Hypnotic

Robert Rodriguez returns with his first "adult" film in years. Rodriguez' oeuvre has been pretty messy of late, with docs, music projects, and children's films fighting for attention. Hypnotic, a seemingly prestigious A-lister project landed with very little fanfare, watching the film it's obvious to see why it didn't receive a bigger welcome.

Hypnotics are people who can control the minds of others to make them see and do whatever they want. Danny is a police detective who comes into contact with them. The loss of his daughter protects him from their talent, even so, staying alive in a world where everybody can be controlled by someone who wants you dead is tougher than expected.

While the setup is fun, it's also a trap for lazy writing and twists, and there's plenty of that here. Rodriguez also has a lot of trouble finding the right tone. He obviously wanted to make a very serious film, but his attempts to do so just made things cheesier. It's amusing genre fluff for sure, but a premise like this deserved a way better film than Hypnotic.