The Hidden Face

The Hidden Face, in Spanish La Cara Oculta, is a thriller written by director Andrés Baiz and Hatem Khraiche. This Spanish/Colombian production is, in reality, two films in one. The main story is about a waitress who falls in love with the Spanish conductor of the Bogota Philharmonic Orchestra, who is investigated for his former girlfriend’s disappearance. The second parallel story, explains that departure.

The film starts with a distraught Adrian (Quim Gutierrez) sitting in his room and watching a video recorded by his girlfriend Belen (Clara Lago). She is leaving him as she has had enough of his wandering eye.

Adrian leaves the country house near Bogota, where they have been living and drowns his sorrow in a bar, drinking throughout the night until he is too inebriated to drive back home. Fabiana (Martina Garcia), a waitress he was flirting with, takes him back to her house to sleep it off. Soon after they start dating and Fabiana is invited to spend the night at Adrian’s country house. She discovers that Adrian’s former girlfriend has disappeared after the police call and check the house. At first, she does not seem unduly worried about his involvement.

However, spooky things start happening in the house. Fabiana starts hearing sounds, similar to voices and strange events occur. The lights cut out unexpectedly, and she experiences weird vibrations in the sink and bath tub, with the water turn suddenly hot while she is in the shower. This is the starting point of the second story. An extended flashback shows Adrian and Belen’s relationship back in Spain and their decision to move to Bogota for his important promotion.  But things go wrong when she is suspicious about her conductor boyfriend having a fling with a female musician.

Baiz, who also directed Satanas in 2007, is able to keep the suspense alive throughout, thanks to the sharpness of his script and the choice of revealing major plot elements little by little. The two main female characters (Clara Lago and Martina Garcia) are strong in conveying emotions and carrying the film for its narrative part. However, the main weakness is Adrian, played by Gutierrez, whose acting lacks personality and charisma.

Hidden Face will be released in UK this summer, (the date is yet to be announced). This is a twisted and frightening movie, which will surprise you until the last frame.

Verdict: 3,5/5

Annalisa Ratti

Check out the trailer for The Hidden Face: