Director Robert Rodriguez and Ben Affleck embark on a mind-bending mystery with more twists than a pretzel. Hypnotic often feels like a greatest hits compilation of sci-fi brain-teasers. The film is akin to a Jenga blocks puzzle of Memento, Inception, Dr. Strange, and Marvel’s Jessica Jones with a generous sprinkling of The Adjustment Bureau. First act reveals dive deeper down the rabbit hole than expected. A shotgun pace never pauses long enough to process WTF moments. This isn’t bad, just rushed. That’s forgivable as the plot gets progressively better and more interesting.
Austin PD Detective Daniel Rourke (Affleck) sits troubled in his therapist’s (Nikki Dixon) office. He closes his eyes and remembers a tragically haunting moment. An afternoon at the playground with his young daughter Minnie (Ionie Nieves) takes a devastating turn when he looks away briefly and then realizes that Minnie is missing. Her case sparks news headlines when a suspect is found. He claims to have no memory of taking the girl or what happened to her.
Daniel returns to work distressed. He’s put on a strange assignment with partner and dear friend Nicks (JD Pardo). An anonymous caller has tipped law enforcement off to a bank robbery later that day. She even specifies a certain safe deposit box is the target. Money isn’t the goal. The skeptical cops lie in wait for the crime.
Alice Braga as Psychic Diana Cruz
Daniel sits in a surveillance van monitoring the situation. Nothing initially seems out of place. He notices a striking man (William Fichtner) whispering to a random woman and the guards. They seem different after the interaction, and Daniel deduces they must all be accomplices. He breaks protocol and enters the bank against Nicks’ advice. What he finds in the box rattles him to the core. Daniel encounters a diabolical adversary with a terrifying ability. His quest for answers leads to a local psychic. Diana Cruz (Alice Braga) warns they must run immediately or face certain death.
Hypnotic lives up to its title. Special individuals have the gift of mind control. “Hypnotics” create “constructs” that are completely immersive. Some are stronger than others, but it can be enhanced with training. Everything you see and hear could be an illusion. The power of persuasion and mental manipulation cannot be stopped.
Dellrayne (Fichtner), a wicked antagonist, is cut from the same vile cloth as Kilgrave on Marvel’s Jessica Jones. He commands and slaughters with impunity. Dellrayne’s warped reality takes a visual page from Doctor Strange and Inception. Buildings shuffle like cards as various characters try to escape from his clutches. Nothing actually changes, but the mental barrier becomes a prison.
Layers of Deception
Daniel has to figure out why his daughter was kidnapped, Dellryane’s part in the conspiracy, and his eventual goal. Rodriguez, who also co-writes, drops breadcrumb clues that constantly reframe the narrative. The film brings to mind Memento, where the protagonist pieces everything together, but builds a picture that could be completely false and just another layer of deception.
Hypnotic keeps you guessing with a fire hose delivery that prevents any immediate analysis of the labyrinthine plot. Repeat viewings will be required for further dissection. The film is spectacularly convoluted but certainly engrossing. Stick around for a surprising mid-credits whopper.
Hypnotic is a production of Solstice Studios, Ingenious Media, Studio 8, and Double R Productions. It will have a May 12th theatrical release from Ketchup Entertainment.
