A film student Ángela (Ana Torrent) decides to write her thesis paper on violence in cinema, hence deciding to focus on less known works, especially those banned from general viewing. Her professor Figueroa (Miguel Picazo) decides to assist her by accessing movies from the university archive, but unwittingly stumbles across a snuff movie made by a local ring. After Figueroa dies whilst viewing the picture, Ángela with the assistance of gore aficionado Chema (Fele Martínez) decides to unravel the ring and discover the creators of the on-screen murder movie. Her prime suspect is Bosco (Eduardo Noriega), an attractive co-student with access to a camera of the exact make used for the snuff film...
As a pure thriller "Tesis" is an effective and pivotal piece by director Alejandro Amenábar, which jump-started the Spanish horror renaissance. Despite some wooden acting by Torrent, unfocused story and a large debt owed to Italian giallo, the overall atmosphere is strikingly different, ominous and unrelenting. However apart from the base thrill factor offered by "Tesis" there is also an underlying element of commentary on film and its inherent value. Essentially countering the voyeuristic repulsiveness of "Funny Games" by Michael Haneke, Amenabar approaches the theme without such self-defeating hypocrisy talking much about exposure of violence, but offering little in terms of visible gore. Even the snuff videos are mostly showed from a close-up perspective obscuring real visibility, instead keeping it outside the lens. Even the suspense is restrained with the thrill coveted by grim darkness.
The overall commentary is rather straight-forward, subdued and limited in scale, hitting home a similar message as the controversial Haneke piece - the suggestion that by watching violence you inadvertently become an accomplice to the act. A cynic professor suggests that everyone needs to drop false pretence and instead partake in the money grab - deliver bigger, better and more gruesome junk, instead of sticking to artistry (something apparently soon to be perfected by the French film industry).
Other motives concern that of the powerful obsession with the forbidden apple and an often missed question of guilt / redemption. In the previous matter the interest in on-screen violence is incrementally reinforced by restrictions. In the latter is solidly focused around the most captivating character of Chema, who delivers a very ambiguous portrayal, but pivotal to the story and its outcome. An intriguing and satisfyingly cinemaphile jab at "The Third Man" and a key scene, where Chema tells a dark fairy-tale, subtly invokes his remorse for directly / indirectly being part of the expansion of violence. The movie ends with his guilt never fully disclosed, instead making him a 'reformed' individual, who actually may have been the instigator of the snuff ring, but no longer wants to attribute himself to the violence.
As a pure thriller "Tesis" is an effective and pivotal piece by director Alejandro Amenábar, which jump-started the Spanish horror renaissance. Despite some wooden acting by Torrent, unfocused story and a large debt owed to Italian giallo, the overall atmosphere is strikingly different, ominous and unrelenting. However apart from the base thrill factor offered by "Tesis" there is also an underlying element of commentary on film and its inherent value. Essentially countering the voyeuristic repulsiveness of "Funny Games" by Michael Haneke, Amenabar approaches the theme without such self-defeating hypocrisy talking much about exposure of violence, but offering little in terms of visible gore. Even the snuff videos are mostly showed from a close-up perspective obscuring real visibility, instead keeping it outside the lens. Even the suspense is restrained with the thrill coveted by grim darkness.
The overall commentary is rather straight-forward, subdued and limited in scale, hitting home a similar message as the controversial Haneke piece - the suggestion that by watching violence you inadvertently become an accomplice to the act. A cynic professor suggests that everyone needs to drop false pretence and instead partake in the money grab - deliver bigger, better and more gruesome junk, instead of sticking to artistry (something apparently soon to be perfected by the French film industry).
Other motives concern that of the powerful obsession with the forbidden apple and an often missed question of guilt / redemption. In the previous matter the interest in on-screen violence is incrementally reinforced by restrictions. In the latter is solidly focused around the most captivating character of Chema, who delivers a very ambiguous portrayal, but pivotal to the story and its outcome. An intriguing and satisfyingly cinemaphile jab at "The Third Man" and a key scene, where Chema tells a dark fairy-tale, subtly invokes his remorse for directly / indirectly being part of the expansion of violence. The movie ends with his guilt never fully disclosed, instead making him a 'reformed' individual, who actually may have been the instigator of the snuff ring, but no longer wants to attribute himself to the violence.