VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Daniel Humphrey (saltsan) This is one of those films that has you wanting to yell at the characters on screen starting about 20 minutes in: "Go to the police! Why don't you go to the police?" They wade into some deep crap and have no reason NOT to go to the police, but hey! Why don't they just try to solve the big mystery of the snuff film and the missing girls by themselves (even though the have enough evidence to give to the police to have the thing wrapped up in probably a day)? Only ninety minutes in, after another death and more threats on their lives, do they even mention the possibility of maybe, you know, going to the police. Of course they never do, and seem completely idiotic for that. The actors are very good, especially Ana Torrent, Fele Martinez, Xabier Elorriaga, and Miguel Picazo, maybe too good for such a lame script. Ana Torrent especially seems far too intelligent to be acting as stupid as she (or her character) does for 121 minutes. I mean I get that horror films have characters doing stupid things, like NOT GOING TO THE POLICE when they should, but this one seems especially bad in that regard. It's not even particularly stylish which sometimes covers for bad script problems. The director would do far better in his later films.

ivica83 The premise for "Tesis" sounds intriguing: apparently it's a film about a girl that is looking for academic answer to questions such as "Why is death and violence so fascinating?", "Is it morally correct to show violence in movies?" and "If so, is there a limit to what we should show?" Genre-wise, "Tesis" is promoted as a thriller offering that could potentially satisfy horror aficionados or at least the audience of the first "Scream" film, which was released around the same time. Also, "Tesis" is a film that is virtually impossible to avoid in any serious list of genre films in the 1990s.Given this preface, why am I so disappointed in this little Spanish flick? I'll give three reasons: 1. It never bothers to answer or discuss the questions it raises. The main character, Angela, seems to be clueless about what her thesis is about: what does she really mean when she says "violence" and how does she intend to approach it? Is it enough to approach a random guy, watch a tape with him and then scribble random thoughts on what she has seen? Is it possible that she has not heard of snuff films before the events represented in "Tesis"? Why is she interested in this subject in the first place? At one point she says that she is interested in the subject because she doesn't like violence, but this cannot be true at any level unless Angela is fully retarded (does Angela write theses on everything she doesn't like??? like badly cooked macaroni???)...2. Then again, it is quite possible that Angela is a special needs case given that she never contacts the police even though she is sitting on a pile of evidence that will completely unravel the thriller portion of the film. To make things worse, once she has everything she needs to deduce who the killer is, she does not bother to look at the evidence. I mean, you would like to know who it is that has been killing girls all around you, wouldn't you? Especially if the killer could target you next? And all you would need to do is just pop a tape into the VCR and watch for about 5 or so minutes. But of course, such an action would cut "Tesis" for about 20 minutes off its running time...3. Scrap that. If Angela follows logic at any of the crucial beats of "Tesis", the film would never pass the 1 hour mark. In fact, "Tesis" might never take off without stupidity. Just why does Angela take the tape? When she finally watches it, why doesn't she hand it over to the police? Why does she ever get involved with Chema and Bosco? There are so many opportunities to get rid of both of these arrogant pricks, and that none of them is used is utterly insulting. If Angela is suspicious of both, she fails completely at self-preservation by associating with them, doesn't she? So, given these three points, by the last third of "Tesis" I stopped caring about the outcome, and it is quite possible that the director Amenabar had also quit at making any sense out of it while filming. My final question is: why is "Tesis" in such good standing despite its flaws? The only answer I can think of is that it's a Spanish film, which means that it is a bit harder to get to in America, and is therefore largely seen by genre fanatics that give it a pass based on its non-American origin. Some say that "Tesis" would have made a lot of money as American flick but there is also the possibility that the American production would have also brought a level of scrutiny that would have killed its cult status.

Siamois While working on her Thesis regarding the fascination for violence in the media and entertainment, a student uncovers a snuff movie and suspects the people involved in its making may have ties to her university.Despite its gruesome subject, this film plays very much like an 80s whodunnit classic. In fact, the camera work in several sequences reminded me of the early thrillers directed by Brian DePalma.What makes this film is interesting is that for its release time (1996) the film in a way foreshadows what was to come as far as violence and how it is portrayed and promoted in the wave of filmmakers. Amenábar wisely elects to keep most of the violence off screen. Sometimes, it's almost as if you were watching a torture porn film while covering your eyes with your hand during the torture scenes.The social commentary is great but unfortunately takes a backseat to the whodunnit mystery. We do understand that Angela, the student, is quite conflicted when it comes to violence. She is both fascinated and repulsed by displays of violence and other morbid topics. Two other characters help form a triangle of sort. Angela befriends, Chema an amateur of questionable movies who fully acknowledges his own attraction to violence. Chema is very much a typical, socially awkward person but as the movie progresses, it is nice to see the relationship between him and Angela evolve. The third character is Bosco, played admirably by Eduardo Noriega. Angela suspects Bosco may be involved in the production of snuff movies yet falls for his charming ways.There are several other characters but Amenábar only brushes on the surface of those. What we are left with is a good movie with some tense scenes but unfortunately also a movie that feels a bit dated. If Amenábar had explored the Thesis angle a little more, this might have been a classic. Instead, he focuses on the mystery aspect and a few thrills.A solid debut by this director who did much better later in his career.

Prof-Hieronymos-Grost Ángela is a university student who decides to base her thesis on the effects of violent images on society. She asks her professor Figueroa to see if he can help with getting her access to the university's film library which contains all kinds of violent images. Meanwhile Angela learns that there is a fellow student, Chema who is big into such films and so she asks him to show her his collection, suspicious at first he declines, but eventually gives in. Angela is shocked that he has shelves of porn of all description and films containing scenes of actual deaths. Figueroa meanwhile gets access to the film library, but aware there is another person there and embarrassed at being caught looking for such films, he hides there, but discovers a hidden stash of video tapes, taking one he immediately returns to a screening theatre, to watch it, where he dies of a heart attack brought on by shock. Angela finds him there, takes he tape and scared to watch it alone brings it to Chema, he immediately recognizes it as a real snuff film, but not only that he recognizes the girl, a former student missing these last two years. Together they realize there must be a killer or killers within the university making these films and try and investigate further, but soon realize they are in grave danger from unknown enemies. Riveting thriller, that reaches into some very dark areas of society, its intelligently made and handles the touchy subject with class and never feels like an exploitation film. Amenebar creates an atmosphere of tension, dread and foreboding, where the foes are completely unknown to both the characters and the viewers and where everyone becomes a suspect. Amenebar really does toy with the viewer especially in the last quarter of the film where I changed my mind on the killer numerous times, in this a very accomplished debut feature.