Alice Oscura – Guest Writer
Offering to the Storm is the final film of the Baztan Trilogy. Inspector Amaia Salazar returns for one last time to investigate what seems to be an enormous cover-up of ritualistic infant murders being disguised as sudden infant death syndrome. This film has a more tempestuous atmosphere and is extremely dark and foreboding. It bears an eerie resemblance to that Roman Polanski’s supernatural horror classic Rosemary’s Baby (1968).
The film explores the unimaginable horrors that people are capable of when it comes to achieving their heart’s desire. This is where the witchcraft mentioned in the two previous films come into play. Without revealing too much let me just say that it is easy to manipulate weak-minded people by using old myths and superstitions. The film has a run time of a little over 2 hours and I felt like the slow burn really took away some of the general impact of the final reveal.
Although it was great to see Amaia’s relationships with her fellow officers explored a bit more, it felt like there were too many times that they tried to push the emotional upheaval down the throats of the audience. It was not necessary because we have already had sufficient time to build up our own relationships and attachments to certain characters, enough to feel it if one bites the dust.
Now for a bit of a rant ladies and gentlemen and the reason as to why I took away so many points from this film as opposed to the other parts. I have a pet peeve and I have not only experienced this with other movies that I have seen but in some books too. It is the fact that the writer would take the time to build the foundation of a character in a certain manner and then have said character do a complete 180 degrees.
In this case Amaia does something so out of character that you are left extremely disappointed at the result. There was no logical reason for her actions, and it did not improve the storyline one bit. In fact, it significantly negates what should be her triumph at solving the case and discovering the true reason behind her mother’s insanity. Amaia’s torment at her discovery and certain traumatic events around her should never have pushed her into the direction that the writer took, and I am sure that the audience will be left feeling disappointed also.
There is a lot to process as the movie progresses, and at times it can become a bit convoluted and difficult to understand because so much information is being shoved at us to close off the Trilogy.
But I unfortunately found myself thoroughly dissatisfied with the ending scenes and felt like I got absolutely no closure on what eventually happens after Amaia’s uncharacteristic actions.
So, for me guys this one got the lowest rating of the Trilogy. And although I was disappointed, I would still recommend them. They are still particularly good Thrillers and all three are available on Netflix.
Please feel free to leave your comments below and let me know if you guys agree with my review.
Rating: 6 out of 10
For my review of part two of the Baztan Trilogy The Legacy of the Bones you can click here.