Los héroes del mal (2015) Poster

User Reviews

Review this title
7 Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by Rating:
6/10
It Came From Netflix...
BruceAndTheBeast8 June 2016
Warning: Spoilers
"Los Heroes Del Mal" or "The Heroes of Evil" is a Spanish drama that centers around 3 "misfit" teenagers who slowly descend down a dark path of sex, drugs and violence.

Our three main characters are Aritz, Sarita and Esteban. Esteban, is sort of "the nice guy" archetype. He stands up for Aritz the new kid, when he gets picked on and tries to talk the trio out of doing anything particularly dangerous. Sarita, is your run of the mill tomboy who's character makes a noticeable 180 about 30 minutes into the movie. She goes from being the logical- thinking anti-bullying heroine of the film, to being a hot-headed, ill- tempered, irrational prick.As the film went on, I began to dislike her more and more. Now, the most convoluted character of the movie, Aritz. I can't tell you much about this character as a person,because there is so little to him. As the movie progresses, he shows more and more of his true colors. He is revealed to be a rather problematic card, mentally, emotionally and sexually. In short, he's coco for coco puffs.

Now, the bulk of this movie stems from the interactions between our main three characters, which slowly falls apart. They go from being the best of friends to a polygamous relationship to mortal enemies out for each others blood...literally.

The three-way relationship soon becomes a relationship between Esteban and Sarita that hurtfully excludes Aritz. Later on the two have a falling out and Sarita detaches herself from Aritz and Esteban entirely. However, what I found most interesting about this movie was the dynamic between its two main male characters, Aritz and Esteban. There are "subtle" hints throughout the movie that Aritz is actually homosexual and in love with Esteban,despite chasing women around for most of the movie.This is made more apparent by the fact that he failed to erect at the sight of naked female in the flesh, when he goes as far as to hold Esteban in his sleep,put his finger in his mouth and even kiss him. When he is rejected he storms off claiming that it was a "Friendly kiss,a kiss among friends."As an American even i know that that isn't a thing, even in Spain...Is it?

Now earlier I described Aritz as being "problematic" that is because when you boil it down, we know nothing about him. It's revealed at the end of the movie that he was lying about his backstory, buying most of what he "stole" and even lying about the prostitute that he supposedly murdered and about leaving behind a key chain of Esteban that linked him to the crime. It turned out Aritz had the key chain the whole time. While all of this exposition is being dumped, Esteban and Aritz are chugging down a bag of sleeping pills attempting to commit suicide, at least, that's what Aritz is doing while Esteban is spitting the pills back into a bottle of beer...that they're sharing. This leads to Aritz confessing to his lies,calling out Esteban for "cheating"to no surprise and confessing his love for him and dropping dead as Sarita walks into the room, who I assume heard everything.

That was "Los Heroes Del Mal", it has it's issues. Blood Special Effects look terrible, focus is all over the place, characters are inconsistent, plot holes like swish cheese and Jorge Clemente's hilarious over acting.Still, not too bad for something I found for free on Netflix. If you come across it bored out of your mind and either know Spanish and or don't mind subtitles, check it out.
19 out of 27 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
6/10
Engaging and disturbing and uneven.
argelius-1071627 July 2020
I was engaged with the characters from the very start. This is a deeply sad and disturbing take on teenage angst. Very well done although the tone wavered a lot between full-on drama and strange playfulness. The musical score was particularly distracting.
1 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
8/10
A sad boy's dilemma
oaksong10 October 2016
Aritz is troubled. He takes abuse and tells stories to explain his behavior. He's expansively nihilistic. Estaban is the nice guy who tries to keep Aritz from getting beat up. Estaban falls for the sadness of Aritz and at first there is also a lot of likability. They connect with Sara who has a streak of wildness and is attracted to Estaban, but is pretty unstable in her own way. As the story progresses Aritz spins more and more out of control and Estaban tries to rein him in. Aritz is needy and can't find love anywhere. He keeps asking Estaban and Sara if they love him but can't believe that anyone would or could. I found this story well put together and believable for the most part. Aritz is a charismatic sort who can draw you in.
11 out of 11 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
teenagers
Kirpianuscus24 July 2018
At first sigh, a story about teenagers. vulnerability, frustrations, fears, friendship, need to escape out of society and yourself. but the story is more complex. because the identity crisis represents one of significant traits of our time. the refuge, the sexual ambiguity, the angry, the end and pieces reminding by Of mouse and man are parts of a sort of parable. the need of love/friendship, the obsession of social role, the line between him and us are arguments for define "Los heroes del mal" not exactly as portrait of a fragile age but as support for reflection. a film who, in essence, has a real good virtue - the freshness of the performance of young actors. especialyJorge Clemente giving an admirable character.
5 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
10/10
The film is perfect!
somaya-5833525 March 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I'm a writer, and I was willing to write something exactly like this film but after I watched it here I am whining about how beautiful it was ! Everything in it is so perfect, I didn't cry at the end though, maybe because I was shocked but nvm my heart is aching badly and I can't stop crying now, so beautiful
3 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
10/10
Brutal and brilliant.
Demetriusronwee24 June 2020
This film is quite simply perfection. Nuanced, complex characters and a story that will just keep you watching till the very end. One of those films that start out simple and unassuming and keep getting more and more baffling. By the end you're so deeply involved in these characters that their motivations and confusions make you desperately want things to work out between them. And then the enditng basically just rips your heart out and then it's impossible to get into anything else.
2 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
9/10
Excellent work...
RosanaBotafogo15 May 2021
Reflective, active and reactive about bullying, a sad and realistic youth portrait, drug abuse, suicidal thoughts, neediness, loves and friendships... The anger, hatred and need for revenge of the humiliated and excluded... Interesting to note that in order to end With their suffering, they look for someone equally susceptible to bullying, like the fat guy at school... And impunity for almost all crimes committed is relief for the continuous carousel of suffering... Excellent work...
0 out of 0 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

See also

Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews


Recently Viewed