Unknown Origins (Spanish: Orígenes secretos) is a 2020 Spanish thriller film directed by David Galán Galindo [es], written by David Galán Galindo and Fernando Navarro, based on Galindo's novel of the same name, and starring Javier Rey, Verónica Echegui and Brays Efe alongside Antonio Resines.[1][2]

Unknown Origins
Film poster
SpanishOrígenes secretos
Directed byDavid Galán Galindo
Screenplay by
Based onOrígenes secretos
by David Galán Galindo
Starring
CinematographyRita Noriega
Edited by
  • Leire Alonso
  • Martí Roca
Music byFederico Jusid
Production
companies
  • In Post We Trust
  • La Chica de la Curva
  • Nadie es Perfecto
Distributed byNetflix
Release date
  • August 28, 2020 (2020-08-28)
Running time
100 minutes
CountrySpain
LanguageSpanish

Plot edit

Set in Madrid in 2019,[3] the plot sees a psychotic character using comics and superheroes' origin stories to kill people and leaves a mark. One man is killed after being fed enough supplements and steroids to be the Hulk. Another has his heart plucked out and is covered in a metallic suit.

Attempting to stop this is Inspector David, a man who feels comics are for overgrown adults and quickly pays the price for that sort of criticism. Initially, he is assisted by Cosme, a cop spending his final days on the force after being forced to turn in his resignation. David's boss is the homicide chief (Norma), who loves cosplaying. In her words, she doesn't read comics, rather she watches movies and anime.

Joining the duo is Jorge Elías, Cosme's son. He is a comic geek and runs a comic book store in the city. When Cosme realizes the demented villain commits murders in the form of creating superhero origin stories, he feels Jorge is better suited to work the case with David.

Things escalate when David realizes his parents were killed the same way as Martha and Thomas Wayne were killed in the comics. Jorge, David, and Norma go up against a secret killer who is ahead of them the whole time. With time running out for the trio to find the killer, they face pressure as the news goes public. Bruguera, the forensic man in the department, is eventually revealed to be the killer and the rest of the story follows the trio attempting to put an end to his nefarious plans.

Cast edit

Release edit

The film was scheduled to show at the 2020 Málaga Film Festival, but filmmakers pulled it from the schedule when the festival dates changed from March to August.[4] It was released on August 28, 2020 on Netflix.[5]

Accolades edit

Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
2021 8th Feroz Awards Best Comedy Film Nominated [6]
35th Goya Awards Best Adapted Screenplay David Galán Galindo, Fernando Navarro Nominated [7]
Best Makeup and Hairstyles Paula Cruz, Jesús Guerra, Nacho Díaz Nominated
Best Special Effects Lluis Rivera Jove, Helmuth Barnert Nominated

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "'Unknown Origins' aka 'Orígenes Secretos' Review: When comic books become the tool for savage and gory murders". Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  2. ^ "Netflix's Unknown Origins Review: Fun, Exciting and Nerdy". Archived from the original on November 22, 2020. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  3. ^ Muñoz Romero, Sergio (3 September 2020). "Orígenes secretos, lo nuevo de Netflix: por qué unir al cómico de los millennials (Brays Efe) y al actor más sexy del cine español (Javier Rey) para perseguir psicópatas es un éxito seguro". Mujer Hoy.
  4. ^ "'Orígenes secretos' se estrena en Netflix; se olvida del Festival de Málaga por Covid" ['Secret Origins' Premieres on Netflix; Forget the Malaga Festival because of Covid]. LatinUS (in Spanish). August 12, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  5. ^ Sansom, Cole (August 28, 2020). "Unknown Origins review – twists we've seen before". Ready Steady Cut!. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  6. ^ "Estos son los ganadores de los Premios Feroz de 2021: la lista completa, por categorías". El Confidencial. 2 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Orígenes secretos". premiosgoya.com. Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas de España. Retrieved 13 June 2022.

External links edit