The Horror Mystery Flop Defying Odds And Heating Up On Netflix
Horror has had a long history of delving into religion because, if we know anything, being helpless to a higher power is terrifying. So is the central thesis of the Spanish-language horror film "Tin & Tina." Decidedly not leaning on any supernatural elements or possession that may come with the territory, the 2023 film delves into the more realistic fears about religion. After suffering a traumatic miscarriage — at her own wedding no less — Lola (Milena Smit) becomes inconsolable. Wanting to move forward with their lives, her husband, Adolfo (Jaime Lorente), takes her to a convent where they decide to adopt two extremely creepy twins, a la "The Shining." And this is where the film starts to go off the rails. If there is a cohesive narrative in the film, it's hard to find.
"Lola is also not religious. Does that make her less than a good person? This movie might be saying that, but it also might not, because I'm not sure this movie knows what it wants to be saying," Decider's John Serba wrote. Lola and Adolfo take the twins home and come to regret it. These kids aren't just creepy. Their warped sense of religion has turned them murderous. And that's about where the film loses the thread. The plot has nothing new or interesting to say, leading to a Rotten Tomatoes score of 60%. But despite its evident creative failures, viewers have been flocking to the horror movie flop, landing it on Netflix's Top 10.
Don't discount the cinematography
Despite the dismal reviews circulating "Tin & Tina," it does have some redeeming factors. The horror film may be predictable with no grand design, but it doesn't hold back visually. Even the Decider review concedes that the movie contains "a lengthy single-take steadicam shot that surely required significant choreography and preparation." This was the large strength of the film that viewers noted on social media.
"Honestly looking at tin and tina outside of a horror movie view it's actually quite excellent in terms of how it deals with trauma plus the cinematography is beautiful," @simons_089 posted on Twitter. If the story is lacking, watching a film with a captivating visual style is one way to grab viewers.
Other fans noted that "Tin & Tina" also had the strength of being legitimately frightening. Pale-faced children are typically a surefire way to produce anxiety. "[Tin & Tina] are literally the scariest children i've ever seen in a horror movie," @rhysfaerie professed on Twitter. And though there were critics who disagreed with this, many fans were moved by the thematic resolution of the film.
"I honestly feel like the reason why people don't get tin and tina is that it wasn't supernatural forces that made the children so terrifying it's that they were indoctrinated so young and took the Bible literally," @simons_089 explained. The film seems to have resonated among its fans — anyone can relate to this kind of terror, after all. "Tin & Tina" shows the dangers of religious devotion and strict adherence to faith, and it seems to have found an audience on Netflix.