Eye For An Eye (3/5) – Netflix Review

EYE FOR AN EYE is a new Spanish thriller on Netflix with the original title Quien a hierro mata. It’s directed by Paco Plaza who also made the megahit [REC] and its sequels. Read our full Eye For An Eye review here!

EYE FOR AN EYE is a new Spanish thriller on Netflix. It’s by [REC] director Paco Plaza which should be enough reason for you to give it a chance. Also, it stars Luis Tosar who is quite an iconic horror actor in his own right.

I should warn you though, this new Netflix thriller is quite the slow-burner. However, don’t let that fool you since it also has a lot of intensity to it. Also, the term “eat shit” suddenly becomes very real in a truly disgusting scene!

Continue reading our Eye For An Eye review below and check it out on Netflix.

Luis Tosar as the leading man

It’s not that the character Luis Tosar portrays in Eye For An Eye is a classic leading man. He’s not a hero and he’s no gentleman per se. However, he is damn enigmatic which works so well for this story.

You should recognize Luis Tosar from the horror movie Sleep Tight (2011) which we highly recommend. It even had a South Korean remake recently with Door Lock which screened at Fantasia. Also, he co-starred with Penélope Cruz in the acclaimed drama Ma ma (2015).

Recommended reading: Check out our review of Door Lock here >

 In Eye For An Eye, Luis Tosar plays the nurse, Mario, who works at a senior care facility. He is gentle and likable but when he gets the chance for revenge, he is also very creative in terms of executing this.

The ending of Eye For An Eye on Netflix

This isn’t a spoiler-filled take on the ending of Eye For An Eye but rather a comment on how it worked. Whenever you watch a thriller, the ending simply has to deliver on what has been built.

With Eye For An Eye, you don’t need the ending explained. You might even have guessed it!

It’s not a big mystery since everything evolves in an organic (and, at times, somewhat crazy) way! However, the main issue with how the story evolves – for me anyway – is the fact that it’s too slow. I love a good slow-burn but this one is lacking something since we’re kept in the dark longer than necessary.

Especially since the story is essentially quite simple, which is fine by me. 

I will say this though; I did not expect to see a childbirth up close. It’s a miracle but also a very extreme thing to show so directly on film when it isn’t about that. However, it is very much about life and death so it makes sense!

Watch Eye For An Eye on Netflix now!

The script for Eye For An Eye was written by Juan Galiñanes and Jorge Guerricaechevarría. Especially Jorge Guerricaechevarría is a name we’ve come across before. He co-wrote the horror-comedy El bar (2017) and the crime-thriller El aviso (2018).

You might like: Our review of the Spanish thriller The Warning (org. title El aviso) here >

As mentioned earlier, Paco Plaza directed this Spanish thriller (org. title Quien a hierro mata) and, to me, that’s more than enough reason to check out Eye For An Eye on Netflix. Paco Plaza co-directed and co-wrote [REC] and [Rec]² with Jaume Balagueró before directing [REC]³: Génesis on his own and then Jaume made the final [REC] 4: Apocalipsis in 2014.

After making the very successful [REC] horror movies, he co-wrote and directed the horror movie Verónica (2017). While Eye For An Eye is not a horror movie, it does have elements of horror. It is primarily a thriller, so don’t expect zombies, demons or other supernatural elements in this movie.

Eye For An Eye is out on Netflix in most countries from January 15, 2020.

Details

Director: Paco Plaza
Writers: Juan Galiñanes, Jorge Guerricaechevarría
Stars: Luis Tosar, Xan Cejudo, Ismael Martínez, Enric Auquer, María Vázquez

Plot

A cartel boss is released from prison and unknowingly put in the care of a vengeful nurse, whose life was tragically impacted by the drug lord.