Ariella Broughton
It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.
Taha Avalos
The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.
Billy Ollie
Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
daniel-stilgard
KM31 is a very good horror-movie, because the actors acts very well and that the movie is good.I have not seen so much Spanish horror-movies, almost American horror-movies. KM31 is a very special horror-movie and is a classic of todays horror-movies.The costumes is very well-done and the directing by Rigoberto Castanéda is very well. Rigoberto can make so the actors acts very well behind the camera.I can recommended KM31 for people which like horror-movies with much exciting!
slayrrr666
"Kilómetro 31" is a rather impressive and fun, yet still slightly flawed ghost film.**SPOILERS**After her sister's accident, Catalina, (Iliana Fox) discovers that she was injured at a stretch of the road known to the locals as Kilometer 31. Along with her friend Nuno, (Adria Collado) and her boyfriend Omar, (Raul Mendez) she decides to head out to the area and find out more about the tragic accident. Reaching the town of the accident, they find that the locals are afraid of the stretch of the road due to a series of strange hauntings from a child-like ghost that haunts the area. When they come into contact with Anciana, (Luisa Huertas) an old woman who lives nearby, she tells them that the stories about it being haunted are true, and that the two sisters are more involved with the incidents than they are aware of. Using that to help them, they try to unravel the mystery before more people fall victim to the supernatural occurrences that plague the road.The Good News: This here wasn't all that bad of a film, and had some good parts going for it. The fact that the film has some really impressive atmosphere and suspense is something to be admired of. The opening in here works mainly because it was so unusual, as the ghostly figure running by in the nearly-invisible rainstorm on a darkened road is one of the single creepiest images ever, and the resulting scares with the car and the crash are just so much better because of it. The middle section, once they're out investigating the incidents feature some good parts, but these can't compare to the film's best part, the last half hour. This here is incredible, and is merely packed with atmosphere and suspense. Dank hospitals, foggy forests and subterranean tunnels, which are delivered with extra atmosphere due to the imminently chilling feature due to the fact that it constantly uses the tactic of having unseen, ghostly voices emanating from deeper within, make this section of the film so enjoyable it nearly wipes away the flaws by itself. It's the film at it's creepiest, and therefore most enjoyable moments. This is helped along by it's really nice pacing, since it gets fairly strong once it gets going and never really stops until the end, making it enjoyable for most of the running time as something's always happening. The last part here that works is the central story. As tired as it is, it serves as an excellent starting point for the action due to it's rather creative twist and clever points. These here are what really help the film along.The Bad News: This here had a few problems to it that hold it down. The main one here is that the film is just way too clichéd and familiar for it's own good. From the repetitive scares that feature something jumping out of nowhere with a loud musical sting to popping up in the most-expected places, this one here uses a lot of familiar tricks to it's trade. The over-used child figure of recent horror films from around the world is something else from that which holds this down. The fact that there's enough films that use the trick to begin with is something that will hurt some towards it, but by having one that doesn't do anything with it manages to give it a troubling feel. There's nothing new in here that it explores with the really unique story, as it's just so similar to all the other ghost films out there. Even worse, it uses the same tired scares as those other films, since there's a pale white ghost girl with long black hair as the main stalker here. It's all too familiar for its own good. The last flaw here is that the film has something of a confusing plot to it, never really sure where it's going and taking a really twisting view to get there. It starts off nicely with the mystery of the road and the ensuing accidents, but before long it drags away from there and becomes more about their back-story with the road than it is about the ghosts, and it changes around at the wrong time, when it was getting interesting with the other story, and isn't helped along by the meandering subplots about the twin sisters' past and their loves in the present. Those scenes are really long, boring and only serve to lengthen the film out, rather than providing answers from the back-story that's already been figured out. These here are the film's few flaws.The Final Verdict: Slightly clichéd and just a little flawed, this one here wasn't terrible either with a lot going for it as well, giving this one some merit. Give it a go if in the mood for something really unique and fun, have a strong love for Japanese ghost films or find it interesting, while those tired of such films should heed caution.Rated R: Violence, Language and children in danger
José Luis Rivera Mendoza (jluis1984)
