Errementari (2017) User Reviews

Errementari: My first Basque movie

[Platypuschow · 7/10 · 13 December 2018]

Saying this is my first Basque movie probably lacks impact since there are so few of them, but if this is what to expect from them then sign me up for more.

Yet another Netflix original it tells the story of a reclusive blacksmith who imprisons the demon he deems responsible for much of his misery.

It is arguably a dark fairytale, it looks the part, it sounds the part and the cast are fantastic. I had no idea what to expect going in but am certainly happy that I ended up giving it a chance.

It's very hard to categorize Errementari as it has fantasy roots but plays out much like a horror. It's grim, it's dark, its pretty unforgiving yet it has its heart in the right place and doesn't lose atmosphere in favor of needless impact. It has themes with religion, sacrifice and loss, which makes it even more fascinating and relatable.

It had me gripped early, partially because there simply isn't enough of this type of movie out there. It's deep, it's rich and I really enjoyed it. Sure it's not without its flaws, but nothing can take away from it's originality and overwhelming charm.

Good job!

The Good:

Looks great

Truly stands out from everything else on Netflix

The Bad:

Certain things are ridiculous and unexplained

Should have been a tad longer

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Thin twigs don't make for the most intimidating weapons

Dolls are immortal and cannot be killed by mere decapitation

We need more movies like this!

Surprising and astonishing fantasy/horror film with psychotronic elements

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 24 November 2020]

Devilishly entertaining and fun terror and touches of black comedy about a kid and a blacksmith who become involved in terrible situations. As a Blacksmith : Kandido Uranga has captured a nasty demon, but things go wrong when a little girl , without knowing his badness , releases him . Then , the Blacksmith is chased by the townfolk , and he finds himself at the end of a lynch mob that have come searching for the missing child . Not all tales always have a happy ending.

Errementari or El Herrero or Blacksmith is a retelling of an old fable about a Blacksmith who finds himself battling the Devil as well as saving a little girl from inferno. It contains fabulous effects specials, attractive production design, impressive make-up and wonderful, iconography from inferno , in fact, demons and other horrible figures are taken from Medieval paintings , frescoes , legends and old films as Haxan by Benjamin Christensen. The film is spoken in Basque language but due to its surprising great hit has been dubbed to a lot of languages to export all around the World . All cast give nice acting , however , being unknown , exception for Kandido Uranga who has starred various films , usually as a secondary and a brief role by Itziar Ituño , formerly the participation in Money Heist or La Casa De Papel.

It packs a colorful and sinister cinematography by Gorka Gómez Andreu. Being shot on location in various gorgeous woods from Basque Country as El Pobal , Ubide, Bizkaia, Agorregi, Vitoria-Gasteiz . The motion picture was competently directed by Paul Urkijo Alijo at his first one . It won several prizes and nominations such as : Winner Fantaspoa International Fantastic Film Festival to Artistuc contribution : Paul Urkijo. Grossman Fantastic Film and Wine Festival winner Best Film . San Sebastián Horror y Fantasy Film Festival Winner Best Feature . Goya Awards 20109 Nominee Best Specual Effects : Jon Serrano, David Heras .Motelx Festival International Lisboa de Cinema Terror Nominee Best European Feature Film Award, among others.

Basque Folklore Visualized

[SomaQuest · 6/10 · 16 October 2018]

An intriguing visualization of a classic Basque folklore tale representing the hubris of humankind and the question of what is good and evil. Oddly rewarding and disappointing at the same time; rewarding in the sense of a well designed period piece and visualization of a region-specific folktale, but disappointing in the casting choices and acting methods of some of the roles.

I was impressed with the boldness of the religious hypocrisy portrayed in this film as well as the representation of Hell as seen from the 19th century Christian church. I find it interesting how different cultures find similarities in Hell while completely changing other facets of its representation.

