UNKNOWN ORIGINS is a new Netflix movie from Spain. If you enjoy a movie that has both serial killer darkness, nerdy pop culture references, and plenty of likable characters, then check out this one. Read our full Unknown Origins review here!

UNKNOWN ORIGINS is a Spanish Netflix movie that covers a whole lot of wonderful genres. The original title is Orígenes secretos and the language is (of course) Spanish as well as the style.

This means lots of humor mixed in with some rather dark moments. Most importantly, it means wonderful and well-rounded characters to tell this very entertaining story.

Do yourself a favor and make sure you check this out on Netflix as soon as possible!

Continue reading out full Unknown Origins review below.

Se7en meets The Big Bang Theory

Unknown Origins is essentially Se7en meets The Big Bang Theory with a Shyamalan twist.

It’s easily comparable to Se7en due to the rather creative and elusive serial killer. In fact, the movie is even indirectly referenced at one point during their hunt for this serial killer. The Big Bang Theory element is a comic book store and lots of nerdy pop culture references.

The Shyamalan twist isn’t one that comes at the end but rather the twist from Unbreakable is the story in Unknown Origins.

Yes, it is as awesome as it sounds!

Unknown Origins – Netflix Review

A cast full of Spanish stars

If you’ve watched any Spanish movies or series on Netflix during the past few years, you should recognize many of the actors in Unknown Origins.

The super nerd in this story is Jorge Elias who is portrayed by Brays Efe. He plays the title character in the Netflix series Paquita Salas. In this movie, however, he looks quite different. And we do get to see quite a lot of him!

The very serious detective, David Valentin, is played by Javier Rey. You might recognize him from the Netflix series Hache. Also, he starred in the Netflix thriller Twin Murders: The Silence of the White City.

Recommended reading: Our review of Twin Murders: The Silence of the White City >

In Unknown Origins, these two characters are polar opposites and both actors do a stellar job at breathing life into their respective characters. It’s all a bit over the top, but it never turns into a spoof.

This Netflix movie is a thriller, adventure, action, comedy, mystery, but never an actual spoof.

Verónica Echegui is the wonderful woman, Norma, in the midst of all the very different men. She’s the real deal and works perfectly as both a boss lady and a team player. You might recognize her from the Amazon Original series Fortitude (2015-2018).

Watch Unknown Origins on Netflix now!

The director of Unknown Origins is David Galán Galindo, which might explain why this movie is so accomplished. It’s based on the novel he wrote himself (org. title Orígenes secretos) and he also co-wrote the screenplay with Fernando Navarro.

Fernando Navarro previously worked with the Spanish horror master Paco Plaza (REC) on his horror movie Verónica (2017). For David Galán Galindo this is far from his first production. He has written for everything from short films to feature films and TV series.

As a director, he also has plenty of experience though mostly from short films and anthologies. Unknown Origins is his feature film debut as a director which shows great potential for future films from him!

If you enjoy a movie that has both serial killer darkness, nerdy pop culture references, and plenty of likable characters, then do yourself a favor and check out Unknown Origins. With a runtime of just over an hour and a half, it’s the perfect Friday night comfort flick the world needs right now.

Also, don’t miss the end credits scene which is of course included as an obvious Marvel tribute.

Unknown Origins is out on Netflix from August 28, 2020.

Details

Director: David Galán Galindo
Writers: David Galán Galindo, Fernando Navarro
Stars: Verónica Echegui, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Javier Rey, Álex García, Ernesto Alterio, Carlos Areces

Plot

Madrid, 2019. A serial killer is spreading chaos. Anonymous people with no apparent connection are being murdered while imitating the first appearances of the most famous superheroes.

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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