Thesis (Tesis) (1996)

Angela, a mass communications graduate student in Madrid, seeks "really violent" film images for her thesis on violence and its negative effects on the family. She stumbles on a "snuff film" at her university that records a coed's sadistic slaughter. (Thesis is a film for mature minds since it contains brief audio and video portrayals of violent torture and death.) She gradually identifies the victim and a suspected killer. Angela is stoic but her investigation affects her in unforeseen ways and she increasingly earns the fear that I felt for her life. She encounters a creepy (gore film fan) guy who mostly helps her investigation and a creepy (control freak) guy who might be the killer. Then the circles of influence and suspicion and menace expand as they intersect. Who did it? Is that someone going to do it again? Does anyone have Angela's back? Thesis as a suspense film had me surprised and worried right up to the end -- though as a social commentary film, its ending (like that of Network) frankly could leave me with even longer-lasting nightmares. I enjoyed comparing the Spanish dialog to the English subtitles, which universally failed to translate puta and joder (except for once rendering "No me jodas" as "Don't play with me.") Rented from a competing service since our favorite service here has not stocked it in several years. 4 stars.