Although I would not recommend multiple viewings of this film, and in the end it left me a bit underwhelmed, I would recommend a single watch simply to see a film version of this folktale and how the director and writers viewed their version of Hell.

Wonderful tale in an Old World style

[sarahampton1 · 14 October 2018]

I have never reviewed a movie on IMDB before but I was moved to since someone gave this a 1 rating then only copied the plot verbatim. I found this to be immensely enjoyable. Even with the dubbed dialogue and the captioning that didn't quite agree, it had a wonderful feel of old midevil Europe. The make up on the demons was so 1950s I felt I was enjoying an old Lon Chaney movie. Great direction and great special effects. Pop some corn and grab a Coke and a blanket and kick back for an hour and a half of running with the devil!

A enjoyable Dark Folktale

[ThatSlackerOnSci-Fi · 6/10 · 19 October 2018]

A few days ago I stumbled across this film, I expected nothing but it looked interesting and so I gave it a watch. What I got was a well told Basque folktale, that whilst not impressive acting or some visuals (although for such a small budget, even though goofy, the practical effects are really well done) but impressed me is how unique the story is. You get a sense of morality vs religion, which was especially important In the 19th Century of where this film is set. All in all, its a very entertaining movie, you get an interesting story that gives some damn good Horror Fantasy elements that were often gripping.

The thing is, the movie is interesting, especially if you're interested in mythology or movies like the Witch (2016) or Pan's Labyrinth. Whilst not as good as those two, especially in the acting at points, I was definitely entertained. Good movie to watch during the lead up to Halloween. It may not be a film that needs in-depth analysis, I'm not going to spoil anything because that would ruin the experience for you but give it a watch. I was personally mixed on the film, I enjoyed it a lot but some elements were underwhelming. Looking for a foreign folk tale, this movie is probably for you, it'd recommend it, there's some great vision here, come in with an open mind and you won't be disappointed.

Interesting story and good entertainment...

[paul_haakonsen · 6/10 · 14 April 2021]

Well, where to start with "Errementari"?

First of all, I have to say that "Errementari" is not your average fantasy horror movie. It has a pretty straight forward storyline, sure, but writers Paul Urkijo Alijo, Asier Guerricaechebarría and Paul Urkijo Alijo managed to squeeze so much more out of the storyline than just your average fantasy horror movie.

What works for "Errementari" is the setting, because it definitely feels very believable and realistic, and that definitely works well in favor of the movie and the atmosphere of the movie. The props, costumes and sets were really nice and there had really been paid attention to small details. And that showed on the screen.

The storyline is good, because it is a very interesting story. And it is very nicely compiled, told and paced by director Paul Urkijo Alijo, slowly building up the intensity and then completely throwing a curve ball to the audience. I liked the plot twists there were along the way. I hadn't foreseen those, so they were very interesting and surprising. Something that really brought the storyline nicely along.

It should also be said that the acting performances in the movie were good, and the actors and actresses cast for the roles really carried the movie well, as they put on good performances.

The special effects were good as well, and I do love practical creature effects. And trust me, the creature designs and effects in "Errementari" were fabulous. I love those. And they make it well-worth to sit down and watch the movie.

"Errementari" was a nice surprise of an entertaining movie for me. It was not one I had expected much from, to be bluntly honest. If you enjoy a good old fashioned horror movie, then "Errementari" is a good choice.

My rating of this 2017 Basque fantasy horror movie lands on a well deserved six out of ten stars.

Interesting if a little odd

[Ar_Pharazon_the_golden · 7/10 · 23 October 2018]

A very old and common myth, apparently, is shown here in the version told in Basque tradition. I liked seeing a film shot in Basque, and there are lots of things done well in the film. The photography and scenery is excellent, the critical view of rural village life is recognisable, and the acting is overall good - what can be seen as a problem is the light-hearted approach to the story. While I don't mind such a film not taking itself seriously, it is true that the material could produce a powerfully dark horror story. Instead we have a pretty goofy demon. It seems wrong at first glance, but let's remember this is a retelling of a folk tale. It is likely this approach, with the clumsy demon and the back and forth trips to hell is closer to the traditional story - and I cannot fault the filmmakers for making this choice.

