'Unknown Origins' aka 'Orígenes Secretos' Review: When comic books become the tool for savage and gory murders
'Unknown Origins' is gripping, sinister and blends wry humor. Superheroes are a symbol of hope and for a major part of the world, an emotion. 'Kick-Ass' and 'Kick-Ass 2' was an example of what happens when teens throw on some superhero outfits to fight crime.
'Unknown Origins' sees a psychotic character using comics and superheroes' origin stories to kill people and leaves a mark. One man's killed after being fed enough supplements and steroids to be the Hulk. Another has his heart plucked out and is covered in a metallic suit. Does Tony Stark's first suit ring a bell?
Attempting to stop this is Inspector David (Javier Rey), a man who feels comics are for overgrown adults and quickly pays the price for that sort of criticism. Initially, he is assisted by Cosme (Antonio Resines), a cop on spending his final days on the force after being forced to turn in his resignation. David's boss is the homicide chief, Norma (Verónica Echegui) who loves cosplaying. In her words, she doesn't read comics, rather she watches movies and anime just so she can cosplay.
Joining the trio is Jorge Elias (Brays Efe), Cosme's son who is a comic geek and runs as a comic book store in town. When Cosme realizes the demented villain commits murders in the form of creating superhero origin stories, he feels Jorge is better suited for the job with David. It is quite predictable as to how the relationship between Jorge and David is shown— icy, sarcastic, and some sardonic humor.
Things go batshit crazy when David realizes his parents were killed the same way as Martha and Thomas Wayne were killed in the comics. Even though the 90-minute feature takes time to set the context, it changes gears in the second act as we quickly see Jorge, David, and Norma go up against a force who's ahead of them the whole time.
The suspense level is heightened when it hides the identity of the killer until the final thirty minutes of the film. With time running out for the trio to find the killer, they face pressure as the news goes public. Bruguera (Ernesto Alterio), the forensic man in the department is revealed to be the killer and the rest of the story follows the trio attempting to put an end to his nefarious and demented plans.
In the end, 'Unknown Origins' is all about the birth of a superhero and serves as the origin tale of a man, who like most heroes doesn't really have an intention to dress up and kick butt. The film is worth the watch and as far as superhero films go, this one's dark and intriguing at the same time. 'Unknown Origins' is streaming on Netflix.
