The Influence (2019) User Reviews

Creepy but Predictable

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 21 December 2019]

The nurse Alicia (Manuela Vellés) is summoned by her sister Sara (Maggie Civantos) and returns to the dark house of her mother Victoria (Emma Suárez) with her husband, the unemployed electrician Mikel (Alain Hernández), and their ten year-old daughter Nora (Claudia Placer). Alicia and Victoria have been estranged to each other for many years and now Victoria is terminal in comatose and Alicia will help the nurse Ana (Marta Castellote). Alicia has recollections from her abused childhood, when Sara and she were maltreated and controlled by her mother in rituals of witchcraft. Mikel finds a room with witchcraft objects and occult books that belong to Victoria, shows to his wife and they keep it locked. Soon Nora communicates with Victoria and changes her behavior, befriend the creepy outcast girl Luna (Daniela Rubio) and Alicia realizes that her daughter in under control of the witch Victoria.

"La influencia", a.k.a. "The Influence", is a creepy horror film developed in slow pace like most of the European movies. The atmosphere is dark and gruesome, the performances are great but the story becomes predictable when the lawyer reads the testament. The screenplay could be better but the underrated "La influencia" is a good horror film. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

Not a gem but not that bad either, watchable.

[deloudelouvain · 6/10 · 21 December 2019]

I read a lot of really bad reviews for La Influencia but to be honest I think most of them are a bit too harsh. I agree that it's not a masterpiece, certainly not in the horror genre, but for a Spanish horror movie it has its moments. A couple jump scares, a story that is suspenseful enough to be entertaining, and a cast that might never win an Oscar but that is better than average. All in all La Influencia isn't that bad, just don't have too high of expectations.

Under it?

[scythertitus · 6/10 · 16 February 2020]

There is some good here, the different cultural ideas of the horrific makes the film feel more original than a lot of mediocre modern possession horror. There are some real points here about parental abuse and how it can be covered up and passed on.

At the same time however it is all over the place. The narrative structure swerves all over the place and the message, tone and overall horror is kind of lost in a confusing haze.

Overall this movie is definitely not trash, and there is some good to be found, it's just a bit messy, so if you are used to well thought out and clear cut narrative then you'd probably want to avoid this one.

This movie is all over the place...

[sherripadgitt-55536 · 3/10 · 24 October 2019]

I didn't find this to be a slow burn as some have sugggested, but I found it to be very disjointed and didn't pace well. Too many things are happening that you don't know what the story is, until toward the latter half, and even then it was still all over the place. It is like a ghost movie, no wait its a possession movie, no wait its a witch movie, no its a revenge movie.....sigh. It is like it didn't know where to go with all of the activity...oh yeah there is poltergeist activity too. Good grief this was difficult to watch and try to stay focused.

Complete waste of time

[carolinamathers · 1/10 · 5 December 2019]

There should be a penalty for the release of this kind of movie. Really. No joke! Bad acting, bad storyline, bad lighting... My boyfriend gave up after 50 minutes. I finished watching it some days later because... you know... I probably have mental illness.

It doesn't really work on any level.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 3/10 · 24 November 2019]

I've tried to look for some positives in this film, and not to simply just say it's a poor film, but in reality it's just a poor film. It's tagged as a horror, it isn't, or if it is, then those behind it have very different views on what makes a good horror movie. It is agonisingly slow, the pacing is the main issue, you keep wanting something to happen, for it to spark into life, but that moment never comes. The story was all over the place, it made no sense.

If you can reach the end, you're a trooper. I was just bored. 3/10

This is not a bad movie

[snowman-31315 · 7/10 · 21 October 2019]

This movie is not bad by any means, i dont get the low ratings at all. I almost skipped it because of said ratings but am glad i didnt. Maybe its because people watches a dubbed version but this is 2019 no reason to do that. maybe its because im into witchcraft and the occult so it appealed to me more than the average viewer. Either way they really captured the dark feeling of mexican witchcraft (which in my opinion) is much darker and "scarier" then todays americanized version which is more akin to cheesy hollywood pointy hats and love spells then real witchcraft but i digress the influence is basically a south american version of heriditary (also a great movie) and usually after seeing 2 movies so similar in content as close together i cant help but to dislike the later simply because i saw the other first but thats not the case with these two. i liked both movies quite well and have no doubt ill revisit this one again. ignore the negative ratings, i imagine most of those are coming from kids of the instant gratification generation anyways all in all this was a very decent movie

Good story badly told

[Gonzowatchmaker · 3/10 · 17 October 2019]

Imagine a bad cook trying to make hearty soup. Get everything in your kitchen and chuck it into a pot and imagine it will turn out ok. What you get is every cliche of every horror film you've ever seen thrown together with a weak narrative. Sadly boring and un-engaging.