Idiotic Drivel

[mcjensen-05924 · 3/10 · 4 November 2018]

The number of positive reviews on this utter mess of a film is certainly baffling. Cinematography was decent and makeup was quite well done, but that's not enough to hold a movie together at all. Horrendous acting was the biggest anchor here, dragging it down to mediocre silliness. Very annoying characters, especially the demon. Any supposed horror movie that has a demon being a whiny sniveling wuss just fell apart. Watch The Apostle. It's at least clever.

Utterly baffled why this movie is only rated a 6.4

[bachemar · 8/10 · 3 December 2018]

I don't know if the dubbed version just sucks or what. While not any kind of "purist" I watched this movie subbed. I'm sure some of the folklore bits sailed over my American head, but this movie is absolutely amazing. The acting, superb. For what isn't a blockbuster movie, the special effects are quite good. The whole feel of the world has a fantastic dark fairytale reality. If you're looking for a slasher movie, this isn't it. But it's a charming fascinating and beautiful retelling of an old folktale sprinkled with some comedic bits. Seeing it on Netflix I actually thought it was going to be a piece of schlocky European horror. Boy was I wrong.

Beautiful looking folk tale let down by mediocre dubbing

[halcyonbear · 7/10 · 28 October 2018]

Visually intriguing, this film reminded me a lot of Jim Henson's massively enjoyable The Storyteller. The production design of The Devil may well be stylised but that only adds to the fact that this is essentially a traditional folk tale. The only thing that really spoiled this for me is that there wasn't a subtitled version available. I prefer to watch foreign films in their original language. I don't find subtitles distracting but am put off by mouths moving differently to the words being spoken, particularly when the film seems to have a small number of voiceover actors speaking for a large number of characters. That said, the visual aspects of the film do compensate for this minor disappointment.

Just awful

[mattangley · 3/10 · 29 November 2018]

Im struggling to understand why there are so many positive reviews. This movie was atrocious. Initially this movie looked really promising. The trailer depicted a chilling take on a classic fable, but there were several things that just made this movie crumble.

I'll start with the good things. The cinematography is very good. Very well shot and the scenery created a great mood. The special effects and makeup was 10/10. Very good depiction of the gates of hell, very good makeup on the demons. But this is sadly where the positives end.

Onto the negatives. The writing and acting of the demon was just flat out bad. He was literally the village idiot of hell. There's simply no other way to put it. He's goofy, silly, incompetent and uses cliche Lines like "come closer little girl and I'll tell you" I couldn't take this character seriously, especially when you're expecting a horror movie. If anyone remembers the SNL skit where will Farrell plays the part of the devil. That was absolutely this demon. He sounded and looked just like him. I half thought this was a joke, which I actually would have preferred. At least then there would have been an excuse for the terrible acting.

There was a scene towards the end where one of the other demons hadn't seen the main demon in a long time and they started casually talking like they were at the water cooler at work. Literally saying things like "where have you been? Good to see you. We didn't think you were coming back". I was literally laughing at this point. Finally, as cool as they made the gates of hell look and what I imagine was the devil, this magnificent beast was brought down by...wait for it...chick peas? Apparently demons have a thing about counting chick peas when they're spilled out on the ground? The blacksmith beat the devil with chick peas... I'm at a loss for words. This movie would absolutely rock if they didn't hire SNL writers to write the movie. Save yourself the time and don't watch this atrocity

Great Piece of Story-telling

[wdexkin · 9/10 · 14 October 2018]

What a great find I stumbled on. So refreshing to watch a film, which does not have to rely on big budgets and flashy special effects. Simply a great piece of story-telling, like watching a live theatre show.

Entertaining!

