Review of Reversion, a remarkable two-speed thriller

Review of Reversala striking thriller that marks Jacob Santana’s film debut with Jaime Lorente, Belén Rueda, Manuel Vega and Fernando Cayo. Premieres on November 7th.

There is room for maneuver to continue entertaining and surprising viewers. The debut of Jacob Santana in the feature film is good news because Reversal he has all the necessary ingredients to stimulate viewers’ imagination and offer them a challenging viewing experience.

When the film begins, it smells like a caged cat: we know that something is happening below the surface that escapes us, and we will have to be patient and wait until the protagonist is really disconcerted to prove that we were right.

This is the dialogue that the director and co-writer (along with Frank Ariza and Marco Lagarde) has with an audience that feels out of the water and is constantly tested by fiction.

The origin of the story is in the Korean film Forgotten which you can see on Netflix, although it is very well adapted to our coordinates. Obviously the surprise factor will be lost on those who know her previously.

In your favor good interpretations, with the signing the muse of mystery Belén Rueda as a declaration of intentions, and Manuel Vega shining with his own light in a secondary performance in which he has carte blanche to show his acting skills.

But the main focus is on Jaime Lorentean actor who refuses to be pigeonholed and brings Cid and Xavi Font to life. Here he once again shows his versatility in a very special role, as we adopt his perspective in much of the filming.

Blurred starting point

Reversal It starts like many other mystery and horror films: with a movement. Mario, a middle-aged man undergoing heavy pharmacological treatment, moves with his parents and older brother, David, to a new house.

He suffers episodes of great anxiety and his concentration varies, making him dependent on medication to maintain focus, in addition to an impressive scar on his face. But everyone seems interested in keeping him calm and recovering without stress or stress.

On a rainy afternoon, David, to whom he feels linked by a strong bond of affection, is kidnapped before his eyes and his anguish increases. After more than two weeks of waiting, he returns but has no memory of what happened to him.

However, Mario notices worrying changes in his personality, a special coldness on the part of his mother, and begins to wonder if the man who returned to him is an impostor instead of his real brother. In an attempt to find out, he decides to start stopping taking the pills, discovering a painful reality.

Reversal It unfolds at two very different speeds: the first half of the film brings a lot of confusion, proposing a foray into horror. As we said above, we adopt the point of view of a very restrained and unreliable character, so we notice strangeness and there are sequences designed to increase our heart rate.

The second part adopts a more discursive, thriller-like tone and is when we can begin to incorporate the information we need to fill in the gaps until we realize that we are truly immersed in a deep family drama with unexpected ramifications.

It is a film that demands attention but has the reward of knowing how to keep its cards to itself honestly, without deceiving us beyond what is necessary to feed our curiosity, removing them when necessary..

Furthermore, it is a solvent production, which has the necessary resources to create a disturbing environment, from the photographs to the staging: it goes to common places to turn them around and give them a new meaning.

It seems that if they wanted to make a typical horror film, there would have been a narrative pulse to put us on the ropes and have a lot of fun. The ambition is different: to take us where we don’t expect, and that also wins the game.

Reversal leaves us with clues that The dressSantana’s next film, co-directed by Frank Ariza and already entirely based on horror, will be a memorable immersion in the genre. We will be keeping an eye out for this rising career director who can bring us a lot of joy.