SECOND NAME

Shaken by her father's suicide, Daniella begins an investigation that soon leads her to discover many uncomfortable truths. Her beloved father, whom she trusted blindly, hid a dark side; he was one of the leaders of a sect of religious fanatics who, interpreting the Holy Scriptures in a distorted way, sacrificed the firstborn of every family. Suddenly, the people and places around her begin to appear in a different light. Under the apparent calm of the small community, the girl realizes she is no longer safe... Produced by Filmax, the Spanish factory of Julio Fernández now specialized in horror (to which we owe small gems like "Darkness", "Nameless" and "Dagon"), and adapted from the novel "The Pact Of The Father" by Ramsey Campbell, "Second Name" is the second feature film directed by the twenty-nine-year-old Spaniard Paco Plaza. A good film, clearly inspired by the classic "Rosemary's Baby", but while in Polanski's film the acceptance of living with evil seemed, in the end, like an obligatory choice, Plaza poses the question in different terms: is it right to accept the compromise or is it better to remain true to oneself even at the cost of losing everything? The plot is that of a "classic" horror film (cold settings, dark colors, gothic music, secret sects and demonic forces ready to unleash) and a pace far from excellent, but thanks to Plaza's solid direction, the excellent performances of the protagonists (very inspired is Erica Prior's performance) and a very intriguing story with a black, dark and hopeless ending, the film ultimately turns out to be a resurrected work. Among the negative points, certainly to be noted is the choice to include a completely out-of-place character like that of the inspector in charge of the investigations, sing. Potts, depicted as a real caricature: black mustache, raincoat at least two sizes too big for him, always uncertain and unprepared about everything; a character absolutely unsuited to a horror film, and even more so to a horror film with dark and sordid atmospheres like "Second Name". We are not at the level of "Nameless" and "Darkness", but those who appreciated the settings and style of the two horror films by Balagueró (especially the first one) will be satisfied with this "Second Name" as well.