ALEX DE LA IGLESIA

Bil’s rating (out of 5):  BBBB.  Spain, 2000.  Antena 3 Televisión, Lolafilms, Vía Digital.  Screenplay by Jorge Guerricaechevarria, Alex de la Iglesia.  Cinematography by Kiko de la Rica.  Produced by Andrés Vicente Gómez.  Music by Roque Baños.  Production Design by Jose Luis Arrizabalaga, Biaffra.  Costume Design by Paco Delgado.  Film Editing by Alejandro Lazaro.

Deliciously droll horror comedy starring an outstanding Carmen Maura as a real estate agent who is trying to rent out a swanky furnished apartment in a grossly run-down building. Without any prospective renters biting, she takes up temporary residence in the place herself, giving her and her economically humbled husband somewhere nice to hang out instead of their presumably dreary home. When their room is destroyed by a leak in the roof that brings with it disgusting cockroaches and muddy water, it reveals that the upstairs tenant has died and, once alone in his apartment, she finds millions in cash hidden under the floor that she immediately takes back downstairs. What Maura then comes to realize in trying to get the piles of bills out of the building is that the other tenants have known about this money for a long time and are not going to let her out without a fight. It’s a community of residents who have battled life’s difficulties together for years, after all, so it’s unethical of her to come in and take what they have been working to get for so long. Physical danger is combined with laughs that are never out of place and conclude with a terrific chase sequence in a film that is a loopy delight, exactly what you need if this is what you are in the mood for, and the cast is superb.