Ángela is fascinated with extreme & graphic violence in movie and film, but it's not for pleasure....it's for her Thesis on why people watch it, if it is morally acceptable to be shown in the film industry, and also should there be a limit to how much is shown. During her studies, she asks her study adviser, Figueroa, to look into getting some material for her. It's here that she comes across a video tape that seems to be of a real murder of a young student. After letting a student who is in the same class as her, Chema, view it as well it definitely is a real "snuff" movie. Together, they both get drawn into a world that they may regret getting into, but not being able to help themselves, they do all they can to find out who the filmmaker actually is.Thesis is a very decent psychological thriller that is along the same lines as 8MM, although it's not as graphic. Thesis focus more on the psychological side of it all and concentrates on what you think you see and not what you actually do see whereas 8MM does both.The two main stars, Ángela (played by Ana Torrent) and Chema (played by Fele Martínez), are so opposite to each other but they play so well together at the same time. They don't like each other much, but they need each other.The story develops nicely and it never gets dull or boring and with the constant development of the plot, it keeps you watching. There are also a good few twists and turns as the story develops as well. It points to the obvious person to start out, then it turns it around, and then back again. It keeps you watching until the very end and keeps you guessing.If you like a good foreign psychological thriller then you can do much worse than Thesis. Definitely recommend giving it a watch.

So I watched this for my Spanish Cinema class, and I thought it was decent enough. Nothing too original, but it's interesting and intriguing throughout. I kept thinking I knew who would be the actual antagonist but I kept being wrong, and in that respect it works. The actor who plays Chema is the stand-out character here, you just care so much for him. Maybe it's because he's so unbelievably cute and because he looks like a young Gary Oldman. Regardless, the whole cast does some decent work and it has some nice atmosphere. Nothing too fantastic but it gets the job done right, and sometimes that's all that is needed (especially for an actual film class)

Ángela is a university student who decides to base her thesis on the effects of violent images on society. She asks her professor Figueroa to see if he can help with getting her access to the university's film library which contains all kinds of violent images. Meanwhile Angela learns that there is a fellow student, Chema who is big into such films and so she asks him to show her his collection, suspicious at first he declines, but eventually gives in. Angela is shocked that he has shelves of porn of all description and films containing scenes of actual deaths. Figueroa meanwhile gets access to the film library, but aware there is another person there and embarrassed at being caught looking for such films, he hides there, but discovers a hidden stash of video tapes, taking one he immediately returns to a screening theatre, to watch it, where he dies of a heart attack brought on by shock. Angela finds him there, takes he tape and scared to watch it alone brings it to Chema, he immediately recognizes it as a real snuff film, but not only that he recognizes the girl, a former student missing these last two years. Together they realize there must be a killer or killers within the university making these films and try and investigate further, but soon realize they are in grave danger from unknown enemies. Riveting thriller, that reaches into some very dark areas of society, its intelligently made and handles the touchy subject with class and never feels like an exploitation film. Amenebar creates an atmosphere of tension, dread and foreboding, where the foes are completely unknown to both the characters and the viewers and where everyone becomes a suspect. Amenebar really does toy with the viewer especially in the last quarter of the film where I changed my mind on the killer numerous times, in this a very accomplished debut feature.

Amenabar in The Others was a gem. With that expectation I watched this. And what I got was a lot of promises, showing the signs that this person will, after some time make a great movie, but not a great movie itself. It has quite a lot of those youth eccentricities, starting from the incident of Castro as the name of the teacher, and in reality there in the Academy a teacher having that name, the very youthful tendency of talking in multiple removes, starting from the very concept of the circular structure, a film about gore around 'snuff' films being made in a 'mass communication' academy, that is, a film study center. Continuously the 'mass communication' thing cross reference is there. Quite a lot of them are very witty, like, the list of camera buyers including the name of the director, and interplay of happenings between TV and film, and many more. But, after all, they have that 'terrible infant' effect, while I was expecting the mature master touch of 'The Others'. Quite a lot of the thrill thing was technical thrill, not a product of internal tension. Anyway, a good film, and showing the making of a talent.