Through the history of Mexican cinema, the horror genre has undergone a somewhat irregular development, as even when some excellent masterpieces of horror have been done at times, most of the times the horror movies done show more heart than talent, and even if the intentions are good the final product tends to lack quality in more than one aspect. To make things worse, the total production of horror movies has always been far below than the desired one, and even in the better days of Mexican cinema, horror was often relegated. Due to this reasons, it's always interesting whenever a new Mexican horror movie gets a release, as it's a new chance to make things right and redeem the genre once and for all. That's the reason why the brand new horror film, "Kilómetro 31", gathered so much hype on the days before its release, and while it certainly wasn't the horror film to save the genre, it has some good things going for it.While driving one night through the forests near Mexico City, Agata Hameran (Iliana Fox) has a terrible accident on kilometer 31 in which she loses her legs and falls into a coma. After that horrible night, her twin sister Catalina (also Iliana Fox) begins to feel a strong psychic connection with her sister, as Agata seems to be screaming desperately for help. Haunted by horrible nightmares and ghastly visions, Catalina decides to investigate what exactly happened that night on kilometer 31, hoping to end the pain her sister is suffering. So, with the help of her best friend Nuño (Adrià Collado) and Agata's boyfriend, Omar (Raúl Méndez), Catalina begins an investigation that will lead her to the mystery behind the strange series of accidents that have happened on kilometer 31 since the construction of the highway.Written by director Rigoberto Castañeda himself, the story of "Kilómetro 31" is an interesting reworking of many of the most iconic Mexican folk legends and ghost stories all mixed up into one single plot that while certainly modernized, retains that Mexican flavor that makes those legends so enjoyable. He also borrows many elements from the popular New Wave of Asian horror cinema that started in the late 90s, and attempts to adapt them into his own ghost story with some success, resulting into an interesting tale of mystery and horror. While the concept and back-story of the movie are quite interesting and really very well constructed, Castañeda's screenplay has a lot of problems in the development of its main story and its characters, mainly in the poor way most of the dialogs are written and the way the story gets unnecessarily complicated as a result of Castañeda's attempt to mix so many classic stories into one.As a director, Castañeda has a great eye for visual composition, and is able to create a very atmospheric movie pretty much in the style of "Ringu"'s director Hideo Nakata. However, unlike the Japanese movies that inspired him, Castañeda is more adept to use his many special effects, and he doesn't waste a chance to show off the excellent work of his visual effects team; in fact, through the film he seems to be more comfortable directing the special effects scenes than his human actors, and as a result, he doesn't manage to get a good quality in the cast's performances. Honestly, the work done by both the makeup department and the digital effects department is simply remarkable, probably the best work ever done in the history of Mexican cinema; however, Castañeda seems unable to find a balance and often overuses them in excess.As written above, the performances of the cast are nothing amazing, and truly hurt a film that certainly deserved better. As the Hameran sisters, Iliana Fox makes a very weak and unsympathetic lead character, almost like one of her characters in Mexican soap operas. Oddly enough, her character is one of the better written in the film, but she seems unable to pull off something good out from it. Spaniard actor Adrià Collado plays Nuño, making a very good performance and delivers the best acting in the film. As Agata's boyfriend, Omar, Raúl Méndez is simply good, nothing special, but considering the bad writing of his character, one could say he did a great job. Carlos Aragon and Luisa Huertas appear in minor roles, Aragon having a nice turn as Officer Ugalde and Huertas delivering a terribly bad performance (like Fox, in a very soap opera style) as the Old lady that guides Catalina.Due to its very noticeable similarities, "Kilómetro 31" could be considered a direct heir of that popular brand of Asian horror, as often through the film Castañeda shows the enormous influence those movies had in him. This is of course, a double edged sword, as due to his overuse of the conventions and clichés of Asian horror, Castañeda could easily be seen as a director without a style of his own and limited only to copy what has proved to be successful in Asia and the United States. The extreme reliance on special effects and jump scares to make his film "scary" is one major problem the movie has, as often those devises break the good atmosphere that Castañeda manages to create thanks to Alejandro Martínez' excellent cinematography (who clearly has improved his work).In the end, there is no doubt that "Kilómetro 31" is a work of excellent quality in its production, and with the intentions of being the horror movie to resurrect the Mexican horror genre, however, it's obvious that the intentions of making it "hip", "cool" and therefore commercially successful got in the middle of the making, resulting in an often derivative movie. It's a flawed film, but it's a nice effort that hopefully, will inspire more Mexican filmmakers to give a chance to horror. A final word of advice: if you hated Asian ghost stories, stay away from this film. 6/10
Paco Colmenares
I can try to forgive the mistakes of Km 31, but I know I will not forget. Whoever investigates the Mexican cinema just a little, will realize horror genre is not around for, at least, 15 years. This is not an excuse, but let you understand where we are and where are we trying to go. Yes, it is true, Km 31 failed in many aspects. It failed with a captivating closing or with empathic performances, with a rhythm that he never found, with jumping of images packed in good special effects, but surrounded with incomprehensible sequences. But if we are fair, it also had wise moves. It has sowed a seed of confidence and credibility. He has made us remember that our cinema is perfectible and not only condemnable. It reminded us that bogeys not only exist in Tennesse, voodoo in New Orleans or curses in Japan. It reminded us that also here they watch, they threaten and scare. He reminded to us that here also we have fantasy. I am sure that with the correct support, Km 31 can be the beginning of a new history in the cinema of terror. I hope that this way it should be.