[truemythmedia · 7/10 · 21 June 2019]

As a whole, I enjoyed this film far more than I thought I would. It was incredibly different than what I thought it would be when I went into it, and for that I am glad. When I started the movie, I expected it to be a semi-schlocky horror flick with a high body count and some cool effects, but instead I was met with a thoughtful folk story with some interesting twists, beautiful production design, and more heart that I ever would've expected. While I can say for certain that this movie is not for everyone, I can say that the right audience will be entertained. For hundreds of other reviews, articles, and podcast episodes visit True Myth Media!

Watcheable

[atishnramdonee · 4/10 · 6 July 2019]

I admit that this was an original production but it felt like more like of tale you could hear from someone really old living in a remote village, than a movie.

It felt like a story within a story, narrated in such a way to remain concise, leaving the smooth transition. Of course, the movie was not entirely so mechanical, but I would have preferred if they had re-worked certain parts of the movie which felt overplayed, and then on filling the gaps in the plot.

Any specific example would be spoilers - and I don't want that.

Then the way the devil is portrayed in the movie, felt so ridiculous - albeit most probably true to folklore - that it didn't make me twinge the slightest: it really started feeling more comical than scary from that point onwards. I feel like this movie might appeal to a very specific type of crowd.

As I said, it was going on pretty well until the devil made its apparition - a devil who's basically more of a wimp than anything else. I also admit that the fact that I was expecting something more horrific from this devil, which obviously did not happen, had me bummed out, but all in all, I love the physical and time settings of the movie: it was eerie, dark, and the actors played it in a way that it felt like they were true to the people of that time.

A pretty good movie.

[therskybznuiss · 6/10 · 17 May 2021]

This movie is a pretty good movie.

A decent little deviation from your average Demonic horror or in this case, Dark fantasy/historical-fantasy movie.

I feel like it's initial vision set out much stronger than the end product, though that's no fault of the actor's and maybe not the director.

I was entertained enough to pull through to the end, and that's enough.

Quite good...

[GreyHunter · 7/10 · 16 June 2019]

I've had this one in my Netflix queue for some time now, and finally decided to watch it. At first, I was regretting my decision -- from the initial scenes, it seemed like propaganda would be a dominant element. Knowing little about the politics of the region but quite aware of the violent and militant nature of their history, I neither understood what viewpoint was being sold nor cared about who was in the right. Soon, however, these elements faded (for the most part -- when you're selling the representative of the government as a literal demon, you're certainly not keeping it neutral) and it became a damned good story with well-designed historical set pieces and a general grim and gritty cinematography that captured the milieu quite well. It's not a clean-cut cutesy portrait of a past era -- this is a hellfire and brimstone fairy tale with all the griminess and unsettling design that one would expect.

Some aspects I found a little puzzling, but most, if not all, of those could be written off as being caused by my unfamiliarity with Basque culture. While, ideally, a movie (or book or play or whatever) should be accessible to all audiences, whether through basic knowledge or judicious in-work exposition, there weren't any real impediments to understanding and enjoying the movie. I've certainly seen worse cross-cultural obscurity in much more popular genres, like certain Japanese folkloric horrors or baffling German porn.

All in all, quite an ambitious and well-made film, unapologetically based in traditional imagery and general Christian thematics. Probably not a date night film, and not exactly a horror film except in very medieval sense, but quite worth watching.

Nice tale..

[daflixx · 7/10 · 27 January 2019]

The trailer was kinda bizarre and i didnt know what to expect. In the end its no horror flick but a very watchable tale you might even tell your children. It seems to be an adaptation of some basque folklore. The (german) dubs were ok. The visuals were good and created a nice atmosphere.

I think it might be cursed, will call on my Christian brothers and sisters for guidance

[knlukey · 4/10 · 24 November 2021]

I admired the story and its artistic, philosophical execution. HOWEVER: Either I'm going crazy or this is really happening. After watching, I've been experiencing horrible anxiety and intrusive thoughts about my death and how it'll feel as well as what comes after we pass. Maybe it's in my head, but this is so out of the blue and feels so intense. In other words, the movie hit me deep. Again, it's most likely just in my head, but just to he safe, I reached out to some fellow Christians for extra guidance. Crazy how a movie holds so much power literally and metaphorically.

