Macarena Gómez is astounding as Montse, the agoraphobic seamstress who has been taking care of her younger sister since their parents died. One day, a man who lives above them falls down the stairs and can't move. Montse takes him in, but grows so enamored with him that she makes sure he'll never leave.

Shrew's Nest borrows a little bit from Misery and a bit from melodramatic gothic stories of family secrets and crazy old spinsters going haywire, but it's incredibly well made and the acting, especially by Gomez, is phenomenal. Patient viewers will be rewarded with an all-out gore fest during the film's finale.

After seeing the lean The Corpse of Anna Fritz (2015-also reviewed) I went looking round online for details of other exclusive titles to the Shudder streaming service. Taking part in ICM's Spain cinema viewing challenge, I was happy to learn of another exclusive Spanish Horror on the site,leading to me nesting a viewing.

View on the film:

Whilst Montse is an agoraphobic, co-writer/(with Sofia Cuenca/Angel Amoros and Emma Tusell) co-director Juanfer Andres,and fellow co-director Esteban Roel are joined by cinematographer/co-writer Amoros in taking the horror out of the darkness and into magnificently tailored lighting. Set in the 1950's, the directors elegantly shine the household in angelic lighting flickering up the meek wallpaper and brightening the dour Gothic dresses Montse wears.

Knowing every corner of the house, the directors follow Montse with a incredible tracking shot going through the maze of the home, and reaching the exit of a in-camera trick shot going back to Montse's childhood. Bedding a atmosphere of impending despair, from the shivering under blue light fear of sister Nina in the corner of each room, to the stomping on bloody rage wide-shots pinning Carlos on the bed with the eyes of Montse always watching over him.

Bringing Carlos into the middle of the sisters with a broken leg, the writers superbly dress intimate Gothic Melodrama with the brittle outbreak of abrasive Horror. Painting her out of the corner, the writers create a detailed character portrait of Montse, whose layers since childhood the writers peel away to display the events which still haunt her, and the terror which grips Carlos and Nina, from the realisation that Montse wants them to join,and stay in her own maze.

Left in bed for the entire film, Hugo Silva gives a terrific turn as Carlos, whose face and voice Silva marks with initial relaxation turning into frustration and utter horror,as Silva has Carlos become away that there is nowhere to run. Weighed down with less of the historical darkness that haunts her sister,Nadia de Santiago gives a shimmering performance as Nina,whose love and compassion for Montse and her challenging condition,Santiago burns at the edges as her sister takes it to a extreme level.

Terrified of her sister and Carlos leaving her, Macarena Gomez is utterly mesmerising as Montse, whose every moment in life Gomez has weighed down by the horrors of the past, causing Montse to break out in a rage over Carlos and Nina wanting to leave the nest.

I have to admit, that when I saw where this was going (you can spot the signs early on), I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I did in the end. Predictability aside, this is very well acted. It's graphic at times (with the violence), but it's what it does in your head, that is most effective.

If you do love horror movies in general, then this might be one for you, otherwise the drama aspect of it, might not be enough to keep you interested. I do think they mix it up in a nice fashion, acting contributing and elevating a sort foreseeable outcome or at least direction this is heading.