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Hypnotic (2023 film)

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This article is about the 2023 film. For the 2021 film, see Hypnotic (2021 film).
Hypnotic
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRobert Rodriguez
Screenplay by
Story byRobert Rodriguez
Produced by
  • Mark Gill
  • Guy Botham
  • Lisa Ellzey
  • Jeff Robinov
  • John Graham
  • Racer Max
  • Robert Rodriguez
Starring
Cinematography
  • Pablo Berron
  • Robert Rodriguez
Edited byRobert Rodriguez
Music byRebel Rodriguez[2]
Production
companies
Distributed byKetchup Entertainment
Release dates
  • March 12, 2023 (2023-03-12) (SXSW)
  • May 12, 2023 (2023-05-12) (United States)
Running time
94 minutes[3]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$65 million[4]
Box office$5.7 million[5][6]

Hypnotic is a 2023 American science fiction thriller film directed by Robert Rodriguez, who co-wrote the screenplay with Max Borenstein. The film stars Ben Affleck, Alice Braga, J. D. Pardo, Hala Finley, Dayo Okeniyi, Jeff Fahey, Jackie Earle Haley and William Fichtner. Rodriguez also produced, co-shot, and edited the film, while his sons Rebel and Racer Max served as composer and producer, respectively.

Hypnotic was released in the United States on May 12, 2023, by Ketchup Entertainment. The film received mixed reviews from critics.

Plot

Danny Rourke, an Austin Police Department detective, recalls to his therapist the abduction of his seven-year-old daughter, Minnie, which led to the dissolution of his marriage. Afterwards, he is picked up by his partner, Nicks, who informs him they have received an anonymous tipoff that a safe deposit box at a bank will be robbed. At the stakeout, they witness a mysterious man give unheard instructions to civilians, bank employees, and fellow police, who seemingly follow his commands as he enters the bank. Rourke races to the targeted safe deposit box, finding a picture of Minnie with the message "Find Lev Dellrayne" written on it. Rourke pursues the man to a rooftop, where he witnesses him command two police officers to shoot each other as he escapes.

Convinced the heist has something to do with the disappearance of his daughter, Rourke investigates. Forensics lead Rourke to the address of fortuneteller Diana Cruz. After he describes the man from the heist, a client of Cruz's, under the control of the man from the bank, drives a motorcycle through Cruz's window before killing himself. Rourke takes Cruz into custody. She explains that the mysterious man from the bank is named "Lev Dellrayne". He and Cruz are escaped "Hypnotics": powerful hypnotists trained by a secretive government "Division" to control people's minds. Rourke is mysteriously immune to their control. Meanwhile Dellrayne, outside the station, commands Nicks to attack Rourke and Cruz, who kill him in self-defense.

Rourke and Cruz flee to Mexico. There, they learn from a former Division contact Jeremiah that Dellrayne is seeking "Domino", a powerful weapon developed by the Division, stolen, and hidden by Dellrayne when he escaped. Dellrayne then wiped his own memory and left behind "triggers" prompting him to gradually recall Domino's location and regain his own hypnotic power. Dellrayne eventually reveals himself to be Jeremiah in disguise and pursues Rourke and Cruz through a hypnotically constructed environment before Rourke taps into an unknown hypnotic power, allowing them to escape.

Rourke and Cruz seek out River, a reclusive Division hacker, who discovers Rourke's wife, Vivian, in a Division database. Later, Rourke investigates River's database himself, and discovers that Minnie is Domino, the daughter of two powerful hypnotics: Rourke and Cruz (who is revealed to be Vivian). As "Cruz" interrupts him, Rourke realizes that the room and all of the events up to this point have been constructs. He wakes up in a large room populated by Division agents, all of whom he has seen throughout the constructed story, including Nicks and "Dellrayne."

Vivian and "Dellrayne" explain that Rourke and Vivian are both hypnotics, and their daughter Minnie was born and raised within the Division, but that he escaped with her to stop her from becoming their weapon. Hiding her and then wiping his memory, Rourke no longer remembers where she is, and the Division has been putting him through constructs of the search for her to make him remember. Rourke is plugged back into the construct, where he repeats the session with his therapist and the stakeout at the bank heist. However, Rourke soon escapes using his own powers and flees as the Division realizes that "Find Lev Dellrayne" refers not to a person but "Deer Valley Lane": the location of a ranch where Rourke's foster parents have been hiding Minnie.

Rourke arrives at the ranch and is reunited with Minnie, who has now aged three years and is in full control of her powers. The Division surrounds the ranch but it is all revealed to be another construct of Minnie's creation. Minnie restores Vivian's memories that she was involved in Rourke and Minnie's escape, but wiped her memory so that when Minnie was powerful enough to defeat the entire Division at once, Vivian could unwittingly lead them to her. Minnie forces the Division agents to wipe each other out, and she, her parents, and Rourke's foster parents celebrate their newfound freedom.

In a mid-credits scene, "Dellrayne" is revealed to have survived, having constructed Rourke's foster-father to look like him during the fight with Minnie.

