Below Zero
NETFLIXJavier Gutiérrez, who found fame with Netflix’s The Occupant last year, delivers a solidly stoic performance in this fast-paced thriller from director Lluís Quílez. Gutiérrez plays Martin, a police officer who is assigned a job transporting a group of convicts to a different prison. However, upon taking the back roads, the transport van is assaulted and Martin finds himself having to team up with the criminals in order to get out of the situation alive.
The majority of the first half takes place within the confines of the prison transport van, creating a really uncomfortable sense of claustrophobia; it’s not just the prisoners in their small holding cells, but the confines of the van also hem in Martin and fellow officer Montesinos (Isak Férriz). It’s to Quílez’s credit that he somehow manages to keep the whole film seeped within this claustrophobia, even when opening the setting. After the van is stopped, there is a tense shootout in the woods, but with the early morning darkness pressing down this thick blackness over Martin and the unknown assailant it is hard still not to feel caved in despite the open space.
It’s also rare for a film of this genre not to feel like it’s wasted a character. Montesinos divulges from the promised archetype that is put across in his introduction, but still has a few tricks up his sleeve for the audience. The criminals themselves, a ragtag crew of varying roughness, certainly have an individual part to play. Of course, some have larger roles than others, but no character blends into the background. Luis Callejo as Ramis, as the opportunistic criminal who wants to open up a bar, leaves a memorable impression.
Despite a lack of any full-on action sequences, Quílez manages to keep Below Zero tense. There’s barely a moment that isn’t progressing the plot and, regardless of the scale, there’s a persistent thread of dread. However, the final sequence in an abandoned village struggles to decide whether it’s going to introduce heavier themes at the last minute or attempt to throw in some conflicted character development. It’s unfortunately the film’s weakest moment, despite it being an understandable attempt at elevating this further in terms of story.
Below Zero is an effective little thriller that serves as a shining example of some of the original foreign language content that Netflix continues to provide.