User reviews

Movie is a hilarious wanna be thriller that couldn't decide if it wants to make us laugh or anticipate how the story will evolve! The movie tries to be serious at some point but fails gloriously! Overall, good choice for a non-sense night!

Such an amazing, beautiful and complex way of telling a story, of showing emotions, fear, love and that magnificent instinct to stay alive no matter what.

Very few flaws in this one, mostly a perfect ride, with many bumps and quick turns, an idea executed with such skill, you won't believe it till you'll see it. I was on the edge of my seat, waiting to see what happens next, the element of "new" being always present here, keeping the viewer's interest to the top. Except the ending, which you can anticipate it easily and perhaps dislike an element or two, The Bar is another Spanish thriller masterpiece. Glad I got to put my eye on it.

Thus and furthermore, highly recommended. If you wanna see horror, scares, but presented in a different way, then go for it. You won't jump but surely enough you'll sit quietly in your seat, drawn to it more and more.

Cheers!

Well, what to say about Alex de la Iglesia's latest black comedy thriller...other than, it's a wild ride, that I could see it pissing a lot of people off, because it purposefully leaves a whole load of massive loose ends wide open.

As if to say...it's more about the journey, than the destination...or starting point, for that matter.

It starts off with a bang. Well...two, actually.

And it only get's weirder from their...

At first no one knows what's going on...so paranoia kicks in. And, inevitably, everyone starts to turn on each other.

This portion of the film is a bit of a mystery...but at least it is saturated with dark humour.

As twist after twist is introduced, it takes you on this journey through extreme paranoia...as you try and figure out what the hell is going on (alongside the characters...who are great, by the way).

But you never do! Making the whole thing about trust vs paranoia, and where that will get you in the end.

On this ride, you will experience laughter, anger, frustration, discomfort, tension, fear and disgust.

As with all de la Iglesia flicks, it's pretty dialogue heavy...with action reserved for the second act.

But the whole thing is downright hilarious...as conspiracy theories turn to germophobic paranoia, when a diseased man is found in the bathroom, dying from some unknown virus, with a syringe in his hand- having just injected himself with the antidote...only...too late.

His dying words are, "don't touch me"...but it's likely they are all already infected anyways...and there are more bodies than syringes with the antidote...so, drama ensues from there.

If you enjoy films based around a twisted sense of humour, that like to mess with your head...then you will certainly enjoy this film.

But you really have to keep an open mind- and get rid of your expectations- or you will get caught up in traditional complaints that don't really apply here...and it will ruin your chance to enjoy the film.

With that being said...I thought it was a hoot! Got me riled up and right into; made me laugh; made me angry; and triggered my germophobia (meaning i'd have probably been dead pretty early on haha).

Fans already familiar with Iglesia will enjoy this the most...but anyone with an open enough mind can hop on for one helluva wild ride.

Just leave those expectations at the door.

7 out of 10.

El Bar is yet another good Spanish horror/thriller movie.

It doesn't give you much scares and is a bit predictable, but the plot is good, well explored and the characters/actors did a good job.

It was a simple story but at the end something kind of felt to be missing. There's no satisfying pay off to the story but the ride is good and fun.

Worth a watch

Seen at the Berlinale 2017. Turns out to be a knockout competition, something like And Then There Were None (aka Ten Little N****rs) by Agatha Christie. Since the whodunit becomes clear after 15 minutes, further proceedings are very different from said book in all respects, except for the fact that someone dies at regular intervals. Key question: How far will you go to save yourself at the expense of others, especially when those others are strangers. And is the choice very different when it involves someone who nauseated you at first sight, or had some prejudice against for whatever reason?? We see it all happening, in many variations, in this tense thriller. There are a few comedy elements to alleviate the tension from time to time, but the depressing core conclusion is that humans are self-serving by definition, and only care for others when they expect to get something in return.

The starting point is nothing out of the ordinary. A random collection of people, most of them strangers to one another, who happened to pass by and came into the bar for a variety of reasons. They suddenly find themselves against a common but initially unknown enemy. Our religious upbringing taught us that everyone is basically good, and prepared to help others in need. But our natural attitude changes in reverse as soon as we feel threatened. So this becomes the very opposite of a "All for one, one for all" story. Of the most remarkable observations in this movie is how drastically people change when they get hold of a loaded gun. We see that a few times, each time with other people, but the net effect is similar for all of them, even for people who we thought to be above sheer egoism.

There is no need to spoil what is going on and what will happen after that. Trust me that subsequent events are unpredictable, and makes one wonder if even a single one of the bar visitors will survive. And to test your own conscience: if there would be one survivor, who would you prefer to be the lucky one, versus who would you consider not worth living any further and better die in the process?? Prepare yourself for a very tense 1h45min. The whole running time is full of surprises. There is no time to consult your watch, as not a single minute is wasted. The final question is left for the viewer: would you have behaved much better than anyone in this group??

I don't write reviews often, but felt there was something to be said about this stylish, yet very dumb film.

The film orbits around a group of people trapped in a bar for completely outlandish reasons. The dialogue starts off well, even coming across as very organic. But very quickly the downward spiral begins: characters start making very idiotic decisions, and engage in increasingly cartoonish behaviour.

There is little else to be said other than the last hour of the film is quite annoying to watch. All conflict feels forced, the characters start to slot into stereotypes, and the jokes fall flatter.

