El Rey de la montaña (King of the Hill) poster & wallpaper
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Leonardo Sbaraglia, María Valverde, Thomas Riordan, Pablo Menasanch, Andrés Juste ... see more see more... , Manuel Sánchez Ramos , Francisco Olmo

A man traveling through rural Spain in search of the town where his girlfriend awaits becomes ensnared in a surreal waking nightmare in director Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego's intricate thriller. Quim (Leona... read more read more...rdo Sbaraglia) was on his way to visit his girlfriend when he stopped off at an isolated gas station for some fuel and a quick trip to the restroom. But the men's toilet is out of order, and in his haste Quim ducks into the ladies room. Upon exiting ,Quim crosses paths with a mysterious beauty named Bea (Maria Valverde). The sexual tension is as immediate as it is undeniable, and the two strangers engage in some explosive, anonymous sex right there on the bathroom sink. Recognizing the opportunity in the moment, Bea absconds with Quim's wallet and lucky lighter. Of course, it isn't long before Quim realizes what's happened, and when he subsequently spies Bea's car sitting abandoned on an unmarked road, it seems like the perfect opportunity to retrieve his personal property. Suddenly, out of the quiet country air, a shot rings out and Quim is wounded. As Quim ducks for cover nearby, he sees that Bea is also hiding from the unseen sniper. Eventually the frightened pair manages to escape their assassin's bullets and make their way to the local police. Much to their surprise, the authorities not only voice doubt about the existence of the mysterious sniper, but also cast a troublingly suspicious eye on them. Regardless of their initial skepticism, however, the police are about to discover that anyone who dares venture out on this mountainside is immediately marked for death. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Flixster Users

45% liked it

524 ratings

Critics

86% liked it

14 critics

R, 1 hr. 28 min.

Directed by: Gonzalo López-Gallego

Release Date: September 8, 2007

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DVD Release Date: January 20, 2009

Stats: 131 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (131)

  • garyX
    July 5, 2011
    garyX
    A traveller who gets lost in the isolated Spanish countryside finds himself stalked by unknown armed assailants intent on murder. This extremely taut and economical Spanish indie thriller has a no-nonsense approach that I actually found quite refreshing. No soapy sub plots or irr... read moreelevant embellishment, just a tense cat and mouse game between hunters and prey. Obviously owing a debt to the likes of Duel and Deliverance, the story is a simple tale of survival in the face of adversity and some very effective direction and solid performances make for an intriguing and suspenseful experience. Unfortunately the one gaping flaw is the revelation of who the hunters are and why, which is a shame because I felt it wasn't really necessary. If the motive behind the killings were left unknown, as in The Hitcher or Duel, it would've been far more effective as the explanation is rather weak and glib. It's a real shame because the execution is very strong, but if you can live with the half baked plot twist it's actually very well done.
  • bottcorecords1
    April 20, 2011
    bottcorecords1
    "The King of the Hill" is kind of a simplistic hunter/prey film, a spanish "Deliverance" of sorts. Two travelers get lost on a remote mountain-side road as a group of men hunt them down. It's not a particularly fresh concept, and certain aspects of the film reminded a little to... read moreo much of the Dnepropetrovsk maniacs, a pair of Ukrainian thrill killers from just a few years ago (two young men who snapped photos of their victims on their cell phones). I guess it's not really a spoiler to tell you that the killers are men, or that they're young, which is of less consequence than the filmmakers seem to want you to believe. As far as these types of films go, "El rey de la montana" is done adequately, although I can't give much reason to recommend it other than need to pass some time. It is indeed a passable film.
  • WrenchLT
    February 20, 2011
    WrenchLT
    Tense, atmospheric thriller from Spain about two strangers travelling through remote mountainous countryside who are stalked by a pack of sniper-rifle wielding hunters. We're seeing a lot of these backwoods hillbilly killer thrillers nowadays with every country seemingly adding t... read moreo the genre. This Spanish effort may not be the best or goriest of them but it's well made and acted and reveals a shocking little suprise once the identity and motive of the hunters is revealed. Overall though there's nothing ground breaking going on here but it's a pretty decent effort.
  • ScoopOnline
    October 25, 2010
    ScoopOnline
    It began a tiny bit boring and iritating but I decided to go on watching and I was glad not to have switched off.
    This Movie is a proof how teenages these days are badly influenced by Video Games.
    I thought they would reveal the background of the young girl, but she got killed ... read moreand at this point it didnt make any sense to me.
    I didnt like the ending.
    All around the Movie was not bad.
  • Beefy
    February 15, 2009
    Beefy
    Another halfway decent suspense thriller completely undermined by the same preposterous plot twist that seems to be going around these kinds of films the last several years.
  • John2223
    March 4, 2009
    John2223
    The story is nothing new with similarities with the superior ¨Eden Lake¨. Good directing, acting and beautiful spanish landscapes BUT the movie has too any repetitive situations and is lack of tension. The flix could be entertaining nothing great.
  • jam233
    July 13, 2010
    jam233
    Excellent photography and a good pace, this is a fine Spanish thriller. Great use of location filming, well developed characters. It?s a little disjointed at times, the the overall effect of the film is impressive. The score works very well. Good film.
  • SquishyAngieFan
    October 12, 2009
    SquishyAngieFan
    at first i was unsure if i would like this film, but it was late so i decided to give it a shot. and i do not regret doing so for this was a fine film. once you get past the slow start you are treated to a very good psychological movie. its low budget but the values are not so lo... read morew that you change the channel. if you can find this film and have some free time i would recommend giving this a chance.
  • elburrito
    March 7, 2009
    elburrito
    mildly suspensful, nothing that inventive here. Plot twists were not so clever and easy to see coming. Beautiful location cinematography. Unfortunate choice for the protaginist's name.
  • greg4168
    January 24, 2009
    greg4168
    Underwhelming forest chase movie that seemed to go on forever, although the last 15 minutes were compelling. The major twist was also pretty inventive.

