The defence The Arthouse Gremlin
“Its refusal to behave is the point.”
The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.
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The Invisible Guardian
Thriller · Crime · Mystery · 2017
When the naked body of a teenage girl is found on the banks of the River Baztán, it is quickly linked to a similar murder one month before. Soon, rumours are flying in the nearby village of Elizondo. Is this the work of a ritualistic killer or is it the basajaun, the ‘invisible guardian’ of Basque mythology? Inspector Amaia Salazar leads the investigation, taking her back to the heart of the Basque country where she was born, and where she hoped never to return. Shrouded in mist and surrounded by impenetrable forests, it is a place of unresolved conflicts and a terrible secret from Amaia’s childhood that will come back to haunt her. Faced with the superstitions of the village, Amaia must fight the demons of her past to confront the reality of a serial killer on the loose. But as she is drawn deeper into the investigation, she feels the presence of something darker lurking in the shadows…
Movie details
The Invisible Guardian
2017 Thriller · Crime · Mystery 2h 9m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.5 / 10
Community rating
When the naked body of a teenage girl is found on the banks of the River Baztán, it is quickly linked to a similar murder one month before. Soon, rumours are flying in the nearby village of Elizondo. Is this the work of a ritualistic killer or is it the basajaun, the ‘invisible guardian’ of Basque mythology? Inspector Amaia Salazar leads the investigation, taking her back to the heart of the Basque country where she was born, and where she hoped never to return. Shrouded in mist and surrounded by impenetrable forests, it is a place of unresolved conflicts and a terrible secret from Amaia’s childhood that will come back to haunt her. Faced with the superstitions of the village, Amaia must fight the demons of her past to confront the reality of a serial killer on the loose. But as she is drawn deeper into the investigation, she feels the presence of something darker lurking in the shadows…
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The Invisible Guardian?
For the defence
The Arthouse Gremlin
“The stranger, the better.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
The Legacy of the Bones
Thriller · 2019
Inspector Amaia Salazar must return to the Baztan valley in order to solve a series of suicides that seem to follow a similar pattern.
Marshland
Crime · 2014
The Spanish Deep South, 1980. A series of brutal murders of adolescent girls in a remote and forgotten town bring together two disparate characters – both detectives in the homicide division – to investigate the cases.
Mindhunters
Mystery · 2004
Trainees in the FBI's psychological profiling program must put their training into practice when they discover a killer in their midst. Based very loosely on Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None.
Kiss the Girls
Thriller · 1997
Forensic psychologist and detective Alex Cross travels to North Carolina and teams with escaped kidnap victim Kate McTiernan to hunt down "Casanova," a serial killer who abducts strong-willed women and forces them to submit to his demands. The trail leads to Los Angeles, where the duo discovers that the psychopath may not be working alone.
All the Devils Are Here
Thriller · 2025
After a heist, four criminals lay low in a remote safehouse, waiting for orders. As paranoia builds, one thing becomes clear — the real threat may not be outside, but among them.
Longlegs
Crime · 2024
FBI Agent Lee Harker is a gifted new recruit assigned to the unsolved case of an elusive serial killer. As the case takes complex turns, unearthing evidence of the occult, Harker discovers a personal connection to the merciless killer and must race against time to stop him before he claims the lives of another innocent family.
Secret in Their Eyes
Thriller · 2015
A tight-knit team of FBI investigators, along with their District Attorney supervisor, is suddenly torn apart when they discover that one of their own teenage daughters has been brutally murdered.
Fallen
Crime · 1998
Homicide detective John Hobbes witnesses the execution of serial killer Edgar Reese. Soon after the execution the killings start again, and they are very similar to Reese's style.
Surveillance
Horror · 2008
An FBI agent tracks a serial killer with the help of three of his would-be victims - all of whom have wildly different stories to tell.
Every Secret Thing
Thriller · 2014
One clear summer day in a Baltimore suburb, a baby goes missing from her front porch. Two young girls serve seven years for the crime and are released into a town that hasn't fully forgiven or forgotten. Soon, another child is missing, and two detectives are called in to investigate the mystery in a community where everyone seems to have a secret.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Fernando González Molina
Written by
Luiso Berdejo
Marta Etura
Amaia Salazar
Elvira Mínguez
Flora Salazar
Francesc Orella
Fermín Montés
Colin McFarlane
Aloisius Dupree
Susi Sánchez
Rosario
Patricia López Arnaiz
Rosaura
Javier Botet
Basajaun
Court is in session
Put The Invisible Guardian on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Oddness is not depth.”
A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.