‘Hypnotic’ Review- A Family Affair

This film debuted in 2023.

Hypnotic is a thriller by director Robert Rodriguez. He does not stop there, however. He also developed the story, edited the film, co-wrote the script with Max Borenstein, and worked on the cinematography with Pablo Berron.

Austin PD detective Danny Rourke (Ben Affleck) leaves a therapy session discussing his missing daughter, Minnie (Hala Finley). Though they caught the perpetrator, he claims he has no memory of taking her. He meets with his partner Nick (J. D. Pardo), who overheard an emergency call saying that a local bank will be robbed. They stake out and see a man known as Dellrayne (William Fichtner) on the scene. To Danny’s surprise, Dellrayne seemingly hypnotizes people and has them commit the robbery for him.

Danny confronts him and is stunned when the man mentions his daughter before escaping. He traces the emergency call to a psychic named Diana (Alice Braga). She tells Danny that she and Dellrayne were part of a government program called Division that trains powerful psychics called “Hypnotics,” and somehow, Minnie is connected. After getting framed, the pair flee to Mexico to question another former Hypnotic called Jeremiah (Jackie Earle Haley), but Dellrayne has beaten them there and plans to kill them.

This movie deals with family. While an evil organization wants to take advantage of a child, a mother and father want to stop them. It is an excellent subtext within the story and one that Rodriguez emphasized behind the scenes as his grown kids helped with things during the film process. Some call this nepotism, but it does not bother me. The question is, did it affect the movie? Who is to know?

The acting is done very well, especially with Affleck and Braga, who had good chemistry. Not to mention, Fitchner is a talented actor. I do not know why he does not get more roles, as I have seen him consistently show tremendous range. Here, he delivers all of the creep factor.

Likewise, I think Haley should have a larger role. He was little more than a cameo, but I think he could have been utilized more, especially in the climax.

Now, I did find the movie a bit twisty. Towards the final act in the plot, there were so many turns, deceptions, illusions, and betrayals that it was a bit hard to keep up. Danny and Diana help you keep pace for the most part, but I feel there was one scene that sort of threw it a little into chaos later on.

With this in mind, I did enjoy it. It had a compelling story and the elements discussing family are something rare in Hollywood these days. Rodriguez made a decent flick and, while you should not watch while sleepy, it produces genuine thrills as you follow Danny’s quest to rescue his daughter from the Division.

Bottom line, Hypnotic is an enjoyable film that has a lot of twists and turns. Its core is about family and that, punctuated within the thriller genre, makes it worth the watch.

PARENTAL CONCERNS: Foul language, Disturbing images, Violence

FAVORITE QUOTE: I love you… don’t ask me why.

Check out the trailer below:

What do you think? Let me know in the comments below. Tell me if there is a comic book, movie, or anime you would like me to review.