SYNOPSIS

Stories to Stay Awake is the reboot of the iconic Spanish series from the 1960s, originally created by the legendary Chicho Ibáñez Serrador. After the success of the first season, four new episodes of Stories to Stay Awake, brought to the screen by four masters of present-day cinema and television, continue to show the validity of the genius and vision of their creator. Once again different, once again dazzling, and combined with last season’s episodes, will create an anthology of unique and unmissable stories.

The legacy of the original series is still alive and well today, with film critics becoming increasingly aware of both its historical importance in Spanish cinema and its enormous impact on the subsequent generation of directors. The series revolutionized the narrative film language of the era with stylistically neoteric production and cinematography that was never before seen in Spain. Through episodes of varying lengths, Chicho made viewers‘ hairs stand on end with his stories of murderers, ghosts, and science fiction, and these current installments aim to do the same. This new series gives global audiences the best of the traditional thriller genre but with a modern twist. From a tragic tale of eternal youth, to a seemingly apocalyptic home lockdown, a story of 19th century village murders, and finally, the effects of too much home security — each episode is unique in setting and theme, but they all have one thing in common: they will leave you sleepless at night.

HISTORY OF THE SERIES

Stories to Stay Awake is an adaptation of the emblematic television series created by Chicho Ibáñez Serrador, which aired on RTVE with enormous critical and audience success for three seasons (1966, 1967 and 1982), making its director a luminary of the genre. Through episodes of variable length, Serrador made viewers’ hair stand on end with stories of murder, the paranormal, and science fiction, interweaving genre elements effortlessly. This format revolutionized the cinematic language of the time, employing movements and camera angles never seen before in Spain. The original’s risky combination of styles was revelatory: black comedy, science fiction, magic realism, suspense…

Its scripts, its staging, and an impressive selection of actors did the rest. All this made it the most prized collection of stories in its genre in Spain. According to its author, this series was born with the purpose of „cleaning the suspense and horror genre of many of its clichés“. Each episode begins with the symbol of the door, which reaffirms the declaration of intent — that of exposing genuine fears.
The legacy of the series lives on, not least through its enormous impact on the generation of Spanish filmmakers that shines in cinema today.