This movie clocks at around one hour, and accomplishes what most modern thrillers struggle to do in twice the time. It gets to the point pretty quickly, but gives a straight, well defined portrait of the main characters without using any "super obvious" scenes to do that. While in the process it actually utilizes pretty much every cliché of the whole "kidnapping" scenario of horror movies (like for example "the hills have eyes" by the late Wes Craven)but in the best way possible. It manages to hold the viewer at the edge of the seat for every single second, surprisingly without ever feeling predictable.The cinematography and imagery is appropriately beautiful. The worn out color palette fits the ugly urban location perfectly and helps in creating tension throughout the movie. You could even say that (taking into consideration the extremely limited cast) even the weather and the building themselves are supporting characters in the film.What is really worth mentioning is that this is one more Jaume Balagueró film that breaks the mould of American horror films by having the story placed in an apartments. With the obvious exception of Roman Polanski's "Apartment" trilogy, most American thrillers are set into suburban locations and big, very big houses. Although these houses are very scary (mostly due to their abundance of entry points, making the villains job much easier) this is not very realistic considering more than most people worldwide live in blocks of flats and cant' actually relate to that "50's America" scenery.Top up all of the above with a great psychological/social study on people who are obsessed with other peoples lives and you've got an excellent, disturbing and actually very "thrilling" thriller. The only drawback I can think for this movie, is (as noted by most reviewers) the main characters lack of decisiveness at points, which, kind of feels like a mechanism for the film to go on.

This is so disappointing. From the man who gaves us the rec series. IMHO the best Spanish horror movies ever made. But this one... In a couple of words...Stupid people, doing stupid things at stupid moments.For instance, keepings doors unlocked (in a way they could lock-up the baddie), killing off the baddie when they had the chance (or a least making her unable of being a danger, waiting to use the scissors until she's been tied, just being plain stupid (looking in the sons eyes and you had to see there was something wrong with hem).And what about using the shaking cam every time when the guy with a headache is in view!!???It could have much better. The idea is great, the location is great, the atmosphere is great, even the acting was good.Just bad scripting....Balaguero gets infinite respect for making rec, so I'm willing to forgive this mistake. That and the fact that this one is made before rec. He was still learing... :-)

"To Let" is a satisfyingly chilling tale about a psychotic estate agent and the unfortunate visitors to a decaying apartment block.This is a splendid made for television movie that just goes to show that Euro horror is alive and well. The production doesn't mess about - the pace is fast and the shocks are constant. A genuinely tense atmosphere is maintained throughout the film. The performances from the small cast are also excellent.A highly recommended installment from talented director Jaume Balagueró, best known for his (REC) movies. Balagueró really seems to love his creepy apartment blocks as there are small touches of (REC) in this earlier work.8 out of 10.

Películas Para no Dormir: Para Entrar a Vivir is set in Spain where Mario (Adrià Collado) & his pregnant girlfriend Clara (Macarena Gómez) need somewhere to live. Mario sees an advert for an apartment, it's 140 square foot, it has three bedrooms, two bathrooms & most importantly it's as cheap as chip's. Upon arrival things don't look too promising, the apartment block is on the outskirts of town in a very rundown area, the building is in a state of disrepair & the place looks so bad even the Cockroaches are moving out. However they decide to give it a chance & meet up with the estate agent Portera (Nuria González) who show's the couple around. While looking at the apartment Mario notices the shoes he recently threw out & Clara notices a photo of them both, soon they find out that something evil is happening & the estate agent isn't as nice as she first appeared...Also known as Films to Keep You Awake: To Let to English speaking audiences this Spanish production was made-for-telly & directed by Jaume Balagueró & one has to say that Películas Para no Dormir: Para Entrar a Vivir is one of the better entries in the Films to Keep you Awake series. The script by director Balagueró & Alberto Marini at least is a straight ahead conventional horror themed story from start to finish, it's not any sort of masterpiece but it passes seventy odd minutes entertainingly enough. Películas Para no Dormir: Para Entrar a Vivir starts off very promisingly actually with a nice creepy, overcast, rain sodden opening full of foreboding & promise. Things quickly turn sour for Mario & Clara & I was at there thinking this is pretty good stuff but it reveals it's twist too early & then does nothing with it & by the end Películas Para no Dormir: Para Entrar a Vivir had become nothing more than your average slasher set in an isolated location with a couple of young lovers for victims & a crazy homicidal maniac & if that wasn't enough there's a pretty obvious & groan inducing twist ending which we could have done without. So the first half builds up the tension, the atmosphere, the intrigue & the mystery nicely with the second half collapsing into tired genre clichés which on the one hand could be considered a disappointment but on the other I am sure there will be many out there who enjoy your average bog standard teen slasher & will maybe like the second half more than the first. At less than seventy minutes in length it moves along at a decent pace, it's never boring, the character's & dialogue are OK even if the villain is a little sketchy & the basic premise is sound.Director Balagueró does alright, like just about every other horror film ever made all the colours are bleached so the whole picture is dark & moody & overcast. At least Películas Para no Dormir: Para Entrar a Vivir actually tries to be scary & crank up the tension, whether you will be scared by it will depend on your disposition but at least I could see what it was trying to do. I doubt most seasoned horror fans will have too much trouble making it to the end. There's not too much gore here, someones fingers are sliced off in a garbage disposal chute off screen, we just get to see the blood splatter & that's about it. Like the other Films to keep You Awake Películas Para no Dormir: Para Entrar a Vivir was shot in Spanish, because the film is so dark & grey the white subtitles are very easy to read although some don't stay on screen for too long.Technically the film is good, it's well made with solid production values. Filmed in Barcelona in Spain. The acting appears to be alright but since Spanish isn't my language I have no idea what anyone is saying & have to assume the subtitles are an accurate translation which sometimes they are not.Películas Para no Dormir: Para Entrar a Vivir is one of the better Films to Keep You Awake, it starts off very well & then settles down into a rather predictable & routine second half but overall I thought it was a good effort & I liked it.