(https://i.imgur.com/xpXcisM.png)
Studio: Arrow Video
Release Date: 3/17/2026
Rating: NR, but I’d rate it a soft R
Film Grade: C
The Story: It’s a big day for Norman. His girlfriend, Alison, has asked him to accompany her to a huge birthday party for her father and uncle, taking place in the family’s historic Royal Fulton Hotel. There’s a lot of pressure, as Norman’s not used to socializing in ritzy events, and he has his own idea for making the evening special. What he doesn’t realize is that he’s not the only one with big surprises planned for the evening.
My Take: This Spanish horror movie has a long and interesting history. While it was filmed over 20 years ago, it never had a wide release, despite some attention from festival showings. It wasn’t until it grabbed Jordan Peele’s attention that the film got enough recognition for a 4K release and restoration through The Alamo Drafthouse. The unusual movie has also caught the attention of Quentin Tarantino and Guillermo del Toro, so you know that it will have something special to offer, and it does.
Things start slowly as the mousy pizza restaurant worker is painfully out of place, wearing his uncle’s dated tuxedo to the glitzy event. A conversation with Alison immediately prior to the party carries the awkward feeling one gets when watching a David Lynch film, with neither participant fully hearing the other. It’s a feature shared with much of the dialog, feeling partially disconnected from reality and almost dreamlike. Things casually drift from odd to weird, keeping the audience guessing what’s really going on. By the time we get to the third act, it’s gone completely gonzo with unimaginable stakes for far more than those just staying at the hotel.
Production values and filming techniques are far above the budget of the film. Shot on the grounds of a former hospital that was turned into an ersatz film studio, the crew has done a remarkable job creating an old, but believable hotel setting, including a grand ballroom. The set design carries over the unsettling vibe with imaginative props and features. Complementing that styling, there’s some above average filming techniques that aren’t usually seen in movies of this size.
The problems come from the narrative and pacing. The first and second act build slowly, with each new scene adding to the oddities going on in the hotel. By the time the third act gets into gear there’s too much plot left to jam in, which throws off the pacing. The audience doesn’t have the chance to process the new developments, so it feels too sudden and out of place with the prior events.
Corey Feldman plays Norman with an unusual accent, further separating him from the high society guests, where he’s clearly already out of place. It’s worth noting that this is far from the characters he’s typically given. Alison is portrayed by Erica Prior as the rich daughter, who’s motives are unclear, with the audience left to guess what might ever have brought them together. Her father is played by the prolific Jack Taylor, who gives the character his own vocal peculiarity, although much different from Norman’s. The rest of the cast is rounded out by a number of interesting actors that all have their own particular quirks. Indeed, they’re another highlight as they are all interesting to watch, including some of their busy background activities.
Visuals: The 4K disc shows the filmic origins of the movie with obvious, but never distracting, grain. Colors range from rich to dull, conveying the various environments inside the hotel. Some of the scenes take place in dark rooms, but they’re handled well so that one never strains to grasp what’s happening. Other details are intentionally dimly let, to help preserve the mystery of what’s going on. This is a good example of how a small budget film can be transferred accurately onto disc. There weren’t any specific scenes that stood out with HDR, but I didn’t have the Blu-ray to compare it to.
Audio: Arrow has ported over the original 5.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack for this release, and what a soundtrack it is. There’s a lot of unique and inventive sound design here, from the musical score to the birthday band to the uncanny elevator melody. Along with the set design and camera work, the audio track is unusually good for a small film. That said, there’s one sequence at the end that I didn’t particularly care for, as it went on too long and felt disruptive to the story. But it certainly was different.
Special Features: The commentary track was fun to listen to as Feldman and Eugenio Mira recount a lot of the stories that went into the making of the film. This includes casting decisions, inspirations for various scenes, and just how tight the shooting schedule was. The Pathology short reveals more of the planning that went into the filming and will be of special interest for those who care about the techniques that were employed. The Q&A was a bit short; it could have benefited from a longer conversation. A booklet offers additional insight to the background of how the film came about and a discussion of the plot and themes.
- Audio commentary by actor Corey Feldman and co-writer/director Eugenio Mira
- The Shape of a Miracle, a brand new interview with Mira, shot exclusively for this release
- Pathology, an in-depth breakdown of a scene from the film by Mira, featuring archival behind-the-scenes footage, storyboards and rushes
- 2024 Q&A with Feldman and Mira from the film’s 20th anniversary screening at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas
- Original trailer
- 20th anniversary trailer
- Image gallery
- Reversible sleeve featuring two original artwork options
- Collectors’ booklet featuring new writing on the film by Bryan Reesman
Final Verdict: While the story wasn’t as satisfying as I had hoped, the movie has lots of imagination, quirky characters, odd dialog, and an overall bizarre feel, aided by another great transfer by Arrow. It’s easy to recommend to Feldman fans or anyone looking for something unusual infused with an odd and unsettling atmosphere. There are also a bunch of homages to watch for that influenced director Eugenio Mira; some are evident, others more obscure. Watching the extras gave me additional appreciation for just how much thought and effort went into the small production.
Strange Dialog: “Uh, actually, it was called the, uh. . . the Dolphin Voice Decoder.”
The trailer only includes mild spoilers, so check it out if the movie seems interesting to you.
https://youtu.be/w225krmxFZA
This review was written by a human without the use of AI.
My Review System:
JVC DLA-RS3100 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
Elite Screens Sable Frame B2 117” Width with Infinitely Variable Height
Monolith by Monoprice HTP-1 16 Channel Processor with Dirac Live
Monolith by Monoprice 7x200 Watts Amp
Monolith by Monoprice 3x200 Watts + 6x100 Watts Amp
JBL Studio 590 for Left, Center, Right, Wides, and Rears
JBL Studio 580 for Side Surrounds
JBL Studio SCS 8 for Tops
JTR Captivator 1400 Subwoofer X 4
Panasonic DP-UB420 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
NVIDIA Shield Android TV - 4K
Xbox One X
HTPC Running madVR (work in progress)
Remote: URC MX-780
Mini DSP 2X4 HD controlling all subwoofers
APC S15 Power Conditioner with Battery Backup