Thesis

Thesis

Thesis

I read about this film in the top 50 horror movies and then was amazed when Film Four Extreme showed it the very next day! I didn't want to like this film because it wasn't in English and I usually hate looking at subtitles but it is an extremely good plot and is very tense throughout. You are kept guessing until the end as to who the killer is. The plot revolves around a girl who is doing a thesis on violence and who befriends the school weirdo in order to obtain study materials. During her quest she discovers a snuff movie starring a girl who disappeared from her college a couple of years previously and decides to find out who produced it. Along the way she realises that this wasn't the only such film and that the killer is thinking of making another......starring her. Who is the killer and who can she trust? Scary stuff and probably the best foreign film that I've seen.

Alejandro Amenabar is so utterly, completely talented and this as his first feature proves just that. I first saw Abre Los Ojos and then started poking around on imdb to see what else he'd done. Finally tracked down a copy of Tesis and sat there absolutely astounded. A film is rarely a perfect thing - afterall, it is subjective, but perfect or near perfect for me is defined by how gratifying the film was, how stimulating and how different. Tesis delivered on all of the above. Phenomenal story, great acting, great suspense, but more than anything I worship the director. He has yet to disappoint me and I only hope that he continues to do spanish films instead of getting swept into only making studio pictures. That would be an absolute travesty of justice. I give Tesis 9/10.

This scary little thriller about a student who accidentally finds a snuff video and goes to look for the killer together with a horror movie freak was so much better than the disappointing 8mm (which dealt with the same subject). Not only is TESIS a lot scarier, it also offers more insight into the central question the topic routinely provokes: Why would people make snuff movies? And more important, why would people WATCH snuff movies? While TESIS cannot provide a definite answer (well, we do not even know if there really ARE snuff movies or if they are just an urban legend), it gives some pointers and even dares exploring the often denied link between sexual fantasy and violence. The fresh, young actors are excellent, too. If you can get your hands on it, watch this movie!

What do you want in a horror movie? Scares? This flick's got them: Imagine knowing that there's a psycho filming him/herself using a chainsaw to cut people into peices, then imagine waking up in the middle of the night to find a glowing red light from a camcorder a couple feet in front of you. Scariest scene in a horror movie I've seen in years. What else do you want in horror? Laughs? It's got them too: I was going to write one of the killers lines just as he/she's preparing to cut one of his/her victims, but you have to see it to appreciate it. If you want gore in your movie, you're not going to find much here. Much of the violence is off-camera. I prefer it that way. The real terror is in watching the expressions on the faces of those who have seen the violence.

This was the director's debut and as such it is a good one. The movie has all the classic thriller ingredients: Terrified people running through corridors, sudden effects and a really tricky intrigue. The young actors are talented and convincing. The exception is Eduardo Noriega who only seems to have one facial expression in this film. I actually thought that he was someone's nephew and not an actor at all. He's done other things later on and is not as bad as in this movie. There are other things that are a little annoying. For example that Angela, a film student knows nothing about snuff movies. But all in all it's a good suspense movie with a moral and it's definitely worth seeing.

If you are looking for a movie that makes you hang on really tight to you seat - This is IT. A true masterpiece, full of thrill and suspense. This is a movie were actors and background blend together and produce a unique feeling of disturbance, pressure and suspense - Not apt for cardiac's. The performance of all the actor, but specially of Fele Martinez, was extraordinary, they all deserve an Oscar !!!!. Amenabar really did it, not even Alfred H. could write and direct a movie like this. But don't take my word for it, take the challenge and see the movie.... I bet you will close your eyes and even turn your head more than once, but surely you will always remember... "Me llamo Angela... y me van a Matar"

When I started learning Spanish, I also started watching Spanish movies to improve the level of the language. First, all Spanish films I saw were soft porno. There was no movie without sex or a naked woman etc. Finally, I saw "Tesis" and this is where I got to know Amenabar and Noriega. A brilliant film, original and great acting, too! It's certainly a film worth to be seen :) Even if you're into this kind of movies and even if you're think the snuff theme is too common, you will like this one :)