This Mexican chiller begins as Agata runs down a young child near the KM31 marker on the highway. Frightened, she calls her boyfriend Omar for help and he hears her being hit by a truck. At the same time, Agata’s identical twin sister Catalina receives a vision of the accident (which occurs near her home) and runs to the scene where she finds her sister. Agata is rushed to hospital but in order to save her, doctors have to amputate both legs, which sends her into a deep coma. Catalina, Omar and Catalina’s boyfriend Nuno decide to head out to KM31 to try and find the child who caused the accident to happen, but the trio could never have prepared for what they uncover.
A hit in its native Mexico, KM31 managed to achieve international interest and secure a UK theatrical release at the end of last year. Now out on DVD, KM31 has proved popular amongst genre critics.
The film is very well made with gorgeous photography, eerie locations, good performances and effects work of a very high standard, but it’s not exactly Pan’s Labyrinth. Whilst that is perhaps an unfair analogy for me to use as this film isn’t even on the same scale, nor does it proclaim to be, I’m merely trying to highlight that whilst the film is good, it’s not nearly groundbreaking enough to have warranted the buzz outside of it’s own country.
The story is the strongest aspect here but even that is not totally original, as it essentially follows the conventions of many previous ghost stories found in the works of Guillermo del Toro and Jaume Balaguero (who themselves have previously recycled ideas) and even utilizes concepts and ideas found in Asian horror movies.
OVERALL SUMMARY
KM31 is a good film but I feel it has only become popular internationally due to the current appeal of Spanish horror. Worth a rental, but I personally wouldn’t have rushed to the cinema to see it.