Visually well-done dark fable

[jwwalrath-227-85487 · 8/10 · 22 October 2018]

Currently out on Netflix, Errementari is a Basque film, a dark fairy tale kind of like the Brothers Grimm based on a European fable. In it, a young girl comes across a blacksmith who has trapped a demon.

The whole thing is well done. It captures the roughness of original fairy tales without trying to make this a straight-out horror movie.

The best part is the whole look of the thing. The demon design is based on medieval drawings of Hell. The demons have this retro look that is both fun, but also a little unsettling.

Alluring Del Toro Lite

[Left_Hand_of_Dog · 7/10 · 14 July 2021]

Errementari is a strange film, and seems to approximate what you get when you mingle a tonality and visual style reminiscent of Guillermo Del Toro (specifically Pan's Labyrinth), an obsession with Catholic myth, and quality lower budgeted filmmaking.

Much like Pan's Labyrinth, the story centers around a girl in historical Spain (I forget when exactly, maybe 1800's? I'm a pro reviewer!) who is being raised by the minister of a small town. Her mother committed suicide shortly after she was born, and she don't believe in no Gods and Devils! On the outskirts of town, there is a blacksmith, an errementari, who, according to legend, has made a deal with the devil. The narrative goes in some pretty wild directions, and I won't spoil too much, but it turns out this is true, and he's got one of the demons under lock and key.

You can synthesize the preliminary narrative thrust here pretty well by the trailer, which appreciably does not spoil the whole movie, as many modern trailers tend to do:

The look of the film is something that comprises both a point of praise and, perhaps for some, equally a point of contention. The movie is generally very good looking, impressing the viewer with lots of deep cold blues and heated reds, and both color temperatures are imbued with an appreciable mistiness. The cinematography is quality, and the production design, especially, I found to be really impressive. Much of the time is spent in and around the blacksmith's hut, and the reliance on visual motifs like crosses and spikes both looks cool and serves the general vicious Catholic spirit that imbues the movie. What some people might take umbrage with, and may distract them, is that the devil is quite clearly a guy in a rubber devil costume. Personally, I love this choice. Whether the inspiration for it was budgetary, or simply an homage to the monster pictures of the pre-2000's, when such concessions were technically necessary for lack of computer graphics, give me a rubber costume any day. Even The Lord of the Rings knows the glory of this. The Hobbit not so much.

It's a good costume, as well. Possibly the best you could do in bringing a devil to life through latex, but it does stretch believability somewhat, and this keys into a tonal point about Errementari. Like the costume, the film rides a curious line between good cinema and a good B movie. It establishes tension fairly well throughout, with good camera work, great acting, and the aforementioned cinematography and production design, but often crosses the line into schlockier territory where the tension was surmounted by a silliness that had me either smiling or laughing. This is particularly pronounced towards the end, in a wonderful scene I won't spoil, but you'll know it when you see it.

The point here is that all things considered, the tone might not jive with some people. It's not entirely consistent, as the line is blurred between a serious narrative and fun, slightly goofy, rubber-monster elements, but I thrive in this environment. It scratches the Well Done Movie itch as much as it scratches the Reel Weirdo itch, if you get my drift, and almost feels like a remake of some classic 80's flick in some regards, right down to the plotline, which toys with revenge, redemption, damnation, and familial entwinement in a classic sense. It's very much like a weirdo fairy tale, and as easy as it is to draw Guillermo Del Toro inferences, I could just as easily see this being a movie Lucio Fulci made for 7 dollars in 1989, but resurrected by a good modern filmmaker.

