[yasr_overall_rating]
In this horror-comedy, at a New Year’s Eve party, Nico, a naive twenty-year-old, sets out ready to lose his virginity at all costs that same night. In the middle of the party, his gaze crosses Medea, a cunning and attractive mature woman.
Remember the old “Saturday Night Live” skit that asked the eternal question, “Is it a floor wax or a dessert topping?” That’s the feeling I had while viewing “The Night of the Virgin.” In this case, “Is it a horror film or a raunchy comedy?” The promotion material indicates that it is both. Unfortunately, it succeeds at neither.
Mixing genres can certainly present an opportunity for filmmakers to break new ground. However, it is also a potentially risky strategy that can confuse and repel audiences – and ultimately backfire. Genres listed for “The Night of the Virgin” include comedy, fantasy, horror, mystery, and thriller. The movie also seemed to contain elements of a coming-of-age story mixed in as well. In its languid attempts to be daring, the motion picture mostly succeeds as an exercise in marginal taste.
Starring Javier Bódalo as the hapless Nico, and Miriam Martin as Medea, the film begins at a New Year’s Eve party. Nico wants to get laid and lose his virginity. He is, however, bug-eyed and toothy, so his prospects will no doubt be limited. After a young, lovely and highly inebriated dancing partner vomits on his shoes, Nico encounters Medea, a middle-aged, attractive woman – and the fun begins. If you can call it that.
The expository set-up is overlong and uninteresting. Later, the uneasy dialog between Nico and Medea first hints at romantic comedy, but before long segues into fantasy, on its way to a sprinkling of mystery and then a dash of horror. When Medea’s angry boyfriend, Araña, played by Victor Amilibia, pounds on the door to her apartment, Nico goes into a nerdy panic.
There is an extended scene that begins when Araña is stabbed in the neck by Nico. For several minutes, Araña walks and crawls through the apartment spraying blood from his carotid artery – on the floor, on the walls, and on Nico. It’s obviously intended to be funny, but somehow the blood spurting out of the Black Knight in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” from way back in 1975 was a lot funnier.
“The Night of the Virgin” winds up as more of an unrepentant gross-out affair than a horror movie, as the essential elements of fear or shock remain largely absent. The film is too graphic to be much fun and lacks sufficient visceral tension to register as horror. At turns, plodding, tedious, irritating and revolting, there are nonetheless a few surprises – but very few, and not worth the wait. Shot in Spain, “The Night of the Virgin” is a Spanish language film with English subtitles. Caveat emptor.
Available on VOD June 12th