Cast

Production

Development

Robert Rodriguez had written the initial screenplay for Hypnotic back in 2002, calling it "one of my favorite stories".[7] In November 2018, Rodriguez was confirmed to direct, with Max Borenstein rewriting the original script for Studio 8.[8][9] In November 2019, it was reported that Studio 8 would co-produce with Solstice Studios, which had domestic distribution rights.[10]

Casting

In November 2019, Ben Affleck was set to star.[11] In May 2021, Alice Braga was added, with filming set to begin on September 20 in Austin, Texas.[12] In September 2021, Hala Finley joined the cast.[13] In October 2021, it was reported Dayo Okeniyi, William Fichtner and JD Pardo had signed on.[14][15]

Filming

Principal photography began in Austin on September 27, 2021, and concluded on November 19 of the same year.[13][16]

Post-production

In April 2022, Rodriguez confirmed that, similar to his previous films, he and his family members collaborated on the project:

My son [Rebel] now is my full-time composer. My other son [Racer Max] is my co-writer/producer. My daughter [Rhiannon] is doing storyboards. My other son's [Rogue] doing the animatics, because he's using his game engine stuff that he designed the sets for Heroes with. And then my other son [Rocket] edits with me. So, it's a family affair.[7]

Release

Hypnotic was originally scheduled to be released theatrically in the United States by Solstice Studios.[10] In March 2023, it was reported that Ketchup Entertainment would serve as the domestic distributor after Solstice Studios shut down in late-2022. A "work-in-progress" cut of the film was screened at South by Southwest on March 12, 2023.[17] Hypnotic was ultimately released in the United States on May 12, 2023, by Ketchup Entertainment.[18][19][20]

Reception

Box office

Released alongside Book Club: The Next Chapter, the film made $940,000 from 2,118 theaters in its first day. It went on to debut to $2.4 million, finishing in sixth. It was the worst opening weekend of both Rodriguez and Affleck's careers, and was blamed in-part on the very little marketing done by the studio.[21]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 36% of 88 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "Although Hypnotic isn't without glimmers of inspiration, the ultimate effect of this often clunky crime caper will be to leave you feeling rather sleepy."[22] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 53 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[23] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled by PostTrak gave it a 69% positive score, with 44% saying they would definitely recommend it.[21]

References

  1. ^ "Hypnotic". Writers Guild of America West. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  2. ^ "Rebel Rodriguez Scoring Robert Rodriguez's 'Hypnotic'". Film Music Reporter. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  3. ^ "Hypnotic (15)". BBFC. Archived from the original on May 28, 2023. Retrieved May 27, 2023. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; May 24, 2023 suggested (help)
  4. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (February 14, 2023). "The Curious Journey Of Big-Budget Ben Affleck Movie 'Hypnotic' Will Continue At The EFM As U.S. Release Plans Emerge". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  5. ^ "Hypnotic (2023)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  6. ^ "Hypnotic (2023)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Chitwood, Adam (August 29, 2021). "Exclusive: Robert Rodriguez Says His Ben Affleck Movie 'Hypnotic' Is "Like a Hitchcock Thriller on Steroids"". Collider. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
  8. ^ Kit, Borys (February 20, 2018). "Robert Rodriguez, 'Kong: Skull Island' Writer Team for Sci-Fi Thriller 'Hypnotic' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  9. ^ "Hypnotic". Writers Guild of America West. September 13, 2022. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  10. ^ a b Wiseman, Andreas (November 1, 2019). "Big-Budget Robert Rodriguez Thriller 'Hypnotic' Set As First Film In Solstice & Studio 8 Deal". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  11. ^ Kroll, Justin (November 6, 2019). "Ben Affleck to Star in Robert Rodriguez's Action Thriller 'Hypnotic'". Variety.
  12. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (June 1, 2021). "Robert Rodriguez's Ben Affleck Action-Thriller 'Hypnotic' Slated To Start Production In September, Alice Braga Joins". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  13. ^ a b Wiseman, Andreas (September 17, 2021). "'Hypnotic': Hala Finley Joins Ben Affleck & Alice Braga In Robert Rodriguez & Solstice Action-Thriller, Cameras Roll This Month In Texas". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 18, 2021.
  14. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 1, 2021). "Robert Rodriguez's Solstice Studios & Studio 8 Movie 'Hypnotic' Sets Dayo Okeniyi & William Fichtner". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  15. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (October 13, 2021). "'Mayans M.C.' Star JD Pardo Joins Robert Rodriguez Action-Thriller 'Hypnotic'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  16. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (October 4, 2021). "Solstice Studios Shuttering? Top Execs Laid Off As Indie Becomes Hollywood's First Corporate Covid Fatality". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  17. ^ Vary, Adam B. (March 1, 2023). "'Hypnotic' First Look: Ben Affleck and Robert Rodriguez's Thriller to Hold Work-in-Progress SXSW Screening (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  18. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (March 17, 2023). "Robert Rodriguez & Ben Affleck's 'Hypnotic' Gets May Release Date Following Surprise SXSW "Work In Progress" Screening". Deadline Hollywood.
  19. ^ "New Movie Releases: May 12, 2023". tbnweekly.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. ^ "Hypnotic". Relativity Media. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  21. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 15, 2023). "'Guardians' Gang Steals 'Book Club' Ladies' Purse Over Mother's Day Weekend: Best Second Weekend Hold For MCU Post Covid – Sunday Box Office Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  22. ^ "Hypnotic". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  23. ^ "Hypnotic". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
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