OK

[tvial · 7/10 · 19 December 2019]

Why are there so much very bad reviews?

It is not the best bovie I have ever seen by far, but he is still OK, I liked it!

A 7,0 of 10 for me.

Have trouble sleeping? Watch "La Influencia"...

[paul_haakonsen · 2/10 · 11 October 2019]

I wanted to like this movie, I really did. But wow, this was a snoozefest of untold proportions. I got 35 minutes into the movie and I was ready to give up, but I decided to give the movie a second chance, because it might actually pick up its pace and become interesting.

So I continued watching, but the movie just kept on trotting in the same monotonous slow pace with very little happening. I managed to get 55 minutes into the ordeal known as "La Influencia" (aka "The Influence") and then I just had enough. This movie is phenomenally boring and slow paced. Even a turtle sitting down to watch this 2019 movie from director Denis Rovira van Boekholt would go 'Seriously? This is even too slow for the likes of me!'

It should be said that the atmosphere in the old house is quite good, and the movie is filmed in a nice enough manner. But it doesn't do much to make up for all other shortcomings that "La Influencia" had. Man, this movie was a bore.

I have zero interest in returning to watch the rest of the movie, because I simply didn't care one bit about the storyline, and the characters in the movie were so mundane and pointless that they were just a hazy blur actually. And I don't even bother to find out what was actually going on in the movie, because I simply just doesn't care about the storyline.

"La Influencia" scores a mere two out of ten stars from me. The only reason why it doesn't score one star is because of the atmosphere that permeated the 55 minutes of the movie that I suffered through, and the production value that the movie had.

I really liked this movie!

[tarinyc · 8/10 · 19 January 2020]

If you like foreign movies, then you know it's not moving a mile a minute like American movies. I am quite a horror buff, So I don't get scared very often. So... I Like creepy, not just slasher films. This was eerie, I was sitting on the edge of my seat. So I do recommend this movie to people that do like foreign movies.

Not bad

[feistybrit · 6/10 · 19 October 2019]

I can't find a film that entertains and scares me. I didn't expect much from this one. It wasn't scary but it kept me entertained. It was better than a lot of American over CGI'd and overacted movies but with the usual flIckering lights and jump scare tactics

Overall better than some famous so called horror films.

Dumb

[dudet28 · 1/10 · 26 October 2019]

My first time to write an Imdb review. Don't waste your time. What is the source of evil? Is it the mother ? Her things? The house ? The sisters? There is too much going on here. So dumb.

Boring but good for sleeping

[mauricio-mbarros · 2/10 · 13 November 2019]

The movie is boring, and even compressed to like 60 minutes could be to much, the house ambient is the only good part, the rest is cliche ans boring, maybe the Spanish Director wants to get a dose of terror movies of last 10 years; ohhh and common what a bad "demon" hurr killing a dog...we are in 2019 we want human violence, we're not in the 90' terror movies.

Bad and boring

[orahulji · 1/10 · 15 October 2019]

Its not a thriller nor a scary movie. Total waste.

Not even a single good thing

[Nadara_G · 2/10 · 14 December 2019]

Okay you know how you watch a film that's really bad but at least you get a few good moments out of it, or anything you enjoy.

Well this movie doesn't have that. I think they just put all the cliche things of horror movies into this one movie and the result is none scary, boring film with no plot. Even actors were bad.

Short description of the movie so you don't waste your time. A family moves back to the wife's childhood home because she has to take care of her mother with her sister since she is in a coma. It appears she was a witch, which they knew, for a fact so there should not have been any confusion. Even if she was not a witch it appears she used to cut her children, take out there teeth and cut of a finger of her nephew. Why was this woman even aloud out of the asylum or jail? no clue. She was not send to the hospital cos of her will but why did her daughters take care of her is unclear either. the movie goes on to scare us with things like lights going out, someone standing behind a glass and etc. half the movie is so dark you cant even see anything.

