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The Incident

Play trailer 1:51 Poster for The Incident 2014 1h 40m Sci-Fi Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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83% Tomatometer 18 Reviews 73% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
Two parallel stories about characters trapped in illogical endless spaces: two brothers and a detective locked on an infinite staircase, and a family locked on an infinite road -- for a very long time.

Critics Reviews

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Drew Hunt Chicago Reader 10/20/2015
This lacks an emotional entryway; Isaac Ezban, directing his own script, treats his characters like gadgetry, cogs in a soulless, mechanized narrative. Go to Full Review
Catherine Bray Variety 10/15/2015
It's all proof that a head-turning first feature can be made for not much more money than a meaty short film nowadays, and, if well done, will act as a far more effective marketing tool for the nascent career of its director. Go to Full Review
Jordan Hoffman Guardian 09/09/2015
The Incident isn't a graphic or violent movie, but a gripping psychological torture session. Go to Full Review
Salvador Franco Reyes Excelsior (MX) 04/21/2016
A fantastic, intriguing and unsettling film. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
Sherilyn Connelly SF Weekly 03/03/2016
The Incident commits to its premise, stranding its characters in their personal hells for 35 years, going deep into the minutiae of how they survive and what it does to their bodies and their brains. Go to Full Review
Adrian Mack Georgia Straight 10/20/2015
[The film] takes a big risk -- and succeeds -- when everything is explained in a bravura end sequence. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Richard T @ricardodeangelo Jun 17 Makes no sense. Alternately boring and stupid. The only way you can tell what's happening is a 10 minute exposition near the end where they supposedly explain everything, but it still makes no sense. You don't care about any of the characters and you just want it to end. See more Jing Heng C 09/03/2023 El Incidente is a metaphorical sci-fi thriller with an important lesson about life. It is a brilliantly deep sci-fi thriller that prompts its audience to ponder and think. Score: 7.5/10 Check out my full review here! andreusjh99.github.io/film/review/2021/10/06/review-the-incident.html See more 06/09/2021 Very interesting premise, not easy to understand but an incredible fiction anyway. See more 09/19/2020 El Incidente (7.5/10). A metaphorical Sci-fi thriller with an important lesson. This is a film about life. Oliver and his brother enter a stairwell being chased by a police officer. Soon enough they find themselves stuck in the never-ending stairwell. Meanwhile, a family who goes on a road trip is also horrified upon realising they are going down a never-ending highway. The fantasy flick from 2014 is a didactic film which sets out to alarm us of the importance of life and motivation. With two parallel stories about both youth and adulthood, the film successfully urges its viewers to take a look at themselves and consider their own lives. It is well done for the most part, although the pacing suffers quite a bit during the second story about the road trip. Repetitions of elements over the two stories also really slow down the film a lot. The laborious and overly-expositional final 10 minutes or so slightly bring down the film too. Nevertheless, the film manages to get its core message across with such limited budget and elements. The effort is definitely commendable. As mentioned, the pacing is not consistent in some parts of the film. This is mainly due to the filmmakers' lack of trust in the audience to grasp the metaphors, thus resulting in some lengthy explanations which bloated the film. That being said, not everything is being thoroughly explained which is always a good thing. If you watch the film again, there are still delightful Easter eggs worth looking out for. Nothing much can be said about the performance of the cast though sadly, as the film focuses less on the actual characters but more on the figures they represent. There are not any particular moments when their performance stands out both in a good and bad way. And that is fine since the film captivates not with its characters but with its simplicity and message. Before I end, a well-done to Edy Lan (the music supervisor) and his team for the marvellous use of music in the film. Similarly to Rodrigo San (the cinematographer) for the beautifully-shot scenes. These are two of the many crucial elements in making watching the film a wonderful experience. All in all, El Incidente (2014) is a brilliantly deep sci-fi thriller which prompts its audience to ponder and think. Although the pacing could improve, the film was a blast to watch and I definitely recommend it to everyone. 7.5/10 See more 08/18/2020 This movie was terrible. The plot was confusing and it was confusing. I love films and I studied film however, I would not recommend this movie to anyone. See more 06/25/2020 Most dumb and boring way to send a message. Low budget movie, very plain. The movie didn't make anything, don't waste your time. See more Read all reviews
The Incident

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Movie Info

Synopsis Two parallel stories about characters trapped in illogical endless spaces: two brothers and a detective locked on an infinite staircase, and a family locked on an infinite road -- for a very long time.
Director
Isaac Ezban
Producer
Andrea Quiroz, Victor Shuchleib
Screenwriter
Isaac Ezban
Genre
Sci-Fi, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
Spanish
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 21, 2014, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jun 20, 2017
Runtime
1h 40m