Netflix: Review of UNKNOWN ORIGINS: Comics-Cloning Crimes

 August 30, 2020

There was a series of grisly murders in Madrid where the victims had been laid out to depict the origin story of a superhero. The killer was obviously familiar with the details as told in the classic comic book where this superhero first appeared. The murders were meticulously planned and carried out for a prolonged period of time in elaborate set-ups which required scientific knowledge and a considerable budget to pull off. 

Assigned to the case was an idealistic but smug young cop David Valentin (Javier Rey). Much to his annoyance, his boss Norma (Veronica Echegui) decided to partner him with geeky comic store owner Jorge Elias (Brays Efe) to investigate the case. When clues led to a connection with a 20-year old cold case involving David's parents was uncovered, the search became more intensified and personal.

Director and co-writer David Galan Galindo was obviously fans of the comics culture and it was fun to catch all the pop culture references he and his writing partner Fernando Navarro sprinkled generously throughout the course of the film. The aesthetic of the film was similar to David Fincher's "Se7en" in terms of the grotesqueness of the crime scenes. However, since the crimes were based on comic books, there was a balancing sense of silly black humor that ran throughout the whole film. 

The mismatched pair of investigators were cast perfectly. Javier Rey was the stuffed-hirt David -- handsome, fit, confident, impeccably groomed, and always smartly dressed. In stark contrast, Brays Efe was the nerdy Jorge -- overweight, unkempt, mousy, totally unmindful of the way he looked and dressed. Of course, the two did not hit it off right away as partners. The haughty David looked down upon Jorge and his colorful friends with derision, only to later be served his generous piece of humble pie.

Veronica Echegui had a blast playing David's no-nonsense superior officer Norma as an active cosplayer who had an affinity for wearing Sailor Moon and other Japanese anime costumes. Ernesto Altiero relished his role as the forensics expert Bruguera, pointing out all the gory details in the corpses and their process of dying. Antonio Resine played Jorge's father and retired detective Cosme, whose character served as the film's emotional core. 

All the previous Spanish serial killers film that I had seen all had fanatical religion as a connecting theme. These have all been dark, serious and somber affairs, as would be generally expected of such films. The odd concept of using the comic book superhero genre as the unifying theme of the crimes of a serial killer led to a witty script, campy visuals, and comic culture references galore. This brought in an ironic element of fun for a supposedly grim crime movie, actually turning out to be quite a clever idea. 7/10.