The best picks from Spain for a freezing January. Mysterious disappearances and murders, suspects in isolated villages, killers lurking in the shadows, and locals keeping their mouths shut. Six films that will leave you… chilled to the bone.
The best picks from Spain for a freezing January. Mysterious disappearances and murders, suspects in isolated villages, killers lurking in the shadows, and locals keeping their mouths shut. Six films that will leave you… chilled to the bone.
Spain continues to captivate us with thriller films and crime dramas, establishing itself as a driving force in Europe in these genres (as well as in comedies, horror, etc.), often surpassing in both quality and quantity the movies and series from the UK and Scandinavian countries (with their famous Nordic Noir).
If you don’t have anything better planned for a freezing January weekend, we recommend discovering—or rewatching—the following Spanish thriller and crime drama films.
Invisible Guest (Contratiempo, 2016)
“Invisible Guest” has now reached its tenth anniversary, and it might just be the best Spanish mystery thriller of all time. Does that sound like an exaggeration? No matter how many times we watch it (it often airs on free-to-air channels in Greece), it always reveals new details and twists to discover.
In the film, a successful businessman, Adrián Doria (played solely by Mario Casas), is accused of murdering his lover at a remote hotel. A skilled lawyer assigned to defend him, with only a short time to prepare, uncovers secrets and lies, analyzing the events of the past months, leading to a shocking twist. Don’t be quick to draw conclusions from this description—you’ll likely be wrong.
Marshland (La Isla Minima, 2014)
The chemistry between the lead actors, Raúl Arévalo and Javier Gutiérrez (also seen below), is exceptional in this gripping crime drama, which remains relevant even today. Set in Spain in 1980, as the country struggled to “stand on its own feet” after Franco’s dictatorship, two detectives with opposing methods and beliefs investigate the disappearance of two teenage girls during a festival in the remote marshlands of the Guadalquivir River in southern Spain. The locals keep their mouths tightly shut, while tension between the two detectives quickly escalates.
Everybody Knows (Todos lo Saben, 2018)
Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem star together once again, this time in the mystery crime drama by Iranian director Asghar Farhadi. The story is set in a small village just outside Madrid, where Laura (Penélope Cruz) travels with her daughter and son from Buenos Aires, where she has lived for the past few years, to attend her sister’s wedding. She reunites with Paco (Javier Bardem), for whom she once had feelings, but nothing hints at what is about to unfold.
Late during the wedding celebration, Laura realizes that her daughter, Irene, has gone missing. A message on her phone indicates that it is a kidnapping. Her husband, Alejandro, played brilliantly by Ricardo Darín, arrives in haste. The film is available on CINOBO.
The Occupant (Hogar / I Still Have the Key, 2020)
Javier Gutiérrez, one of Spain’s finest actors, known for many thrillers and crime dramas, plays a former advertising executive who, after losing his job, obsessively monitors the family living in his old apartment—Mario Casas plays the new owner—and gradually inserts himself into their lives, causing disruption. Directors Álex and David Pastor create a chilling character study and a portrait of a collapsing middle class, where financial anxiety turns into something far more dangerous. The film is available on Netflix.
Timecrimes (Los Cronocrímenes, 2007)
Nacho Vigalondo’s debut sci-fi thriller, arguably still his best film after a brief stint across the Atlantic, follows a scientist whose experimental time-travel device malfunctions, trapping an unsuspecting middle-aged man and forcing him to repeatedly travel one hour back in time. At the same time, a woman is found naked and unconscious in a nearby forest, and the man is attacked by a stranger with a bandaged face. A true mind-bending experience from Spain that hasn’t aged a bit. The film is available on CINOBО.
As Bestas (The Beasts, 2022)
A Spanish-French production that in some ways recalls the Greek films “The King” and “Digger.” A couple from France fulfills their dream by moving permanently to a small village in Galicia, northwest Spain. However, in this tight-knit village, where everyone knows each other and mouths stay shut, any new “outsiders” are not always welcome. Who are these newcomers? What do they want? The couple’s refusal to agree to the construction of a wind farm, which would have brought extra income to the locals, puts them in direct conflict with the villagers. The film is available on ERTFLIX.
