Hipnos (2004)

Waste of time

Really Surprised!

Absolutely the worst movie.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

"Hipnos" tell the story of a young and beautiful doctor Beatriz,who starts working with patients in a mental hospital.Soon she realizes that the place hides some dark secrets..."Hipnos" is quite similar to Mathieu Kassovitz's incredibly boring "Gothica".The plot seems rushed and is unoriginal,the pace is slow and some scenes are downright confusing.The acting is decent and Cristina Brondo provides some nice full-frontal nudity.The film looks pretty damn impressive,though.It's truly a shame that the plot is so dull and lifeless.Still like I said the nudity is always welcomed,so I was at least mildly interested.6 out of 10.

Hipnos starts as a young attractive psychiatrist named Beatriz (Cristina Brondo) arrives at a Spanish clinic for people with metal problems where she is about to start her new job, Elena (Marisol Membrillo) show her around where she meets a troubled young girl & she then gets to meet her boss Dr. Sanchez Blanche (Feodor Atkine) who seems decent enough. At first things at the clinic seem fine but when the girl Beatriz befriended commits suicide & another patient named Miguel (Demian Bichir) claims it wasn't suicide & something very sinister is going on she gets drawn into a web of lies, sex, murder & intrigue... or does she...This Spanish production was co-written & directed by David Carreras & I thought it was absolutely bloody terrible. The script by Carreras & Juanma Ruiz Cordoba was based on a novel by Javier Azpeitia & is a slow moving psychological horror/thriller that didn't do anything for me. Now we all know how effective a great unexpected twist ending can be, I mean just look at the likes of The Sixth Sense (1999) & Fight Club (1999) to name just two films that I'm sure most people will have at least heard of if not seen, it's the careful build up & then the fantastic twist ending which make those films, right? Well if The Sixth Sense & Fight Club are the blue-prints for doing the twist ending properly this piece of crap Hipnos must surely be the perfect way to demonstrate how not to do it properly. For a start I saw the twist at the end coming within the first twenty minutes, seriously this is pretty clichéd, predictable, unoriginal & has been done before on more than one occasion, sure I didn't predict every last point & every single thing that happened but in essence I guessed who everyone were & how it was going to turn out. Then there's the small fact the ending completely destroys everything which has gone beforehand, not matter how hard I try to square the circle I just cannot & put into context with the previous 70 odd minutes the ending makes no logical sense, it annoys & isn't shocking, particularly memorable or clever & in fact it's anything but shocking, memorable or clever. Then there's the fact it's slow, there are scenes which go nowhere & I'd rather watch grass grow than watch Hipnos again, at least watching grass grow isn't as predictable or boring.Director Carreras does a fantastic job on Hipnos, while I hated the story & film in general it looks absolutely brilliant throughout. There are some wonderful scenes beautifully shot & composed so you have to try & watch this the way it was shot in 2:35:1 widescreen, the production design is amazing with the ultra modern interior & exterior of the clinic wonderfully realised, it's very minimalist with chrome & stainless steel & sleek lines everywhere, this looks the absolute business no mistake & it's a shame all the style & visual flair ended up with a script that was so bad. To try & distract you from the awful story the filmmakers made leading lady Brondo strip off on a regular basis to have a shower or bath so they can show her body & breasts off but it doesn't improve things.Technically Hipnos is absolutely flawless & is maybe the best most stylish & visually interesting film I've seen this year, if only all films looked this good I'd be a happy guy. Seriously you have to see this to appreciate it, unfortunately sitting through it isn't that much fun. The acting is strong by all involved but I never really cared for anyone to any great degree maybe because it's in Spanish & I couldn't understand what they were saying & that in itself felt like a barrier. The version I watched had English subtitles, I don't know who wrote them but they need to work on their English grammar...Hipnos is a rubbishy thriller that tries to be clever, I hated the story but loved the stunning visuals & for me the story is just more important which is why I'm giving it 2 stars out of 10. If you do want to watch this make sure you pick up a copy in widescreen!

********************************************************************* Although the movie is a little bit confusing at times, don't worry. In the end everything comes together. I'm really impressed with this thriller and I really would like to recommend it. The plot is ingenious and well crafted. What took me by shock was the fact that this one isn't an American movie (almost all movies I get are American and the Title is a little bit suggesting - Hipnos). I realized it on the first scenes (good way to practice my Spanish).**************************** ********************************************************************* ********************************************************************* *********************************************************************

In the last few years Spanish cinema has witnessed the proliferation of a series of new directors who devote their careers to horror films and thrillers. While some of them have been quite irregular, others (specially Jaume Balagueró) have provided a new insight to the concept of Spanish thrillers. David Carreras, in his debut film, has shown a very promising skill as a director and screenwriter.Technically outstanding, "Hipnos" will make you bite your nails with only a few hints of blood and with no need of psychopaths or ghosts. While most thrillers are ruined by iffy endings, "Hipnos" is rounded by an acceptably believable third act. It could certainly have been better, but it should be praised by its value in technical aspects and storyline.