And finally a totally boring movie tries to end with so many things happening in the end at once you can't even keep up.

Dont watch it really.

Spanish Horror

[Pairic · 7/10 · 13 October 2019]

The Influence (La Infuencia): Spanish horror film. Alicia (Manuela Velles) moves back home to help her sister Sara (Maggie Civantos) care for their coma stricken mother Victoria (Emma Suarez). Through flashbacks we see how Victoria, a Witch, maltreated both girls, forcing them to partake in her rituals, using a mirror and lockets containing hair and nails to control them. The house is dark and some rooms are filled with the mothers occult objects and books in particular an ibex skull which figures throughout the the film. There are also spiders, lots of spiders.

Alicia's daughter Nora (Claudia Placer) seems to able to communicate with the comatose Victoria but soon starts to fall under control of the Witches spirit, reacting violently to verbal bullying at school. She becomes trapped in her grandmother's room, poltergeist activity takes place. Nora also meets an oddly attired young girl, Luna (Daniela Rubio), who vandalises cars and walks on hot ashes.

The Influence is based on a story by Ramsey Campbell but is in some ways reminiscent of Hereditary particularly in plot development but is more unevenly paced and is pretty much a slow burner. Some truly terrifying scenes and the house itself provides a dark Gothic setting. Really good performances from Placer and Rubio, also by Sofia Tolina and Berta Sanchez as the young Alicia and Sara. This is Director Denis Rovira van Boekholt's first feature film and caveats aside is entertaining and scarifying. 7/10. On Netflix.

Waist of time

[camacho-93728 · 2/10 · 12 October 2019]

Sorry for the actors but I wasted my time watching this movie. It was hard to watch it and not good line to follow up. Not recommended.

Good Horror

[elehiguera · 6/10 · 24 October 2019]

I can't wait to see more from this director. Very small amount of characters, a small space, and he builds the tension slowly, until you are so stress to see how It ends, that you can not stand it anymore.

The story itself its not something we havent seen before, but Its definetely worth It to see how it develops itself. All the cast are great.

Must seen for horror funs or for people aiming to get scared.

Try not to fall asleep

[jacknapier-544-97787 · 3/10 · 12 October 2019]

The movie tries to tell an interesting story in a style that reminds us of Petsemetary. But even though it's not the usual stuff we see the plot is still prrfictable. Camera and actors are pretty good. Unfortunately the movie is too long. Often scenes are unnecessary for the story e.g. the family meeting or simply too long. Even when you think the finale is coming the story continues with another boring and partly unnecessary 15 minutes. Maybe the story had more power if it was a compressed to a 45 or 60 minute episode of a modern 'Tales rom the Crypt'

Rock solid

[kosmasp · 8/10 · 21 February 2020]

No I'm not under "the influence" - although if I was, I would deny it, wouldn't I? Probably ... so bad joke aside and back the movie. I am surprised about the low rating, but it just goes to show you that tastes are different! Way different. And I'm not saying anything about anyone being right or wrong (although to keep a theme going that should be write or rong I reckon, as in "waist of time" - which in turn would make a great movie title) ... this is just about what someone likes to watch and what not.

This is more of slow burner, though it still has quite a lot of jump scares. And even the sturcture and build up is quite interesting. You kind of know that something wicked has happened and you know something evil is lurking ... and still it is comprehensive and it is tension filled enough to work. If you go with the flow that is ... can you dig it? I for once like my horror to challenge me a little bit, not to mention the characters involved!

Spanish horror thriller with intrigue , surprises , chills , twists and turns.

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 19 April 2023]

Terrifying and eerie film upon a peculiar family and a mysterious house with events go awry . This Denis's Rovira debut feature has the renowned actress Emma Suárez and Maggie Civantos, Alain Hernández, and Manuela Vellés as part of the cast. This is the Supernatural Thriller "La Influencia" (aka "The Influence") a film produced by Nadie es Perfecto with the participation of Sony Pictures and Netflix. This is an interesting and disturbing thriller with intrigue, suspense, twists, turns and the build-up tension is developed step by step . It deals with nurse Alicia (Manuela Vellés) moves back to to her natal little town of Duesos (municipality of Caravia, east to Principality of Asturias; northwest to Spain) , at her family home occur weird events while caring for her dying mother (Emma Suarez) connected to a life support machine and still breathing when she fell in a coma one month ago. Moving there with her unemployed husband Mikel (Alain Hernández) and their daughter Nora (Claudia Placer) . Alicia meets again with her younger sister Sara (Maggie Cevantos) and she meets Ana (Marta Castellote) , Victoria's nurse assistant.

