The Wasteland
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The Wasteland
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this movie.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that The Wasteland is a supernatural horror movie in which a family living in isolation in 19th century Spain struggles to survive when a terrifying beast arrives. There are suicides, attempted suicides, and talk of suicide. Attempted suicide by hanging. Talk of how, when the father was a boy, his sister committed suicide by jumping out of a second-story window; nightmarish imagery shows the sister dead on the first floor after falling. Slit throat. A man in a boat commits suicide in front of two of the main characters. Rifle shots. Bloody and gory scenes of dead rabbits, with bloody entrails on a table, and scenes where rabbits are killed while they shriek. In one scene, the father slaps his young son. In Spanish, with English subtitles.
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What's the Story?
In THE WASTELAND, a young boy named Diego (Asier Flores) lives with his parents Salvadór and (Roberto Alamo) and Lucia (Inma Cuesta) in 19th century Spain. They live in an isolated hut, trying to hide from the war and violence in their country. In this barren land, Salvadór tries to teach his son to be more of the "man of the house," and gives him a monogrammed rifle for his birthday. Lucia tries to protect Diego from Salvadór's anger at Diego's perceived cowardice, and Diego has taken to regarding the rabbits the family keeps in a pen as pets rather than livestock. In the midst of this bleak landscape, a wounded stranger floats past on a boat in a nearby stream, is found by Salvadór and Diego, and as they try to figure out how to take care of him, the man shows up at their home and kills himself in front of Lucia and Diego. Later, Salvadór tells Diego of how, when he was a boy, his sister was found dead by jumping out of a second-floor window due to a monster in their home. The next day, Salvadór insists on leaving their home to take the dead body to reunite him with his family, leaving Lucia and Diego alone to fend for themselves. As the winds howl through the windows, Diego has nightmares about the monster and his father's young sister. Diego watches in horror as his mother appears to be succumbing to paranoid visions of the monster. Without Salvadór Diego must help put food on the table, even if that food involves his pet rabbits. As the monster seems to loom even closer, Diego must try to find a way to prevent his mother from descending into madness and help stop the beast when it enters the house.
Is It Any Good?
At its best and most memorable, it's perhaps the eeriest and strangest coming-of-age movie ever made. The Wasteland works best when the story focuses on this aspect of a disturbing tale of a family of three hiding out in a bleak landscape in 19th century Spain as war and destruction rage and ravage their country. They have carved out a small safe haven, but it's immediately apparent that the isolation is starting to get to them. Against this desolate backdrop of grim survival, the father, Salvadór, is trying to force his son Diego to grow up faster than he's capable of doing at such a young age. Circumstances reveal that Diego has no choice as his father, in a questionable-at-best decision, leaves his wife and son, Diego's mother's sanity hangs by a thread, and a monster seems to be lurking outside of their house, moving ever closer.
On the whole, this works, but not entirely. The father's decision to leave, for instance, comes across as a little too convenient and out of character for how concerned he seemed to be for the safety of his family. Perhaps he just needed any excuse to get away from such drab surroundings, but it comes across more as a typical "bad and convenient horror movie decision." The pacing of the movie isn't great, and the moments that drag are heightened by the false expectations of horror movie jump music that ultimately seems superfluous, as the sounds, or lack thereof, of the house and the land (to say nothing of those rabbits) does more than enough to unsettle the viewer. The acting is strong, and there's a clear earnestness in making this film, but even at 92 minutes, it feels longer than that, and these attempts to create a style outweigh the substance.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about supernatural horror movies like The Wasteland. How is it similar to and different from other supernatural horror movies you've seen?
How can this movie be seen as a coming-of-age movie?
There are only three characters in this movie. What would be the challenges in making a movie with such a limited cast?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: January 6, 2022
- Cast: Inma Cuesta, Roberto Alamo, Asier Flores
- Director: David Casademunt
- Studio: Netflix
- Genre: Horror
- Topics: Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires
- Run time: 92 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: March 3, 2022
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