HYPNOTIC -- A Movie That Will Make You Wish You Were Put Under

Reviewed by Adam Donato

Hypnotic is the story of a woman in a rut in her life. A miscarriage led to a divorce between her and her husband. On top of that, she is out of a job. At a friend's party, she gets acquainted with a therapist who worked wonders on one of her friends. After seeing said therapist, her life completely changes, for better or worse.

Directors Matt Angel and Suzanne Coote return to Netflix after their last collaboration on The Open House, a movie with a whopping 3.2 rating on IMDb. Pair that duo with the writer of Halle Berry’s The Call and you got the perfect movie to throw on a streaming service. More Netflix talent is in this movie as Kate Siegel from The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass stars in Hypnotic. Watch both of those shows back to back this week and Hypnotic will be sure to be on your "For You" section. Rounding out the rest of the cast is Jason O’Mara, the voice of Batman in some recent animated movies, and popular television actor Dule Hill, most known from Psych.

Hypnotic (L-R). Kate Siegel as Jenn, Jason O'Mara as Dr. Collin Meade, in Hypnotic. Credit: Eric Milner/Netflix © 2021.

The nicest thing to be said about this movie is that it is serviceable. There’s nothing noticeably good here in any way, shape, or form. It’s like a watered down version of the most recent iteration of The Invisible Man. A down on her luck woman is terrorized by a rich man who wants to manipulate her into being with him with his magic powers. It’s an unworthy addition into the “Good For Her” genre, where a woman in a horror/thriller has to overcome those who seek to terrorize her. There’s certainly much better movies that could quench that thirst. Despite its flaws, there's definitely an audience for this movie, but not for those who care about quality.

The script is at times crazy. The villain’s plan is almost so bad that it’s good (almost). The protagonist is so unlikable that were the villain not so obviously evil, it would be complicated to know who to root for. It’s funny because there’s a conversation between the main character and the detective where they talk about how ridiculous the concept of the movie even is. In a way, that’s what makes this movie somewhat entertaining to watch, but unless this movie just starts automatically playing after you watched something else, then don’t watch. 

Movies like this are a dime a dozen. Without seeing this movie, you’ve seen it. Just switch out hypnosis with some other form of manipulation and it’s the same story. It’s fun in its ridiculousness, but there’s nothing of actual substance here. When it comes to Netflix, stick to the shows until awards season kicks in.
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Hypnotic is now streaming on Netflix.

Rating: 1/5