The Reel Review
A gogo dancer who has stolen drugs from a Madrid night club discovers a sinister force while hiding out in her sister and niece’s spooky, dilapidated apartment building. At the same time, a new, mysterious planet suddenly appears in the solar system, about to block out the sun, in this Spanish supernatural horror/mystery.
Ok so first let’s address the sheer lunacy of this premise – if a new planet suddenly appears out of the blue, THAT would be the focus of the entire global population. The fact that all these characters are going about their daily business as usual is totally bonkers in itself. That said, Ester Expósito actually does a pretty kickass job as Lucia. Her physical performance – trying to protect herself and her niece from an onslaught of gore-filled violence – is impressive.
The duct tape-filled third act is where things get weird. With a vibe that feels like a mashup of Green Room, Rosemary’s Baby and Suspiria, writer/director Jaume Balagueró (writer of Inside, writer/director of most of the REC movies) goes all-in on so much kookiness that his story goes a bit off the rails. Gore aficionados will get a kick out of all the blood, but most everyone else will be busy asking themselves what in the hell they just witnessed.
REEL FACTS
• Venus was very loosely inspired by H. P. Lovecraft‘s short story “The Dreams in the Witch House.”
• Ester Expósito got her big acting break playing Carla Rosón Caleruega in the 2018 Netflix series Élite.
• Set in Madrid, Venus was filmed in Madrid and Toledo.
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