32 Malasana Street Review: An Atmospheric Family Haunting

Release date: October 22, 2020
Running time: 101 minutes
Starring Begoña Vargas, Iván Marcos, Bea Segura, Sergio Castellanos, José Luis de Madariaga, Iván Renedo, Javier Botet. 
Directed by Alberto Pintó.

A Shudder Exclusive.  It’s 1976. The Olmedo family has left the countryside for a new life in Madrid. But their new home becomes a house of horrors in this hit supernatural thriller based on actual paranormal events. 

This film has a great setting and a very good creep factor.  The film is set in an old apartment building, and the natural issues with an older building make this a perfect environment for a haunting.  There are creeks, scuttling sounds, and a fantastic use of old lights.  When the lights turn on, there is crackling electricity and flickering lights due to the age, which just sets the scene perfectly.  The cast of 32 Malasana Street do a good job of creating a believable, overwhelmed family.  And part of this haunting deals with the family dynamics, which give it a personal aspect.  The family has sold everything to move to the city, so are hoping to stick it out with the house for better or worse.  And there are some interesting class dynamics due to the family's live in helper is the subject of much of the haunting.  There are also comments on city life vs. rural life that are an interesting subtext to the overall haunt. 

As all good hauntings do, it builds slowly with little occurrences here and there to put the family on edge.  And after everything is established, the film takes a big leap to ratchet up the tension and throw the family in disarray.  The setting feels authentic, the build up is deliciously slow at times, and the scares are aplenty.  And despite this great buildup and sense of tension, the film relies a lot on some of the traditional horror tropes of hauntings.  Jump scares, shadows, things appearing and then disappearing, they are all done well but also occur a lot.  The haunt is very well done but it also is something that we have seen before in this genre.  

That being said, the film does go off the rails towards the end, with the haunting becoming more and more extreme.  And when they do show the apparition, it has a CG, sort of ridiculous look to it.  Thankfully that doesn't appear for long but overall the ghost was underwhelming after the great build up.  And the film balances multiple story threads with the various characters, leading to a confusing end to what was a good, atmospheric start.  That being said, this is still a good example of a haunt movie with a fantastic setup and atmosphere.

32 Malasana Street has a fantastic setup and atmosphere that will have you jumping at each creak, scuttle, or electricity flicker in this family haunting.   

Rent it.

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32 Malasana Street is available to stream on Shudder starting October 22, 2020.