Recently freed after 25 years for killing his girlfriend, Antonio Frau has just inherited an old motel from a relative he never knew. Old habits die hard and Antonio takes this as a sign from God to begin “cleansing” those who have lost the will to live. He leads his naive victims to room 6 where he purifies them through excruciating pain and blood-soaked torture, while at the same time, continuing his everyday life next to his new wife.
H6: Diary of a Serial Killer is definitely one of those, the less you know the better films, as it is the type of movie that needs to be seen by yourself, rather than to be heard about from others. I did the mistake of reading up a bit too much on it before I sat down to watch the film, although that didn't ruin it for me, instead it may have changed the way I looked at it. From the few reviews I read, it sounded like I was in for one sadistic and gory ride a la Hostel and Saw, but now, after having seen the film, I wouldn't compare H6 to those two previously mentioned movies. It might be sadistic, but while Hostel has just one layer to it, H6 has ten and should therefore not be compared to such films. If you're only looking for gore and cheap kills, H6 will most likely seem too slow and not very rewarding, but if you'd actually want to challenge your mind a bit, then H6 is a striking dark drama that has a lot to offer.
I do not speak Spanish and one thing I noticed was how good the subtitles were, they had a great flow and it never felt like you were missing out for the reason that you didn't know the language. It may not sound like a big thing but it really is, and the work put in here makes the film so much more enjoyable. This is often a big problem when it comes to Asian movies, that the subs suck and while they do make you understand what's going on, there's no flow and flow is everything in order to get a better understanding, and moreover, a better experience.
 
As the movie starts, we're introduced to Antonio Frau and we get to see him beat up his girlfriend, eventually kill her and is after that sentenced to spend a long time in prison. Fast-forward 25 years and Mr. Frau has now been rehabilitated so that probably means that he won't kill again. Wrong. Although, the man has changed his ways and is not the aggressive person he once used to be, and when he inherits a motel, that used to be a brothel, from his recently deceased aunt, life suddenly has a new meaning to it. The way Antonio Frau sees it is that God has given him a mission, a mission to cleans those who have lost their will to live, and so the man starts bringing home prostitutes to "let them have it."
Depending on how you look at things, H6 may seem a bit sadistic but I never felt that the violence or sadism was unjustified. That does so not mean that I'm some sicko who likes to watch people getting tortured, on the contrary, but the way things are done in H6 never feel like it's too much or over-the-top, it just works and delivers a good amount of fear. While obviously Antonio Frau is one sick mother, the guy has a certain charm which pretty much makes it impossible to hate him. In fact, at times it feels, despite of what he does, that he's the only normal character around since the other ones are the kinda "leeches" that preys on other people. He kills some pimp, some drugged up hookers and at the same time, his wife is a slut who's sleeping around with the doctors at the hospital she works at. No one is really likable, still it's hard not to feel some sympathy for each and every one, and that makes things interesting to say the least.
I could go on and on about H6 and all the "nice" things it has to offer, but I think you just need to see the film to truly be able to grasp what it is about. Let me say this though, not only is it very interesting but it also looks terrific. The colors used are fantastic and so is the whole tone of the film. Highly recommended.
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ALTERNATIVE TITLE: H6: Diario de un asesino
MOVIE YEAR: 2005
DIRECTOR: Martín Garrido Barón
WRITING CREDITS: Martín Garrido
GENRE: Horror, Thriller
CAST: Fernando Acaso, Raquel Arenas, María José Bausá
COUNTRY: Spain
RUNTIME: 92 min
RATING: 8/10
H6: Diary of a Serial Killer Website/IMDB Click here
H6: Diary of a Serial Killer Trailer Click here
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