Warning: This Disturbing Snuff Thriller Will Chill You to the Bone—Here’s How to Stream it
Alejandro Amenábar is undoubtedly one of my favorite working filmmakers. The Others is my second favorite ghost story ever made (behind The Orphanage), and I sobbed like a baby during The Sea Inside. I even like Agora and Regression, even if I’m the only person who thinks the latter is worth watching. It’s Emma Watson and cult nonsense, okay? Check it out. It doesn’t make a single lick of sense, but we were one of the few outlets to give the film a positive review.
Amenábar regularly dabbles in genre, and he actually got his start with one of this generation’s most chilling thrillers. The film was recently added to Shudder, and it’s probably one you haven’t heard of before. Horror films have always been fascinated with the myth of snuff films (check out Vacancy and Red Rooms to see why), and Amenábar’s Thesis (Teisis) might just be the most fascinating exploration of the phenomenon. There’s genuinely compelling stuff here about the nature of violence and our consumption therein, and it poses a lot of challenging questions without offering easy answers. Dive into the snuff on Shudder now:
Per Shudder: While doing a thesis about violence, Ángela finds a snuff video where a girl is tortured until death. Soon she discovers that the girl was a former student in her faculty…
I love Thesis. So much so, one of my first ever published pieces was on the politics of gendered violence in Amenábar’s debut. You can check that out over at Certified Forgotten. Because, well, Thesis is certified forgotten. It’s terrifying and chilling, and Ana Torrent is phenomenal as the lead Ángela Márquez. Like the best horror movies, Amenábar’s thrills are mostly suggestive. You don’t see a great deal, though the audio work is so chilling (another strength of Red Rooms, clearly inspired), your mind will conjure images more terrifying than anything Amenábar could have visualized.
I haven’t been able to shake Thesis since, and Shudder audiences haven’t been able to either. Since the film debuted on the platform, they’ve taken to social media to share their thoughts. Check out some choice social media reactions below:
What do you think? Any plans to check out Thesis? It’s a certified masterpiece, and I promise you won’t be disappointed. If you do, let me know how much the film captivated you over on Twitter @Chadiscollins.
Categorized:News
