The Mortimers," a new family adventure comedy from Telecinco Cinema and Pokeepsie Films, directed by Álex de la Iglesia. Combining mystery, horror, and dark humor, the film "The Mortimers," cleverly titled "The Deadtimers," is an adaptation of "Les Croques," the successful French comic book trilogy by illustrator Léa Mazé, winner of the Best Children's Comic Award from the French Association of Comic Book Journalists and Critics in 2018. Álvaro Fernández Armero (8 Moroccan Surnames) directs this charming story, which begins with the chilling scene of a woman buried alive. Iratxe Emparan is a French teenager who, through a family exchange program, goes to live with a Spanish house next to a cemetery, befriending a boy her own age, Diego Montejo, and his parents, Alexandra Jiménez and Víctor Clavijo. They attend school together, making both friends and enemies. Throughout, the film tells the story of five friends who uncover a jewelry heist plot in a cemetery, but no adult believes them. The group of boys and girls decides to investigate. However, the discovery of a corpse and stolen jewels leads them far beyond their expectations.
Produced by Álex de la Iglesia and his wife Carolina Bang, and based on the comic book trilogy of the same name illustrated by French artist Léa Mazé, it's a charming story full of mystery, morbid humor, and a touch of horror sprinkled throughout. It follows a group of young boys and girls, five teenagers who embark on the adventures of a lifetime. The young actors, along with some more veteran performers, deliver engaging and empathetic performances. Newcomer Diego Montejo is acceptable as an intelligent and introverted fifteen-year-old boy who is bullied because his parents own the only funeral home in town, while Iratxe Emparan is quite good as a spirited French woman accustomed to everything except living surrounded by the dead. The parents, veterans of the acting world, are Víctor Clavijo and Alexandra Jiménez. Pepe Lorente plays the tombstone carver, who tells them one of the many mysterious stories hidden within the cemetery, while Belén Rueda is a peculiar town doctor with dark secrets to her name.
There is a captivating and mysterious score by composer Vanessa Garde. Adding to the music are songs and pieces such as "Libre et Déter," performed and written by Laura Adler; "Simpática pero Problemática" by Rigoberta Bandini; "Desafiando a la Muerte" by Melani García; and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Requiem in D Minor, K. 626: Sequentia: Lacrimosa. The film also features colorful and vibrant cinematography by Aitor Mantxola. The film was well and professionally directed by Álvaro Fernández Armero and proved to be a box office success in Spain in 2025. This director, Álvaro Armero, was born in 1969 in Madrid, where he usually films his movies. He is a good director and screenwriter, an expert in comedies, and especially known for *Todo es Mentira* (1994), *Salir Pitando*, *Nada en la Nevera*, *Brujas*, *Las ovejas no pierden en tren*, and *El Juego De Verdad*, undoubtedly one of his funniest films. He also directed a successful horror film, a slasher titled *El Arte De Morir*. Rating: 6.5/10, a decent film. The movie will appeal to fans of Spanish mystery comedies.
