Timecrimes is a sleazy little thriller/scific/horror flick. It’s a Spanish movie, so subtitles. The plot isn’t easy to summarize, but I’ll give it a try. Hector is a middle-aged guy who just bought a home in the country. When the movie starts, he and his wife are in the process of moving into their house. It’s late afternoon, and Hector is unwinding. Hector’s idea of relaxation involves binoculars, and as the movie’s events will show, that’s not because he’s a birdwatcher.
Hector sees a woman in the woods, who proceeds to take off her shirt. He doesn’t say anything to his wife, which is a good character moment. I would tell my wife – hey, there’s a woman running around the woods with no shirt on – but Hector is made of different stuff. He wanders into the woods, binoculars around his neck, searching for the Woman of the Woods.
He finds her, naked and unconscious, propped against a rock. Before he can react, and one of the interesting things about this movie is that I wasn’t sure how he WOULD react, he’s stabbed in the arm by a maniac wearing a pink bandage over his face. Hector runs like hell, and ends up in a nearby scientific facility. Pursued – one might even say herded – by the pink-bandaged man, he ends up inside the facility’s time machine, where he’s transported an hour and a half into the past.
That’s as much summary as I’ll give. I don’t want to say anymore because spoilers, but most people will guess some – not all – of the plot twists. Timecrimes is tough to classify, because it has elements of three genres. The script is well-written enough to pass the believability test. For me, anyway. Things get a little loosie-goosie in the third act, but in general the movie holds together very well.
Hector himself is a creepy protagonist. At best, he’s a voyeur. That didn’t mar my enjoyment of the movie, although Hector’s creepiness and the semi-nudity may be off-putting to some. Bottom line: I liked Timecrimes, but it might not be to everyone’s tastes.
Abandoned Places 