I don't think I would watch this again. 3/10

I'll preface this by saying this is probably not a film for everyone, but I greatly enjoyed it. The essential plot idea is there are several strangers in a bar in Madrid when a shooting happens right outside the door, and they find themselves trapped together for reasons I won't spoil.

What follows is a tense psychological thriller about human nature, and a what-would- you-do-if-it-happened-to-you type of story line. It's written well, with moments of humor that land incredibly well without breaking the line of suspense being pulled tighter and tighter as the story goes on. It's definitely brutal at times, make no mistake there, but I was caught up in it and along for the ride to the very end.

I don't know exactly what I expected of this movie... I chose to see it as I mostly like Spanish movies as they are kinda weird and original. This one can be said it is weird and original, but something was missing...

First half of the movie I had a feeling I am watching a piece of theater. Also, I had a feeling I am watching some of those Spanish telenovelas. I see people say it is dark comedy but I did not find anything funny or laughable - well, maybe some unprobable scenes.

The last 20 minutes of the film are the most interesting.

As for the theme of the film, I think it is told in a rather not good way. And also, the people are reacting way too ...dramatic in non believable way...

I get what they wanted to say with this movie - but I do not think they said it well.

6 from me.

p.s. The intro to the film was kinda creepy.

This movie is insane! Some parts will make you cringe! Ugh... Worth the watch! lol

This is an engaging little movie. People in small bar, drinking, eating, chatting. One leaves and is killed. Who killed him? What's going on?

Fear becomes terror. Puzzlement becomes hysteria. Ordinary folks turn on each other and show that casual interactions tell you nothing about what people will do when threatened. Soon you pick who is the most annoying and eligible for removal but there is a lot of action and cross talk before the herd is culled.

The movie could stand shortening. It does drag several times and could eliminate some of the predictable elements. It has some good acting but at least one character severely in need of a delousing has way too big a part, especially given his fondness for spouting religious verses at the drop of a tick.

Hollywood could run with this story. Two juicy roles for young male and female. Two for two older guys, one with a past, one with hidden proclivity. And a rarity, two roles for older women, with just enough opportunity for some scene chewing histrionics. Small set, low budget, faster pace, great opportunity for young director. Gotta work on that ending, though.

7 for me, It leaves a bad taste in a way, if you know what I mean.

I had no idea what i was in for. What a journey, psychological thriller with amazing actors, especially the drunk guy. At times it became a dark comedy. There is never a dull moment in this movie about the choices one makes to survive, how your human nature and self flaws makes you act and react to others. I absolutely loved the movie, the pace, the acting, the rush, the trill, i got involved in their actions. The story is gripping and engaging, don't let you be put down for being a foreign movie. A must see movie.

The movie tries to be a mix of black comedy and thriller, but nothing about it is really humorous and the attempts to be funny does not let you take it seriously. So I did not laugh, did not smile, and did not care for any of the characters. To top it off, the movie ends without you fully knowing what actually happened.

An intense survival thriller that starts small and evolves into monstrous look at the dark side of humanity. When 2 customers of a bar in Madrid are shot down as they leave suspicion lies behind all the eyes of the remaining customers, recriminations abound and who if any of them is responsible? A very adept look at human paranoia and the depths a person will go to to save themselves. Neither a comedy or a horror as some reviews I've read here interpret the film as but a tense, claustrophobic thriller that deserves a much higher rating than it currently has.

A breadth of characters find themselves in a strange situation inside a bar in Madrid. They are there because different reasons and coincidences, some of them know each other but others are just passersby.

When they are confronted with the thrill, anxiety and fear of the inexplicable events that happen in the surroundings and they are closed in the suffocating bar atmosphere, each is going to react differently. And how one of them wisely points out, you show your real personality in limit situations.

It's a nice way of spending a couple of hours, it has the right amount of thriller and funny situations, the actors perform an excellent work and you'll not look at your watch or mobile phone during the entire movie.

A committee wanted to make a movie. So there you have it. Conspiracy theory. And survival drama. And horror chase. And each member made its movie. And there was none to make an ending.

To me this is clearly the best film out of De la Iglesia´s last streak. Again it´s pure lunacy but this time I found the mix of comedy and horror to be a complete win. "El bar" keeps a frantic rhythm right until the glorious end and manages to remain funny in the last act, which is rare. While "Las brujas de Zugarramundi" was like three movies in one, going from thriller to mystery to horror, "El bar" is all three all the time. It can also be as disgusting as hilarious, which is expected, but this time the social criticism is more subtle than it may seem at first. At least it´s not a big part of it and the ending still comes as a surprise.

The human drama is far more effective this time as well and the character´s confrontations are stronger and deeper. It holds back the pure action scenes so we get less of that "hyper-fast-digital-camera-thing" (I must look up what it is exactly but it definitely is annoying). What we get instead is a long series of nail-biting conflicts, which are far more interesting, and there is hardly a dull moment. Overall I felt De la Iglesia was more in control than ever.

It probably isn´t as good as "La comunidad" but it might be funnier. I wasn´t exactly pleased with De la Iglesia´s last films but I had a terrific time watching this. One thing to non-spanish speakers, though, it must be a nightmare to watch this with subtitles. Good luck.