Spoilers are not afraid of no ghost.

I think this is the way you make a fresh premise out of the ghost hunting sub-genre. You go unconventional, you don’t rely on what was done before and you create your own lore instead of recycling the same from another film. Honestly, this feature might not have had the marketing machine of a Hollywood blockbuster but still entertains the public by being relatable. The comedy comes out of the mundane and the trivial rather than setting up punchlines. The horror however… We’ll talk.

(Credit: Netflix)

Phenomena (2023) is directed by Carlos Therón and written by Marta Buchaca and Fernando Navarro, inspired on real events. The Hepta Group investigates paranormal phenomenons in Madrid of 1998. Their leader, Father Pilón (Emilio Gutiérrez Caba) investigates a case by himself and ends up in the hospital fighting for his life. Now it’s up to Sagrario (Belén Rueda), Gloria (Toni Acosta) and Paz (Gracia Olayo) to investigate what happened, adding young rookie physics student Pablo (Oscar Ortuño) on his first outing.

The dynamic between the three women is really the selling point of the film. The horror elements are mostly in the background and only come out sparingly, so this is not much of a horror film per se. The comedy is not scripted but mostly incidental using three friends that know how to tease and push each other’s buttons due to their long history with each other. It is a relief they are the main plot more than the actual apparitions. The supernatural elements are played as straight horror, with no hint that the otherworldly entities are ever here to joke. However, they rarely elicit any frights. It’s got scary elements, but it doesn’t really go for full blown scares until the very end, without really delivering.

It does work as pure entertainment. The characters are engaging, flawed and you care what happens to them. It can funny and sarcastic without ever going over the top. It doesn’t do setup-delivery-punchline sort of comedy but rather more of everyday relatable humour. It never sets up the odds as world-ending stakes, but as personal ones. The dialog feels a lot warmer in the original Spanish, but of course that’s me being biased.

Recommended with some reservations. The horror itself is very much relegated to the background. It’s actually better described as a comedy-drama where it’s the relationships between the characters that drive the film. The performances of the main cast are top notch and the dialog has its moments of hilarity without looking like it’s trying too much. Horror does get amped by the end, but it feels like too little too late. Worth a watch for the performances alone.

That will do for now.