Iván Zulueta directs Eusebio Poncela, Cecilia Roth and Will More in this surreal Spanish horror about low budget filmmakers addicted to “raptures”.

A strange concoction of David Lynch and Pedro Almodovar, Arrebato has lingered with me since I saw it at the Filmhouse in my early twenties. A warped tale of addiction and sensuality it is hard to put even the plot into words. An established horror filmmaker returns to his flat only to find his ex girlfriend / star of his first film asleep. They do heroin together and start to reminisce about a strange young man they both met. An isolated amateur filmmaker who appeared to have unlocked some metaphysical secrets about space, time and nostalgia that can send you into a euphoric trance. The man boy has sent our protagonist his last film, a study of himself and urban life via a camera with vampiric tendencies. It is actually more long winded and less clear cut than that. Arrebato can often be an amateurish, eventless and directionless experience. God only knows what the original three hour cut was like? But there is imagery and ideas and a deathly sense of unease about the whole endeavour that imbues it with an enduring power. Iván Zulueta’s intentions and potential may be obscure but this cinematic dream puzzle shares much of the unnerving quality of surreal classics like Last Year at Marienbad and Carnival of Souls.

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