A psychological terror film starring Clive Owen and Carice van Houten opened the San Sebastian festival on Friday.

They star in the out-of-competition “Intruders“, a tale of parents trying to protect their children from a monster, which won an ovation from the audience in this coastal city of northern Spain’s Basque Country.

“I wouldn’t really call it a horror film, it’s much deeper, more psychological,” Owen told a news conference.

“All the fear and trepidation, the danger in the movie, it’s within the characters, so it’s a pleasure acting in a role like this,” he told reporters.

“It was an ambitious thing to tie all the elements together and to bring them back on an emotional way. I was hugely excited by the possibilities and that’s why I have done it.”

Director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo said he was helped by his own childhood fears.

“My mother told me family secrets that were a bit troubling, those secrets ended up becoming nightmares. I am very interested in the way parents transmit their fears to their children,” he said.

GALLERY LINKS:
• Public Appearances: 59th San Sebastian Film Festival: Arrivals – Day 1
• Public Appearances: 59th San Sebastian Film Festival: ‘Intruders’ Photocall
• Public Appearances: 59th San Sebastian Film Festival: ‘Intruders’ Premiere