Tesis

The thing about reviewing thriller films is finding the words to express the film as best as you can. In every review for a suspense film, you will find words like "first-rate" or tense & taut". The lack of variety in detailing leaves for an unsure mind in need of a recommendation. Natural Born Killers was once heralded for its abrasive look at violence in the media. Allow this film to step aside for a film depicting violence in a small environment, Tesis is here to stay amongst the classics.

A film more realistic and mentally explosive than 8mm, Tesis provides countless progression to keep the mood intact and the story tense. A film student is developing a thesis on violence in film. She then uncovers a snuff film and is led into a labyrinth of betrayal, lust, and deceit. She eventually uncovers a snuff ring and the truth may be more horrifying then she originally expected.

Besides from our inquisitive female lead Ana Torrent, the cast is composed of Spanish unknowns and one happens to eerily resemble Johnny Depp. Tesis is one of few films to give the snuff mythology the proper treatment to film. It's quite ironic that a video tape featuring a death recorded for entertainment and/or to sell is one of the hardest horror subjects to adapt into film. As for the speculation that snuff films don't exist, that's utter nonsense.

The coercion of other films on snuff include the basement mixtape gritty filming style. Killing someone on film wouldn't have to be so nightmare inducing if you were killing someone for entertainment, which is the exact reason when a film on snuff tries to make you feel "Seedy" for watching the material, you feel like you're watching a normal film on snuff. Tesis, on the other hand, puts the illegal ring around a secure location and increases the absurdity and suspense of it all.


Tesis as a film completely surprised me. Do not expect a new age art in the guise of a thrilling film. It is an extravagant look at how a murderer could be amongst your midst and increases that very existent paranoia. Tesis is an extremely average film that might surpass 8mm. It's hard to surpass Joaquin Phoenix in a punk fashion.

-mAQ