The Hit Psychological Thriller You Need To Watch On Netflix
'Tis the season, clearly, for catching up on streaming movies. Who doesn't love a good trilogy? (Or more.) Especially when you're stuck inside, because of weather or inclination or — well, stuck inside. Streaming platforms become friends. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Netflix takes its responsibilities seriously, tossing out possibilities for cinephiles, especially for those who have a taste for foreign films. And if you like long-form storytelling, with returns to favorite characters, a Part III became available for the foreign film fans who also don't mind a dose of chilliness to their viewing.
Offering to the Storm was posted July 24, according to PopSugar, the third part of what's called the Batzán trilogy, itself based on a series of books by Spanish author Dolores Redondo. The film (and the novel upon which it's based) has two prequels, 2017's The Invisible Guardian and 2019's The Legacy of Bones. All three, available on Netflix, feature a female sleuth, FBI-trained Amaia Salazar, forced to return to her hometown (of course, she'd sworn she'd never go back) in Spain's Basque country to investigate a series of mysterious — highly mysterious — deaths.
'Offering to the Storm' completes a trilogy of films
As Forbes relates, "What makes this series of films intriguing is its superstitious and supernatural elements that have been weaved in to a murder mystery." One of the aspects that makes the stories unique — besides Redondo's gifts for narrative and suspense — is the inclusion of Basque folklore — monsters — and how much of a role do they play in what's going on?
Marta Etura returns to the third film as Amaia, the inspector with skeletons (so to speak) of her own, and family issues galore. The film delivers a breakneck pace as the investigation becomes more and more macabre, involving "several suspicious infant deaths and horrific rituals," according to Netflix itself. ("Meanwhile," it adds, "people around her risk grave danger.") Helming all three films is Fernando González Molina, bringing a consistency to the admittedly intense (according to Decider) and atmospheric storytelling. (All three are rated TV-MA.)
No worries about language, either — although the first entry in the series has subtitles, the other two have been dubbed into English.