Hierro

 

Plumbing the depths of psychological horror, Hierro takes us on the genuinely disturbing journey of single mother Maria (Elena Anaya) and her frantic search for her son who disappears abruptly on a Spanish ferry. From the producers of Pan's Labyrinth and The Orphanage, the film subtly evokes both the surrealism of the former and the menacing oppression of the latter. As Maria’s terror escalates, the visuals beautifully reflect her traumatised mind, from tiny ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ optical additions, to graphic hallucinations and starkly oppressive landscapes. Style is used freely yet sensitively throughout to mimic the unbearably confused claustrophobia of being trapped inside an agonised mind. Like Alice In a terrible Wonderland, Maria is rendered strikingly isolated and tiny next to the enormity of her situation, brilliantly reflecting the central theme of the power of the mind to anaesthetise, distort and preserve.