Maybe in the years before, it could have been a buddy comedy, but life has drastically changed for these longtime friends, and...

There’s something about the relationship between a severely disabled person and a carer which seems to distort the perceptions and expectations of outsiders. Perhaps it’s a fear of looking too closely, of seeing aspects of mortality and responsibility which most people would rather not acknowledge. It can be easier, even for those involved, to think of it purely in pragmatic terms, like something mechanical, ignoring the human dimension, without regard to what went before. But as in any other area of human interaction, the reality is that there are complex emotions involved which extend far beyond the care dynamic, and sometimes the weight of the past is much harder to bear.

Óscar Martín’s Fantastic Fest hit opens with an arresting scene. A small, battered looking white car pulls up on a dusty slope in the middle of nowhere, and a tall man (David Pareja) unfolds himself from within.

The Unhappy Holiday Movie has become almost a genre unto itself, this year’s new additions running a now-familiar gamut from the sour seasonal rebound rom-com to wreathed-in-gore Yuletide horrors (including this weekend’s “Violent Night” and “Christmas Bloody Christmas”). No matter how dyspeptic in spirit, all tend to hang onto a certain cuteness, reassuring viewers they don’t really mean to rain on anyone’s annual good cheer.

Having none of that is “Amigo,” a first directorial feature for Óscar Martin, who co-wrote the screenplay with stars Javier Botet and David Pareja, a pair of frequent comedic collaborators expertly transplanting their chemistry to macabre dramatic terrain here. This wintry Spanish psychological thriller, culminating in a New Year’s Eve likely to be some characters’ last, premiered at Fantastic Fest over three years ago. It’s taken its time getting a North American release, but will prove worth the wait for fans of restrained,...

Three years after making its film festival debut, the Spanish thriller Amigo is finally set to receive a theatrical release in the U.S. and Canada this Friday, December 2nd. The film stars popular creature performer Javier Botet in a rare dramatic role that didn’t require him to be hidden under a creature suit, and co-stars his comedy cohort David Pareja.

Described as a “charmingly dark” thriller and a cinematic journey along the lines of Misery and Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, Amigo has the following synopsis: After a violent accident, the good-natured David (Pareja) decides to accommodate and care for his best friend, Javi (Botet). But as the two of them begin arguing, the truth about their toxic, homicidal relationship bubbles to the surface – and madness soon takes hold.

Botet and Pareja wrote the script with director Óscar Martín.

A press release says that Amigo will take viewers to “the heart of deep,...

Barcelona — Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia’s debut feature “The Platform” was awarded best film, and best F/X at the 52nd Sitges’ Intl. Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia. Gaztelu-Urrutia also snagged the Citizen Kane Award for an up-and-coming director and the Audience Award for best picture. The prizes come off the back of the Grolsch People’s Choice Award at Toronto’s Midnight Madness.

Produced by Carlos Juárez at Bilbao-based outfit Basque Films in co-production with Barcelona’s Mr. Miyagi, Gaztelu-Urrutia’s debut offers a harsh survival parable of power human relationships in a dystopic multi-floor dungeon prison. Its oft-starving dwellers handle the situation with existential and cannibalistic inclinations. The nightmarish script was co-written by successful Catalan playwright David Desola (“Warehoused”) and Pedro Rivero, co-director of Gkids U.S. pick-up “Bird Boy.”

Bilbao-born Gaztelu-Urrutia is an experienced producer at Basque Films and has directed commercials as well as two shorts. One,...

Today sees the start of the 52nd Sitges Fantastic Film Festival, boasting premieres of Spanish titles such as Advantages of Travelling by Train, Amigo and Ropes. The 52nd Sitges Fantastic Film Festival, which is unspooling from 3-13 October, fires the starting pistol for its jam-packed menu of fantastic, horror and science-fiction films today. It boasts such an abundance of sections, screenings and activities that it is sure to delight the huge number of fans and genre enthusiasts who will be flocking to the charming Catalonian city over the coming days. Standing out among its presentations of Spanish movies are three features. Amigo, directed by first-timer Óscar Martín, is a film that was shot in just seven days, starring Javier Botet in the lead role; this tall, slim actor also performs in the omnibus movie Advantages of Travelling by Train, the feature...

Exclusive: Fantastic Fest is set to honor legendary filmmaker Takashi Miike with the Lifetime Achievement Award and a and a special screening of The Happiness of the Katakuris. In addition, the fest has revealed its final wave of programming which includes the U.S. premiere of Jeremy Clapin’s I Lost My Body which recently debuted at Cannes Critics Week and won the Cristal for Best Animated Feature and the Audience Award Première at the 2019 Annecy Int’l Animated Film Festival. Fantastic Fest kicks off September 19 and continues through September 26.

Miike, who has been featured at Fantastic Fest multiple times, has over 100 films on his resume and in addition to a screening of The Happiness of the Katakuris, the fest will feature the U.S. premiere of his film First Love which follows an aspiring boxer named Leo who discovers that he may not have long to live. He goes...