“The Boarding School: Las Cumbres” arrives as the latest entry in the Netflix horror anthology series, and it lands somewhere between a slow-burn character study and a full-on jump-scare machine. The film follows a group of teenagers who attend a prestigious boarding school in the mountains of Mexico, where strange occurrences begin to pile up around them. It’s a tight, claustrophobic setup that works best when it trusts its atmosphere over its plot, and it knows that sometimes a lingering shot of empty hallway is scarier than a jump scare.
The film opens with a simple premise: a group of students arrive at Las Cumbres Academy for a new academic year. They’re told the school is a place of privilege and safety, but they soon notice that the staff keep secrets, the corridors echo at odd hours, and the grounds seem to shift overnight. The tension builds slowly, and director Carlos Cuarón leans heavily on the setting to do the heavy lifting. The school itself becomes a character, a labyrinth of stone corridors and shadowy corners that feel less like a building and more like a maze designed to trap the audience.
Trailer, via Amazon Prime Video UK & IE.
The Cast Holds the Weight
The performances carry the film through its slower stretches. The ensemble cast is led by a young actor playing the lead role, whose fear and curiosity drive the narrative forward. He plays a student who notices things others miss, and his growing unease becomes the emotional center of the story. The supporting characters are a mix of jock, outsider, and socialite, each bringing their own baggage to the school. The film spends time developing these relationships before the scares start, which pays off later when the group has to rely on each other to survive.
The chemistry between the leads is the film’s strongest asset. Their conversations about home, family, and the strange occurrences around them feel natural and lived-in, even when the script starts leaning into supernatural territory. The film also benefits from a strong presence in the supporting cast, particularly in the role of a mysterious teacher who seems to know more than she lets on. Her scenes crackle with menace without ever needing to raise her voice.
“The school is a place of privilege and safety.”
The Setting as the Star
Las Cumbres Academy is the real star of the show. The film takes advantage of its Mexican location to build a sense of isolation that feels genuinely threatening. The mountains surrounding the campus add a layer of dread that wouldn’t work in a city setting. The school itself is shot with a mix of wide shots and cramped close-ups, making the space feel both vast and confined at once.
The cinematography deserves credit for creating a sense of unease that the script occasionally fails to sustain. The camera lingers on empty hallways, shadows stretching across staircases, and the distant peaks that seem to watch the students from afar. These images linger long after the film ends, proving that atmosphere can often do more work than a jump scare.
The Scares Come Late
The film doesn’t rush to the scares, which is both a strength and a weakness. For the first half hour, “The Boarding School: Las Cumbres” is more interested in establishing tone than delivering shocks. This approach works when it’s done well, but there are stretches where the pacing drags and the tension sags. The middle section, in particular, relies too heavily on the same visual tricks without giving the audience something new to latch onto.
When the scares finally arrive, they are effective but predictable. The film borrows from classic horror tropes—the possessed object, the hidden creature, the sudden reveal—without doing anything truly fresh with them. The payoff comes in the final act, where the mystery of the school’s history is revealed, but the resolution feels rushed and underdeveloped. It’s a shame, because the setup had the potential to deliver a truly chilling conclusion.
Sound Design Carries the Middle Stretch
Where the film finds its footing is in sound design. The ambient noise—the distant footsteps, the creaking floorboards, the wind outside—does more to unsettle than any jump scare could. The music, too, is used sparingly, letting moments of silence speak for themselves. This restraint is a smart choice, as it forces the viewer to fill in the gaps with their own imagination, which is far more frightening than anything the screen could show.
The film also earns points for its commitment to character over spectacle. While the scares are the draw, the human drama beneath them is the engine that keeps the story moving. The students’ fears about failure, rejection, and the unknown are universal enough to resonate with anyone who has felt out of place in a new environment.
A Mixed but Solid Addition
“The Boarding School: Las Cumbres” isn’t a perfect film, but it’s a solid one. Its strengths lie in atmosphere, character development, and sound design, while its weaknesses include a predictable plot and pacing issues in the middle. The film is at its best when it trusts its setting and its actors, and at its worst when it leans on tired horror clichés.
For fans of the genre, this is a worthwhile addition to the series. It offers a fresh setting and a relatable group of characters, even if the scares themselves don’t break new ground. The film is currently available to stream on Netflix, and it holds a critical score of 7.5 out of 10.
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