Alejandro Amenábar directs Ana Torrent, Fele Martínez and Eduardo Noriega in this Spanish thriller where a film student realises a snuff movie maker is lurking the halls of the her university.

Good solid debut movie in the tradition of Brian De Palma. A bird of a feather with Shallow Grave, Night Watch, Mute Witness and three dozen French releases in this decade. That’s Scotland, Denmark, Russia and now Spain all tooling around in these bleak, self aware youthful Hitchcockian homages in the 90s. I’m guessing the true root source for all these calling card chillers that flirt with horror and meta is actually The Vanishing (1988, Dutch). George Sluizer paved the way for everything else. Amenábar is an ambitious director but this one spins its wheels before the denouement for way too long. Sacrificing the sleazy immoral atmosphere of constant unease. Two mid section set pieces in the pitch black darkness are the strongest stuff. Which is ironic given Thesis is all about looking and seeing and watching.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Open Your Eyes (1997)