The story follows Susana, a young model in Paris whose burgeoning career is interrupted when her grandmother, Pilar, suffers a stroke. Returning to Madrid to care for her, Susana finds herself trapped in a claustrophobic apartment that seems to age alongside its inhabitant.
The film strips away the romanticized notion of caregiving, replacing it with the grueling reality of physical decline. The critics at FilmAffinity note how the film utilizes silence and slow-building tension to mirror the agonizing pace of waiting for the inevitable. The horror is not just in the supernatural occurrences, but in the mundane: the bathing, the feeding, and the realization that the person who once raised you is now a shell of their former self. Vanity and the "New Flesh" La abuela (2022)
The ending serves as a bleak commentary on inheritance. We don't just inherit property or physical traits; we inherit the burden of mortality. By the final frame, La abuela transforms from a family drama into a terrifying statement on the predatory nature of beauty. Conclusion The story follows Susana, a young model in
Paco Plaza, known for his work on the [REC] franchise, shifts gears here toward a more atmospheric, "body horror" approach. As discussed in academic circles regarding the aesthetics of the body , the film contrasts Susana’s youthful, "perfect" body—her currency in the modeling world—with the wrinkled, failing body of Pilar. The critics at FilmAffinity note how the film
As the plot unfolds, the supernatural elements reveal a darker, more cyclical nature of survival. The apartment becomes a ritualistic space where the boundaries between Susana and Pilar begin to blur. Vermut’s screenplay crafts a modern fairy tale where the "wicked witch" isn't an external monster, but time itself—and the lengths to which one will go to defeat it.