Roberto San Sebastián’s so-called horror-comedy is a complete disaster. In fact, The Night of the Virgin is one of the worst films that I’ve ever seen. It’s a disgusting affair that no one in their right mind should endure but for those of you who are, for some reason, curious about this celluloid travesty, heed my warning…
The Night of the Virgin follows Nico, a young man in his early twenties who wants nothing more than to lose his virginity. During a New Year’s Eve party in walks Medea, a mature woman who sees an opportunity with Nico and decides to take him home. However, on their arrival, it’s not long before Nico begins to regret his decision and the very notion of taste is firmly thrown out of the window.
One of the biggest flaws of this movie is not it’s over-reliance on gross-out effects but it’s inability to hold my interest. So despite a strong opening scene and several moments where the prosthetics and SFX work look great on screen, the film quickly descends into a boring mess thanks to its long drawn out scenes which almost sent me to sleep.
The only saving grace of the film is it’s cast. Javier Bódalo leads the film and as Nico and he embraces the naivety and desperation of his character perfectly. As such, I found his performance to be charming and at times very funny. Starring opposite Bódalo, Miriam Martín is equally good as Medea. She is great as a cougar and she effectively nails her character’s eccentricities. Together they have great chemistry but their performances are overshadowed by everything else that is wrong with the film.
At the end of the day, I found The Night of the Virgin to be a gruelling experience. In its current cut as a two-hour gore-soaked mess, it’s just unwatchable and unbearably dull. Perhaps if Roberto San Sebastián had made more of an effort to demonstrate restraint and reduce the length of his scenes this film would be able to at least maintain a consistent beat throughout the movie.
As I bring my review to a close I will never revisit this nightmare again. So if unless you’re looking to entertain yourself with a film that is boring and uninspired you’re best to stay away from this slice of celluloid hell.
By Jon Dickinson
