Naty's Spooky Corner

El Hoyo

★★★★★

Monday, February 21, 2022, 2:59 AM

So this week I was just casually surfing Netflix movie options, as you do on a Friday when it’s entirely too cold to even dare to think about venturing outside, when this film just so happened to have popped up on my feed. And who am I, dear reader, to shy away from a foreign thriller with scathing political and social commentary? So naturally, I immediately had to watch this film knowing damn well I was going to be super uncomfy the entire time (as per youse).

The Platform or El Hoyo (the hole), is a 2019 Spanish social commentary, horror sci-fi film directed by Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia. The film is set solely in a large tower-style “Vertical self-management center”. In it, are residents who switch floors every 30 days much to their dismay, since they are fed via a floating platform that descends at each floor for a brief amount of time. Food on this platform is never replenished, oftentimes causing residents of the lower floors to not eat and tensions to rise. The film's cast includes Iván Massagué, Antonia San Juan, Zorion Eguileor, Emilio Buale Coka and Alexandra Masangkay.

The plot of this film is centered around Goreng, his interactions with different prisoners within the center and the escalating need to force food rations within the tower system.

Jump on the platform to descend into the following plot breakdown:

Personally, I saw this film as an interesting blend of social commentary and biblical commentary as well. Goreng eventually takes the role of the messiah who attempts to provide a message regarding a very dire situation where the people on top gorge themselves on the food that they are provided without any disregard for those below them. (Hello capitalism, we meet again). In fact he is even asked several times if he’s pretending to be the “Messiah”. There are several other biblical references, namely during Goreng’s interactions within his second cellmate - Imoguiri, who often appears to him uttering biblical ideologies following her self-inflicted death. Not to mention that one of the biggest mysteries of the film is centered around how many levels there really are in the center. Imoguiri who used to work for the system insists that there are only 250, and it’s not until the very end that the entire 333 floors are revealed. And since each floor houses two inmates, this brings us to a grand total of 666 inmates. (Does that sound familiar?) Oh yeah baby, that’s because this film is literally calling capitalism a self-imposed hell.

Finally the film does end with a semi(?) cheerful message following the ascent of the child that Goreng finds in the very bottom of the hole, acting as the true message to the barbaric administration that placed everyone there. This of course is meant to symbolize the fact that the youth are the future in such a cursed social-economic construct. What is most terrifying is how often Imoguiri, who is the representation of the administration, insists that children are not allowed to enter the hole, only to discover that there is indeed a child living there and surviving thanks to the sacrifices made by her mother. This meant that even the workers within a capitalist regime do not fully understand the extent of the system and how it impacts the youth as well as how far struggling mothers and families will go to make sure that their children grow up protected from the traumas that they were forced to face.

Overall, I found this film incredibly difficult to watch considering just how fucking depressing it is. While I do find the social commentary provided in the plot as being a critical one to share, I don’t think I would personally be watching this movie again anytime soon.

Don Quixote References: 5/5

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