El Sanatorio is a 2010 Costa Rican found footage horror comedy film directed by Miguel Alejandro Gómez and written by Gómez and Antonio Chamu. It was filmed at the Sanatorio Durán, a former tuberculosis hospital in Cartago Province, and follows a group of young filmmakers investigating reports of paranormal activity there.
Plot Film student Luis and journalist Arturo decide to make a documentary about the alleged ghosts of the Sanatorio Durán. They assemble a crew that includes producer Esteban, medium Lulú, researcher Mariana, musician Kurt and several technicians.
The group enters the sanatorium to investigate the stories surrounding the building. Their cameras begin to record unexplained activity, and the crew encounters increasingly threatening supernatural phenomena.
Cast The cast includes: Luis Carlos Bogantes as Luis Kurt Dyer as Kurt María Luisa Garita as Lulú Olger González as Esteban Kabek Gutiérrez as Papillo Álvaro Marenco as Juancito Pablo Masís as Arturo Allen Obando Pinkay as Pedro María Elena Oreamuno as Mariana Abelardo Vladich as Gastón
Production El Sanatorio was filmed at the actual Sanatorio Durán. Gómez said that he combined horror and comedy because supernatural legends in Costa Rica are often retold with humor. He also said that the characters were given exaggerated traits without being intended as complete parodies.
The production told La Nación that the film cost approximately US$70,000. It was shot using high-definition cameras and transferred to 35 mm film. Members of the production crew completed several of the visual effects themselves after an outside animation company was unable to finish the work.
Gómez had previously compared the film's shooting technique to that of The Blair Witch Project.
Film historian María Lourdes Cortés placed El Sanatorio within a wave of low-budget horror films aimed at younger Costa Rican audiences. She described Gómez's films as combining horror with humor and parody, and noted that El Sanatorio drew on the urban legends surrounding the abandoned hospital.
Juliana Borges Monteiro and Marília Folgoni Marcussi interpreted El Sanatorio as a parody of conventions associated with American found-footage horror and as a self-reflexive commentary on the emerging Costa Rican film industry.
Release and reception El Sanatorio opened in Costa Rican cinemas on 29 October 2010. It won the Calavera de Oro audience award at the 2010 Mórbido International Horror and Fantasy Film Festival in Mexico. The film had its Canadian premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal in 2011.
A review in La Nación criticized the film's thin plot, performances and visual effects, arguing that it failed to develop into a well-structured narrative. Michael Gingold of Fangoria praised the humor, naturalistic performances and special effects, and wrote that the film's 73-minute running time suited the story. He particularly praised its final act.
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