Thesis (Tesis) (1996)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Drew S

  
  I can understand why this brought Alejandro Amenabar to a fruitful career, but I really just thought this was a serviceable, brainless thriller. The one thing that irked me most is that Angela is simply one of the dumbest horror protagonists I've ever seen. She is vacant,… More
  I can understand why this brought Alejandro Amenabar to a fruitful career, but I really just thought this was a serviceable, brainless thriller. The one thing that irked me most is that Angela is simply one of the dumbest horror protagonists I've ever seen. She is vacant, unresourceful and a God-awful liar. For one, she NEVER calls the police, despite being embroiled in a steadily worsening snuff film situation; she has no compelling reason not to do so. None. When confronted by people who are suspicious of her snooping around, she stutters and says "no" a lot, or just repeats what they're saying to her. She has about two good ideas through the entire course of the film and it's kind of amazing that she even pulls these off. We are led to believe that Angela is an intelligent girl, but she shows us almost none of this, making one awful decision after the other. Angela's indiscretions serve to highlight some flaws in the plot - again, why does no one call the police? Why are the killers keeping their video tapes in the basement of the school, and how come so many people have access to this basement when security is presumably patrolling it? And ultimately, what compels Angela to try and solve this case herself? All we know is that she has a cursory interest in (though supposed disdain for) violence, but that offers no real reason for her not to get anyone else involved. This is a technically strong film with a decent message, though "obsession with violence in the media" is really old-hat by now. It's a far better delivery of the theme than Funny Games, I have to say it, and I'm sure it hit harder back in 1996. I guess this aged in a way that Se7en did; sensational pictures rarely seem to last very long.

• Elvira B

  
  Tesis is an excellent thriller about the powerful fascination that surrounds violence and death. Especially in movies. Angela is a visual communications student who begins to make her thesis about violence in cinema. From then on, she encounters, face to face, the rawest expression… More
  Tesis is an excellent thriller about the powerful fascination that surrounds violence and death. Especially in movies. Angela is a visual communications student who begins to make her thesis about violence in cinema. From then on, she encounters, face to face, the rawest expression of her subject of research, closer to her than she can imagine. Angela's fascination/rejection relationship with violence implicates her in a terrible murder and the uncovering of a network of snuff filmmaking. The suspense in Tesis is perfectly built. Alejandro Amenabar puts everyone against Angela and makes us try to guess who is really who he says he is. The performances (Ana Torrent, the little girl from the Spirit of the Beehive, Eduardo Noriega from Open Your Eyes and Fele Martínez also from OYE and recently The Bad Education) are excellent. The best part is that it doesn't leave things resolved. Even after all the twists and shocks, there is something "in the air" to think about as the credits roll. When a film can entertain, frighten, and challenge you, imho, it's a good film. The public wants violence, does it need it?

• Pierluigi P

  
  A great whodunnit about the snuff-movies myth. entertaining and suspenseful.

• William S

  
  This film terrified me so much! Never has a film exploited so well our fear of the dark. It literally had me looking over my shoulder I was so tense.

• Nicolas K

  
  While doing a thesis about violence, Ángela finds a snuff video where a girl which was a former student in her faculty is tortured to death. The violence is more implicit than explicit in this wonderfully directed low budget film, and shows the potential of the director that brought… More
  While doing a thesis about violence, Ángela finds a snuff video where a girl which was a former student in her faculty is tortured to death. The violence is more implicit than explicit in this wonderfully directed low budget film, and shows the potential of the director that brought us "Open your eyes", "The others" and "the sea inside"...

• Eduardo C

  
  About 1/3 of it is top notch. The rest is a very underwhelming, perfunctory done-to-death thriller.

• John M

  
  This is the clever debut of the spanish director Alejandro Amenabar. He did a great job writing and directing this movie. "Tesis" is not only a interesting horror thriller, but is also an intelligent study of people's fascination with death and the imagery of death.… More
  This is the clever debut of the spanish director Alejandro Amenabar. He did a great job writing and directing this movie. "Tesis" is not only a interesting horror thriller, but is also an intelligent study of people's fascination with death and the imagery of death. Thrilling from the first to the last minute, and sometimes quite shocking and disturbing, The acting in the movie is very good, specially by the lead characters, Ana Torrent as Angela and Fele Martínez as Chema. A good cinematography supports the suspense and the thrilling atmosphere. In conclusion, this flix is disturbing, terrifying and intelligent.

• Patrick D

  
  If Argento made a solid mainstream flick, with a not so great score, this is what might happen. This film if actually pretty great, suspenseful and really keeps you confused, paranoid, and trying to figure out exactly what the hell is gonna happen next. It's aged for sure, as… More
  If Argento made a solid mainstream flick, with a not so great score, this is what might happen. This film if actually pretty great, suspenseful and really keeps you confused, paranoid, and trying to figure out exactly what the hell is gonna happen next. It's aged for sure, as it's dealing with video and was made in the mid 90s, but that doesn't really hinder it too much. The direction is stylish enough but seems to concentrate more on tell you a straight story, and build the suspense. It definitely scores a hell of alot higher than a lame "edgy" american mainstream thriller.

• Leina R

  
  Perfect, just perfect. Thus began my love for Alejandro Amenabar, Eduardo Noriega y Fele Martinez.

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