Romasanta
Encyclopedia
Romasanta is a Spanish-English horror-movie produced by Fantastic Factory
, directed by Paco Plaza
and starring Julian Sands
, Elsa Pataky
and John Sharian
. It is available on DVD from Lion's Gate Entertainment under the title Werewolf Hunt.
, as corpses are discovered bearing both savage mutilation and precise surgical incisions. Clues point toward Manuel Romasanta (Julian Sands
), who confesses to the crimes, but claims that he is a victim of lycanthropy
. A scientist, Professor Philips (David Gant), argues that Romasanta suffers not from a supernatural curse but from a mental disorder.
Based on a script by Alfredo Conde, according to the end credits the film is based on a true story, that of Manuel Blanco Romasanta
, Spain’s first documented serial killer. Conde is a descendant of one of the doctors involved the original Werewolf of Allariz court case that took place in 1953/54 in Galicia, Spain
. He went on to write a fictional novel, The Uncertain Memoirs of a Galician Wolfman: Romasanta. The same case previously provided the basis for the 1968 Spanish film El bosque del lobo
("The Wolf's Forest").
, critic Jonathan Holland wrote: "Spinning something cinematically new out of lycanthropy is always a challenge, but director Paco Plaza intermittently achieves it with his sophomore feature. (...) Offbeat pic is cleverly ambiguous where it counts; however, it lacks dramatic focus. (...) Sands' wolfish visage provides an appropriately sexy combination of attraction and threat, and script is clever enough to coax out some sympathy for him during the final 20 minutes. As Barbara, Pataky turns in a career-best perf."
Fantastic Factory
- History :It was created by Julio Fernández and Brian Yuzna. Yuzna's goal for Fantastic Factory is produce "modestly budgeted genre films for the international market using genre talent from all around the world and to develop local talent." - Films produced under the Fantastic Factory label...
, directed by Paco Plaza
Paco Plaza
Paco Plaza is a Spanish film director best known for writing and directing REC and REC 2 with Jaume Balagueró. He then went on to direct the REC series prequel REC:Genesis by himself while Jaume Balagueró directed the sequel REC Apocalypse....
and starring Julian Sands
Julian Sands
Julian M. Sands is an English actor, known for his roles in the Best Picture nominee The Killing Fields, the cult film Warlock, A Room with a View, Arachnophobia, Vatel, the television series 24 and as Jor-El in the television series Smallville.-Career:Sands began his film career appearing in...
, Elsa Pataky
Elsa Pataky
Elsa Lafuente Pataky is a Spanish actress.-Personal life:Pataky was born in Madrid, Spain, the daughter of José Francisco Lafuente, a Spanish biochemist, and Cristina Pataky Medianu, a publicist of Hungarian and Romanian ancestry. Pataky attended the Universidad de San Pablo CEU and studied...
and John Sharian
John Sharian
John Sharian is an American actor whose film credits include The Machinist and Saving Private Ryan and whose television credits include CSI: Miami and Spooks.-Education:...
. It is available on DVD from Lion's Gate Entertainment under the title Werewolf Hunt.
Synopsis
The story takes place in 1851 and deals with a small Spanish village apparently plagued by what we would now call a serial killerSerial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
, as corpses are discovered bearing both savage mutilation and precise surgical incisions. Clues point toward Manuel Romasanta (Julian Sands
Julian Sands
Julian M. Sands is an English actor, known for his roles in the Best Picture nominee The Killing Fields, the cult film Warlock, A Room with a View, Arachnophobia, Vatel, the television series 24 and as Jor-El in the television series Smallville.-Career:Sands began his film career appearing in...
), who confesses to the crimes, but claims that he is a victim of lycanthropy
Lycanthropy
Lycanthropy is the professed ability or power of a human being to undergo transformation into a werewolf, or to gain wolf-like characteristics. The term comes from Greek Lykànthropos : λύκος, lykos + άνθρωπος, ànthrōpos...
. A scientist, Professor Philips (David Gant), argues that Romasanta suffers not from a supernatural curse but from a mental disorder.
Based on a script by Alfredo Conde, according to the end credits the film is based on a true story, that of Manuel Blanco Romasanta
Manuel Blanco Romasanta
Manuel Blanco Romasanta is Spain’s first documented serial killer. In 1853 Romasanta admitted to thirteen murders, claiming he was not responsible as he was suffering from a curse that turned him into a wolf...
, Spain’s first documented serial killer. Conde is a descendant of one of the doctors involved the original Werewolf of Allariz court case that took place in 1953/54 in Galicia, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. He went on to write a fictional novel, The Uncertain Memoirs of a Galician Wolfman: Romasanta. The same case previously provided the basis for the 1968 Spanish film El bosque del lobo
El bosque del lobo
El Bosque del Lobo is a 1971 Spanish drama film about a werewolf directed by Pedro Olea. It is based on a novel by Carlos Martínez-Barbeito.-Cast:*José Luis López Vázquez ... Benito Freire*Amparo Soler Leal ... Pacucha...
("The Wolf's Forest").
Awards
Romasanta was nominated for a number of Spanish awards, including two Goya Awards (Best Cinematography + Best Special Effects) and two Barcelona Film Awards (Best Film Editing + Best New Director).Reception
In VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
, critic Jonathan Holland wrote: "Spinning something cinematically new out of lycanthropy is always a challenge, but director Paco Plaza intermittently achieves it with his sophomore feature. (...) Offbeat pic is cleverly ambiguous where it counts; however, it lacks dramatic focus. (...) Sands' wolfish visage provides an appropriately sexy combination of attraction and threat, and script is clever enough to coax out some sympathy for him during the final 20 minutes. As Barbara, Pataky turns in a career-best perf."