The Influence (3/5) – Netflix Movie Review

THE INFLUENCE is a new horror movie on Netflix. It’s a Spanish Horror movie [org. title La influencia] and it’s certainly worth checking out on Netflix if you’re a fan of horror. Read our full The Influence review here!

The Influence is a new Spanish horror movie on Netflix. This is a very classic horror movie with lots of creepiness and darkness. Perfect for release on Netflix in the horror month of Halloween.

However, you should be ready for a horror movie that is both a bit too long and very much a slowburner for the first half. For me, the vibe and acting makes up for some of this, but not quite all of it.

Read more about the new Netflix horror addition in the rest of our The Influence review below.

The cast of La influencia

If you’ve been watching the Spanish Netflix series High Seas (org. title Alta Mar) on Netflix, then you’ll no doubt recognize The Influence lead actress Manuela Vellés. In this new Spanish horror movie, Manuela Vellés is one of two sisters and she works very well.

Maggie Civantos plays the other sister in The Influence and she’ll be familiar to anyone who’s watched the Spanish Netflix series Las chicas del cable or the prison drama series Locked Up (org. title Vis a Vis). She starred in both of these very popular series! No wonder Netflix wanted to get their hands on this movie; Maggie Civantos has quite the fan base to draw in viewers.

In supporting roles, we have the young Claudia Placer. If you’ve watched Paco Plaza’s horror movie Verónica (2017), then she’ll be familiar. Also, there’s Emma Suárez from the Netflix series Criminal: Spain (read our review of it here). Basically, if you’ve ever watched anything Spanish on Netflix, you should recognize quite a bit of the cast in The Influence.

The ending of The Influence on Netflix

So, you want to know more about the ending of The Influence? It seems like everybody always wants to know about the ending of a movie. Either because they need the ending explained or because they don’t want to watch a movie without knowing the ending will be at least decent. Afterall, most movie fans know that the ending can either make or break a movie.

That is, if you even get to the ending and haven’t given up before getting that far. I very rarely give up on a movie. I keep hoping until the very end that something will get better and I often (though not always) get rewarded for my patience.

Just think of One Cut of the Dead which is so bad (intentionally, mind you) at first that you want to give up on it. However, if you just stick with it, you will be rewarded with the most awesome experience. That isn’t exactly the case with The Influence though the ending is pure horror. In other words, horror fans should enjoy the very gory and bloody ending of The Influence.

The final scene of The Influence is perhaps a bit too “easy” for some people. At first, it looks like it’s going one way but then it goes the way of classic horror instead. Also, you’ll probably be left wondering who Luna was and how she fits into everything.

Watch The Influence on Netflix now!

Since this is a Spanish horror movie picked up by Netflix, the film has actually been out in theatrical release (via Sony Pictures) in its native Spain (org. title La influencia). I do like watching these dark horror movies in movie theaters, but I’m just happy that I actually get the chance to watch it.

Denis Rovira van Boekholt directed The Influence and this is his feature film debut as a director. He previously directed three short films which were all in the horror or thriller genres, so he’s clearly a director after our genre hearts. For his short film, he already won several awards, so now we just need him to continue making awesome horror movies.

Director Denis Rovira van Boekholt also took part in creating the story for The Influence. He did this with Michel Gaztambide and Daniel Rissech, based on a book by Ramsey Campbell. And Ramsey Campbell will always have a special place in my heart for writing the story for Los sin nombre which is a brilliant Spanish horror-mystery!

The fact that Ramsey Campbell has anything to do with a script is more than enough reason for me to give it a chance! In the case of The Influence, I wasn’t disappointed but it didn’t manage to live up to my high expectations either.

The Influence is out on Netflix in several countries from October 11, 2019.

Details

Director: Denis Rovira van Boekholt
Writers: Ramsey Campbell, Michel Gaztambide, Daniel Rissech, Denis Rovira van Boekholt
Stars: Manuela Vellés, Maggie Civantos, Alain Hernández, Claudia Placer, Emma Suárez

Plot

Back in her childhood home to help her sister care for their comatose mother, Alicia must face a dark force from her past that now threatens her child.