DISAPPEAR COMPLETELY is a horror-thriller from Mexico (org. title Desaparecer Por Completo). It features a tight story and is terrifying in eerily relatable ways. Screened during Fantastic Fest 2022. Read our full Disappear Completely movie review here!

DISAPPEAR COMPLETELY is a new Mexican horror-thriller (org. title Desaparecer Por Completo). It has a story that should be relatable to most people in the most basic ways. After an opening-credit sequence that felt reminiscent of Se7en, we get directly into the story which quickly reveals the basic premise.

A man is cursed with losing his senses day by day. As he loses his sense of smell, then taste, then touch, the curse becomes very real, very quickly. The way you can relate to him discovering what these losses mean is what makes it downright terrifying to watch.

Continue reading our Disappear Completely movie review below. The film just had its World Premiere at Fantastic Fest 2022.

The trauma from One continues

As stated in the press material “There are curses, and then there are curses that are worse than death.” and that is what Disappear Completely is all about.

As someone who has always been haunted by the Metallica music video for One, this movie brought me right back to those haunting images. The video for One features clips from the 1971 anti-war film Johnny Got His Gun and was actually the first song Metallica made a music video for. And what a debut that was!

Getting back to Disappear Completely, this idea that you lose all your senses and just exist in some sort of vacuum is just something that really hits my horror spot in an intense way.  So, naturally, this horror-thriller from Mexico just had me on edge the whole time.

Disappear Completely – Review | Horror Thriller

Harold Torres as the cursed Santiago

The lead role of the ambitious crime scene photographer, Santiago, who really would rather have his pictures in a gallery than on the cover of the tabloids, is played by Harold Torres. This is no easy role to play since his ambition and lack of concern for those close to him make him unlikeable.

And yet, he knows he’s in the wrong often. Whenever he’s going too far, he tends to be able to pull back a little. Well, except when he’s working. However, he loathes the grotesque headlines that accompany his pictures as much as anyone else. They just never accept his headline suggestions, so he can’t do much in that department.

You may recognize Harold Torres from the Netflix series Ingobernable, the ZeroZeroZero mini-series, or the new Liam Neeson movie Memory. Seeing him star in Disappear Completely, it’s obvious that he can easily carry a movie.

As Santiago (Harold Torres) loses his senses, he naturally tries to find some sort of cure. This leads him to meet with witches, brujos, and good old-fashioned corruption. Also, there’s the detail that he has a new baby on the way with his long-time girlfriend. A baby he doesn’t want. At least not right now when his career hasn’t taken off.

Disappear Completely premiered at Fantastic Fest 2022

Luis Javier Henaine is the director of Disappear Completely (org. title Desaparecer Por Completo), while Ricardo Aguado-Fentanes wrote the screenplay. I love just about everything about this movie and would not be the least surprised if it has a US remake later.

I’m especially a fan of how we’re taken into the world of Santiago. As he loses his hearing, we begin to hear everything in the same muted way he does. And when his sight begins to fail, the screen starts to fade.

It’s a simple yet extremely effective way to allow us into the tragedy he’s living through. When Santiago is ultimately faced with a terrible decision, he needs to make a terrible choice: Will he save himself at any cost? You may think you know the answer, but you could be surprised.

Disappear Completely celebrated its world premiere at Fantastic Fest 2022

Details

Director: Luis Javier Henaine
Writer: Ricardo Aguado-Fentanes
Stars: Harold Torres, Tete Espinoza, Fermín Martínez, Vicky Araico

Plot

Santiago Mendoza is the best tabloid crime photographer in Mexico City, but his profession has made him insensitive and incapable of showing affection to his wife Marcela. One night, Santiago intercepts an emergency call and despite the police’s warnings, he infiltrates a disturbing crime scene. Soon after, he begins to suffer a mysterious illness that makes him question his sanity. Without knowing what’s wrong with him or why this is happening, Santiago must find a solution to this unknown malaise, before the world he knows disappears completely.

I write reviews and recaps on Heaven of Horror. And yes, it does happen that I find myself screaming, when watching a good horror movie. I love psychological horror, survival horror and kick-ass women. Also, I have a huge soft spot for a good horror-comedy. Oh yeah, and I absolutely HATE when animals are harmed in movies, so I will immediately think less of any movie, where animals are harmed for entertainment (even if the animals are just really good actors). Fortunately, horror doesn't use this nearly as much as comedy. And people assume horror lovers are the messed up ones. Go figure!
Karina "ScreamQueen" Adelgaard
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