Hypersomnia

I hadn't heard about "Hipersomnia" before stumbling upon it here in 2020. I was initially lured in by the movie's cover, which was intriguing and interesting. And the movie was labeled as horror, so of course I took the time to sit down and watch it.

While writer and director Gabriel Grieco's movie "Hipersomnia" from 2016 isn't exactly what I would label as a horror movie, it was definitely an interesting enough movie. It starts out alright, but then becomes somewhat of a strange movie in the middle, right up until the reveal of what is actually going on, then the director Gabriel Grieco gives you that "ah, so that is what going on" experience. And that was definitely enjoyable. So a nice twist there, which makes the movie worthwhile watching.

The acting in the movie was good, and I do enjoy watching movies where I am not familiar with the cast, as that prevents me from associating them with previously portrayed characters. Yamila Saud definitely carried the movie quite well.

Now, "Hipersomnia" is not a movie that will fall equally well into everyone's taste, because there is some odd quality to the movie, for better or worse. I enjoyed it, but I believe that the movie will not be as entertaining to everyone in the audience.

I am rating this movie a six out of ten stars.

If you google Hypersomnia you'll find out what it means. And the movie revolves around that theme ... something our main character suffers from. It's a weird illness/sickness and it's not the only thing you have to suspend your disbelief from. I read another review who wrote that it's completely detached from reality ... and that's true. It's also something you shouldn't hold against the movie, but something you should cherish.

If not, the movie will feel like torture to you ... no pun intended. I didn't read anything about the movie (except the google search for the title) and so I was kind of surprised of the way it handled things and where it went with the idea it has. It also tries to send a message, which amidst all the violence (and nudity) is a good thing (although some might say it is a bit exploitative) ... Overall decent effort

Hipersomnia is another attempt by Argentine cinema to offer something out of its comfort zone. There are a couple of mistakes, some inconsistency, and the pace can get frenetic. It is not unusual in this attempt by Argentine cinema to approach genre cinema. In this case it can be said that in terms of plot and concept I manage to make something original and refreshing. It becomes a strange mix between Suspiria and Hostel that at first doesn't seem to make much sense, then it reaches a point where the protagonist doesn't know that she is real and that she is not. All of this resolves into something that for some will have been easy to guess, but for others it is an unexpected surprise. Another strong point for this film is the theme of prostitution, which is an experience of pure horror for women, but is still a fairly common clandestine business in Argentina. The film explores one of those real horrors that are part of the harsh reality about Argentina and achieves it with scenes that become gruesome and crude. It is not that it is disturbing, but it does manage to offer an atmosphere of horror. Hypersomnia is ultimately a morbid spectacle that serves as a horror film and social criticism. My final rating for this movie is a 9/10.

There are some films that are so bad they're good, some that are overall bad but are worth watching for some interesting concepts brought up or other redeeming qualities - but I just don't recommend watching this one at all. It would be more valuable to take the premise and write something yourself, as that might be at least a little more interesting (and original).

As others have stated, there are many directions this film could have gone, and nearly all of them might have been better.

The premise quite nicely allows for intrigue and horror aspects throughout, but the climax and resolution which that world leads up to are simply disappointing (and gross).

The characters are two-dimensional and mostly either bland, forgettable or unbearable (or perhaps both, unbearable in their blandness). Not to mention completely unrealistic. Motives are not clear, or legitimate motives are not present throughout. On top of this, motives are blurred even more by stupid plot-twists.

Many loose ends, ideas abandoned within minutes of their introduction, never to be brought up again.

There is nothing new here - we've got trope-filled exploitation, unlit torture rooms*, hardened victimised prostitute girls, some tacky and pointless gore, insects in stomachs**, and, drum-roll... a cheap resolution backed by cheesy pop-style music. Leaves a bad taste in your mouth and completely devalues the rest of the movie (assuming it had anything of value).

As for a PSA about human trafficking… it almost seems insulting. In fact, as mentioned in the credits themselves, there are thousands of cases of human trafficking per year - it seems insensitive to dramatize the issue unrealistically, and then pointless to watch this unrealistic movie about it when it's already happening on such a large (considering) and terrible scale.

*Which at first I questioned... Sure, it's atmospheric, but I feel being trapped in a constantly brightly-lit place would be terrible too, mess with your circadian rhythm in a terrible way. I realised it's most likely because bringing in electricians raises your risk of being caught.

**Not sure what's with this theme in horror - bugs are friends.

"Hypersomnia" took me totally by surprise. It is an Argentinian thriller that's way better than you'd expect it to be. We begin by following the story of Milena, a young actress. She is trying to get a part in a play and is going through a rather odd audition process for a rather odd director. The play is about a woman who has been abducted by sex traffickers and, at odd times, she seems to have dreams and blackouts where she imagines that she herself is a victim.

In these flashes, she is called Laly… but we're not sure if that's her name since we see that the other women are forced to have different names than their real names. We flip between Milena's life as an actress, where she deals with other actors, boyfriends, and the director and the vision of Laly, trapped along with other women, captors (friendly and unfriendly), and one horrible client ominously called "The Gardener." As the film unfolds, we slowly start to become unsure which life is real and which is the fantasy…

As mentioned, "Hypersomnia" is way better than it has any right to be. It draws you into the dual-realities and makes you feel Milena's confusion to what she's feeling and experiencing, and comes up with a satisfying explanation. There are parts that are suitably gruesome and horrific, and I found myself rooting for the characters. Not perfect; as typical some characters make weird decisions, one of the "twists" is pretty obvious early on, and at the very end it gets a little preachy. But overall, this was a pleasant and unexpected surprise -- "Hypersomnia" is a top-notch thriller that I really enjoyed.

You can see this on Netflix with easy to read subtitles, definitely recommended.