With the VIFF ending the following day (October 8th) and Halloween about to come, it’s natural to want to see at least one more Altered States film. Though the Spanish film The Wait doesn’t have your common Halloween scariness, it does give you the fear and suspense you look for in such a film.

It is 1973 in the Andalusian countryside. A hunter named Eladio agrees to supervise the hunting grounds of land belonging to Don Francisco. He supervises one of ten grounds Don Francisco owns. He brings his wife Marcia and his son Floren to live on the land, but soon learns the land he supervises is quite desolate. He’s able to take Floren practice shooting, but Marcia is unhappy. She lets him know how much he let her down.

As his service comes close to reaching three years, Don Carlos, Don Francisco’s second in command, offers him a bribe to add an additional three stands to the area. Eladio is reluctant but Marcia wants him to accept since money has been scarce with his duty. Eladio accepts, unaware of what lays ahead. One day, Eladio takes Floren out practice shooting. Other marksmen are on the site. Out of nowhere, a bullet hits Floren in the head. Eladio is heartbroken but Marcia is devastated. She soon commits suicide. How can all these troubles happen to Eladio all at once?

Eladio soon becomes an alcoholic and finds himself in a violent nature he can’t control. The dog also shows moments of violent behavior. Eladio also notices bizarre images during his drunken hallucinations like slaughtered chickens, a goat’s head, and a human toenail in his stew. He sees Marcia in one of his hallucinations, but she curses him. Another hallucination, he sees Floren. He hopes to reunite, but instead sees Floren bloodied from the accident and reminds Eladio of the wrong he did and he will pay.

As the days get closer to the end of the lease, Eladio is frustrated and he goes to the mansion of Don Francisco. He notices something disturbing. He first sees a photograph of a family from three years ago on the land, and another photograph of another family three years earlier on that same land, and another and another. Eladio is scared. Is he part of a trap? Were those families in the photo also subject to that very curse Eladio is going through and claimed his family?

The day finally comes. It’s the end of the three years. Eladio faces up to Don Francisco at his mansion, but he also faces up to Don Carlos, Marcia, Floren and all the families of the other men who accepted that same bribe before. Their fate for what they accepted now becomes Eladio’s. The ending will have you at the edge of your seat.

This is a film that lets the suspense build slowly. The film starts as a man who made a bad purchase on the land and his wife lets him know it. Then the bribe starts the series of misfortunes such as the son’s accidental shooting death and the wife’s suicide. They all seem tragic, but it doesn’t seem like there’s a curse. It’s only until a short time before the lease is set to expire we learn there is a curse. Eladio senses it before we do and unravels it before our eyes. This is a curse that has plagued the families who also leased the land before him. It seems as though Don Francisco has this cursed land to set up families for their tragic fate and we learn about it as Eladio slowly learns about it. Don Francisco even told him about treating the land like family and if one betrays family, he will pay. It seems as though that contract from Don Francisco isn’t simply a three-year lease on the land but something that can be a loyalty test that could end up a “death warrant.” Anything that should be labeled a “death warrant” only kills the individual, but this is something that robs Eladio of prosperity, his family, his possessions, his colleagues and eventually himself. Just like those that leased the land before him! Did they also fall prey to a bribe like Eladio’s?

Another thing that grabs me about this film is that it’s estimated to be set in the year 1973. I find that as something of intrigue to me since Spain was under the fascist regime of dictator Francisco Franco at the time. I have seen two other films that were set during Franco-era Spain: Pan’s Labyrinth and Pa Negre. I’ve come to sense that Franco-era Spain is a common theme in a lot of Spanish film. It’s a period of their history that’s long passed but hard to overcome. Even though there are no specific signs in this film pointing to it, I do sense certain elements in the film reflecting the harshness of that era. Things like how farmers had limited prosperity back then, things like how Eladio was illiterate, and things like corrupt ownership. It can leave one thinking that.

The film itself is intended to be a paranormal thriller. One thing about it is it’s a story that slowly builds over time. The film begins with a slow melodramatic start. It’s when the tragedies in Eladio’s life happen that the story changes and the aftermath when the bizarre and the supernatural occur. The film does a good job in building itself as time progresses, leading up to the climactic finish. At the same time, this appears to be a film that tries to mix many genres together. That’s very tricky to do. The film doesn’t do a stellar accomplishment of trying to mix film genres together but it does a very good job here.

This film is a great work from director/writer F. Javier Gutierrez. This is only his third film in which he’s written and directed. It’s a very impressive work in taking dramatic story and mixing various film genres and styles together into what would eventually become a paranormal thriller. He tells his story not just with the dialogue but also with imagery and effective cinematography that adds to the story. I feel Gutierrez did a very good job, despite the film starting off slow.

Also adding to the story is the acting of Victor Clavijo. With him being the protagonist Eladio, he adds to the story’s intensity with his moments of silence as much as adds to it with the dialogue. Those with supporting roles added to the story and the drama, despite how short of a time they had. The cinematography from Miguel Angel Mora adds to the story and the musical score from Zeltia Montes adds to the intensity.

This film has been able to earn some accolades in the film festival circuit. It’s nominations and wins include: the Official Fantastic Competition at the Sitges – Catalonian Festival; Audience Award for Best Film at the Oldenburg Film Festival; five nominations including Best Director and Best Cinematography at the FilmQuest Festival; Clavijo winning Best Actor and Gutierrez nominated for Best Director at the ScreamFest; and two wins and the Audience Award for Best Picture at the Fantastic Fest.

The Wait is a film about a supernatural curse. It builds slowly, but the suspense greatly builds near the end. Definitely a film that will get your attention.