View All El Rey de la montaña (King of the Hill) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Anton Bitel
December 1, 2010
Anton Bitel, Little White Lies

allows a compelling moral message to emerge from its amoral woodland playgrounds. Full Review

Bill Chambers
July 24, 2009
Bill Chambers, Film Freak Central

A political thriller in the sense that it's bound to polarize audiences... Full Review

Edward Porter
February 19, 2009
Edward Porter, Sunday Times (UK)

The revelation of the shooter's identity, however, is a bit of a yawn, especially if you have seen the 2006 French film Them or last year's British horror movie Eden Lake. Full Review

Philip French
February 19, 2009
Philip French, Observer [UK]

It starts off well enough as Deliverance and Duel but becomes very conventional when, two-thirds of the way through, the snipers are revealed and it turns into what might be called Haneke-panky. Full Review

Jonathan Crocker
February 13, 2009
Jonathan Crocker, thelondonpaper

Stylishly shot, this tense Spanish thriller sees the couple lost in a mountain wilderness while being hunted by an unseen sniper. Full Review

Xan Brooks
February 13, 2009
Xan Brooks, Guardian [UK]

It's at its best in a tense middle section that plays as a pared-down existential nightmare. Full Review

Anthony Quinn
February 13, 2009
Anthony Quinn, Independent

The tautness of the first hour is tremendous, and features something I never thought to see in such a movie: the spectacle of a man, hiding inside a car from his would-be killer, and doing something w... Full Review

Matthew Turner
February 13, 2009
Matthew Turner, ViewLondon

Engaging, well made horror that gets a decent amount of tension out of its simple premise, even if it's not quite as shocking and provocative as it thinks it is. Full Review

Tom Huddlestone
February 12, 2009
Tom Huddlestone, Time Out

As a work of hard-driving tension, this is satisfyingly terse, methodical and relentless. Full Review

Anton Bitel
February 12, 2009
Anton Bitel, Film4

In this solidly crafted, well performed thriller, humanity gets lost in the deep, dark woods. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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