Hypnos (film)

Hypnos (Hipnos) is a 2004 Spanish horror and psychological drama film directed by David Carreras in his directorial debut, and starring Cristina Brondo, Demián Bichir, Féodor Atkine and Natalia Sánchez.

Plot
Set in a hi-tech psychiatric institution, the plot follows Beatriz Vargas, a young psychiatrist specialised in hypnosis who pits herself into the brink of madness upon trying to help a traumatised girl.

Production
The screenplay by David Carreras Solè and Juan Manuel Ruiz Córdoba adapts the novel Hipnos by Javier Azpeitia. The film is a DeAPlaneta PC production, and it had the participation of TVE, Canal+, and TVE.

Release
Distributed by United International Pictures, the film was theatrically released in Spain on 8 October 2004.

Reception
Casimiro Torreiro of El País assessed that the film "requires patience", as viewers will be rewarded in the last third of the film insofar they do not let themselves "be carried away by primary emotions and remain attentive", despite the "often ridiculous dalliances of Dr. Vargas".

Jonathan Holland of Variety deemed the film to be an "above-average psychodrama with a generally solid script cobbled together from the leftovers of David Fincher and M. Night Shamayalan [sic]".