99.9 (1997)

It could have been so good. Well, at least thats what I thought when I read the plot of 99.9, but what I got wasnt exactly what I expected. My own fault I suppose. Not that it is a bad movie, just a bit muddled, and the plot makes it appear more horror than it really is.

99.7 starts with a bang and an really intriguing event. A naked man is running for his life through the stoned walls of a small spanish village. Something unseen seems to be hunting him and when he stops to hide he sees something forming on the ground around the corner, like something bubbling out of the stone. He continues his flight when he hears something and climbs up on a roof, but slips and impales himself on a metalfence. A friend of his, Lara who is a host on a radioshow that specializes in the occult, receives a package with a videotape and some newsclippings about the mans death. When she views the tape it is full of mostly static, but also weird sounds and images so she decides to find out what really happened. It seems that her friend was investigating life after death in an old abandoned house with a strange history, where faces seemingly appear on the walls all by themselves.

Yes, it sounds like a horrormovie and from the start it feels like one too. But when Laras investigation never really unfolds anything other than that the locals dont want to talk about the house, you start to lose interest. Then, all of a sudden, the movie takes a bit of a turn from horror and into straight thriller territory which made me disapointed. It doesnt ruin the movie, it just goes into a direction that isnt as interesting as I hoped and the "twist" itself isnt especially shocking. Not that 99.9 is a bad movie, on the contrary. The direction and the superb cinematography makes the movie great to look at and the actors perform their tasks well. There is good talent behind and in front of the camera so if you like your suspense on spanish you can do much worse. I just expected something entirely different.