FINAL TAKE: In all, I quite enjoyed my time in Errementari, although it's a little hard to know who to recommend it to. I think Pan's Labyrinth is probably a good metric, in that regard. You have a little girl facing down mythological forces, a fair degree of darkness in both the tone and narrative elements, and a tone that flits between serious and slightly silly. It must be said that this is certainly not the equal of Del Toro's masterpiece (almost nothing is), but if this sounds like it might be up your alley, I'd give it a shot. There's some really fun stuff here.

I'm confused

[Emanuel_Troskot · 4/10 · 16 October 2018]

I don't know where to put this movie. Horror? Comedy? It is neither. The scenery was good, but at some points it was off because of the pretty bad/amateur special effects. Still 8/10 for scenery. Story wasn't really good written, it did not make much sense and when you add really bad acting together with that, well you end up disappointed but amused. I wanted to quit watching after first 20 minutes, then after 40 minutes again, but I somwhow managed to watch the movie to the end (I was very bored during the movie but that is just my feel on it, maybe not yours, give it a shot). There is good comedy in this movie but it is not enough to tag it as a comedy. And for a horror, well there was absolutely no horror in there. Overall I felt like I was watching an expensive theater play and I feel it would be a great piece to go and look with this acting and writing. Score is 3,71 so I'm rounding it up to a 4/10.

Great storytelling

[jaydeetrotamundos · 10/10 · 17 October 2018]

I'm not sure what is not to like about this movie. Although I don't mind horror movies, this was told in a way without any cheap scare tactics and drawn out suspense scenes. I enjoyed the characters of the story and was very pleasantly surprised at how well the costumes and special effects were. Not top budget special effects but what they used served this kind of movie perfectly.

What might seem like a very dark, scary horror movie on the surface ends up being a very interesting story delivered in a way that I think a wider audience will enjoy. I'm sure it would be disturbing for small children, but it certainly won't keep any teenagers or adults awake at night.

If the description of the movie that IMDB gives sounds like something your interested in, then give it a shot. I think you will end up enjoying this foreign gem.

One last note, I watched it in its original language with subtitles. I don't know if watching it dubbed in English would take away from the experience or not.

Nice Surprise

[Tweetienator · 7/10 · 4 April 2022]

This one took me by surprise - the story, a kind of fairy tale with elements of horror, a fine production, solid acting. No doubt, among all those bad to ueber-bad movies (not the good bad kind) that are sold to us, Errementari is a little shining jewel. Recommended, if you like to watch movies like Sleepy Hollow, The Cursed (2021), The VVitch, The Others, Red Riding Hood (2011), and Legend. Exact rating: 6.5.

meh Bore fest Novelty film.

[oliversep · 2/10 · 27 May 2019]

The only thing this movie has going for it is the novelty of " Basque". Terrible writing + terrible acting. It is a bore fest with action sprinkled in to keep you from falling asleep.

This is a clever picture with great cinematography and a unique premise

[kevin_robbins · 6/10 · 21 April 2022]

Errementari (2017) is a Spanish horror film I recently watched on Netflix. The storyline follows a little girl who loses part of her doll on the wrong side of a blacksmith's wall. When she sneaks over to the other side of the wall she discovers a blacksmith who has spent his entire life keeping a demon hostage... This discovery will change her course in life forever.

This movie is directed by Paul Urkijo Alijo in his directorial debut and stars Kandido Uranga (The Girl in the Mirror), Eneko Sagardoy (The Giant), Ramón Agirre (The Day of the Beast) and Josean Bengoetxea (All the Flowers).

The premise and storyline for this is very unique and entertaining. The settings, cinematography and use of light is absolutely fantastic. The demon in this is clever and the costume and makeup is pretty well done. The blacksmith and environment he created was outstanding. I loved how the storyline comes full circle. I can't say I loved the final few depictions of hell and various events that take place there, but the overall ending is good and well done.

Overall this is a clever picture with great cinematography and a unique premise. I would score this a 6/10 and recommend seeing it once.