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.
New Year’s Eve has many customary celebrations associated with it. In Japan, it is customary to ring a bell 108 times (JESUS!). In the Bahamas, one must capture the elusive Junkanoo. In Edinburgh Scotland, it is actually a three-day celebration. In Spain, the apparent custom is to stalk an attractive older woman and get pulled into an absurd night of sex, drugs, and rituals ad depicted in the new horror comedy The Night of the Virgin.
Nico (Javier Bódalo) is a nerd’s nerd. Arriving at a New Years Eve party in an ill-fitting suit and gawky demeanor, this bug-eyed dork is something to behold. After trying to dance with several drunks his own age, and after being mercilessly taunted by his friends. he is nearly ready to give up. That is until he meets Medea (Miriam Martín). This stunning, far more mature woman lures him in with her grace and sophistication and soon Nico is putty in her hands.
“This kid is the personification of bad decisions and awkward behavior…”
The two make it up to her apartment where all manner of surprises awaits. First, there is the lack of hygiene. Then there are the cockroaches that are given free reign of the place. Then, of course, there is the goblet of menstrual blood in the bathroom. Nico soon deduced that things aren’t exactly right and decided to leave. Then Medea’s outrageously jealous boyfriend begins pounding on the door and he is trapped. Did we mention the altar and the rituals? Yeah, like we said, things get f*****g weird.
Bódalo is comic perfection as the fidgety, salivating nerd, Nico. This kid is the personification of bad decisions and awkward behavior. Martín’s Medea is a sleek, elegant temptress with a hell of a lot more going on than just pulling a Mrs. Robinson on a random John. She is sexy, dangerous, and volatile. I loved it.
The Night of the Virgin is one of the most bizarre, most comedic, most supremely disgusting films I have seen this year and I loved nearly every minute of it. Written by Guillermo Guerrero, the pic delivers a steady stream of hilarity, gross-out humor, and disturbing imagery to keep things going with a story that recalls Martin Scorsese’s After Hours in that you really have no idea what the hapless hero will be subjected to next. Except for this time almost the entire film takes place in one single house, or apartment, of grimy horrors.
“…most bizarre, most comedic, most supremely disgusting films I have seen…”
Roberto San Sebastián’s direction is comically on point. Moving at a clip, we are barely given the chance to make sense of things before we are whisked off to the next insane circumstance, guided along with precision timing and comic insanity.
If there were one note to give it would be that the action seems to wander so far off the path at times, that they lose their place, pause, and return to some semblance of a narrative. Crazy is a good thing, but too much of a good thing, in this case, as well. A bit much. To the ending, well, it lands with a literal thud. I mean, really where were you going to go after the first 30 minutes of this movie? Fair point, but come on.
In the end, The Night of the Virgin is a madcap, gag-inducing horror comedy that delivers laughs, horror, and insanity in a neat, nasty little package.
The Night of the Virgin (2018) Directed by Roberto San Sebastián. Written by Guillermo Guerrero. Starring Javier Bódalo, Miriam Martín, Víctor Amilibia.
The Night of the Virgin is worth Good (***).
Norm’s Rating System: ****(GREAT) ***(Good) **(Ok) *(Awful)