A new horror/thriller feature film based on the original 1988 novel by Ramsey Campbell , packing shocks , die hard scenario , grisly killings , suspense and with unexpected discoveries will come to light , emerging plot twists at the worst possible time. The film contains a claustrophobic atmosphere , hair-raising frames and sinister developing resulting in fateful consequences . This is an intriguing film with amazing happenings that begins and works little by little , but then things collide in horrifying and criminal events. That's why our starring is shocked by bizarre incidents , as strange events lead him to wonder if it's haunted or if it's all in his mind . As main protagonist Manuela Vellés suffers hallucinations , she has visions of her troubled past , suffering grisly recollections from her abused infancy , really haunted by her childhood memories and with a witch-mother turned insane . This nail-biting movie displays plot twists , tension enough , thrills ride , graphic violence, and is entertaining enough . Packs large suspense , guts and gore , there's body count, this one actually knocks off an immense amount with extremely gory scenes at its final and strong violence , at times . It's a decent suspense horror thriller , darkly photographed by cameraman Isaac Villa and set to a thrilling soundtrack by Arnau Ballester . The cast is nice and adequate . Stars Manuela Vellés giving a fine acting as the young mother who must struggle with an evil force in the house while attempts to reconcile her present with a hard childhood due to the abusive and dominant mother. Along with Maggie Civantos as the loner , estranged sister , Alain Hernández as the unemployed husband who eventually finds a job in the town port and Emma Suárez as the deranged grandmother who turns a creepy witch. And other very secondaries , such as : Felipe García Vélez , Daniela Rubio , Ramón Esquinas and Mariana Cordero.

¨La influencia¨(2019) is distributed by Sony Pictures and currently available on Netflix, being professionally directed by Spanish director Denis Rovira , although not very original because it copies other previous horror films . After shooting three multi-award-wining short films "Angel", "Lazarus Taxon" and "The Faucet", on July 21, 2019, Denis released his first feature film as director and co-writer. In 2020 he directed 3 episodes for the reboot series "El Internado, Las Cumbres" (aka "Boarding School: Las Cumbres"), produced by The Mediapro Studios and Buendía Studios. It premieres worldwide on February 19, 2021, on Amazon Prime Video. In 2021 he was commissioned to direct 4 more episodes of the second season "El Internado, Las Cumbres". Its premieres in March 2022 on Amazon Prime Video. This same year he shot 2 episodes of the second season of"Warrior Nun" (2020) , produced by Netflix Studios (USA), Reality Distortion Field (Canada), and Fresco Films. Simon Barry is the Showrunner. Premieres in November 2022. In 2022 Denis directed also 5 episodes of the 2nd season of "Welcome to Eden" a Spanish Original Netflix show (thriller/suspense/young adult) that will be released in 2023. Rating : 6/10.

More spanish garbage horror.

[jimmycoffin-751-212853 · 1/10 · 17 October 2019]

After the success of devils backbone, orphanage, julias eyes. We got a wave of spanish copycats. Just like hollywood the past 10 years had been remaking, reharshing the same stuff over and over again. With no thoughts behind it. All of these horror movies are exactly the same. Super cheap scares, ugly filters, bad cgi effects. Bad acting, pointless and confucing dialogue. Always a ghost hag that's never frightening. The house at end of time, veronica, animas, no dormiras, la cara occulta etc.

The next level from pathetic.

[MAstilleroF · 1/10 · 21 June 2019]

The next level from pathetic.

It takes only ten minutes to discover how pathetic the film is. And another thirty to discover that it is possible to make an unbearable film. I had to leave the cinema.

Boring and useless

[borgolarici · 3/10 · 16 October 2019]

Boring and useless, incredibly lame. The plot is nothing new and the acting is subpar. Stopped watching midway because I couldn't care less about it.