Mirage (2018)

No, not a remake of the 1965 noir. I hadn't heard of this Spanish movie, whose native title is Durante la tormenta ("During the storm"), until I browsed Netflix for something chilling. OK, most sources don't count this as horror, and some don't even call it a thriller, but it certainly involves paranormal phenomena and high-running emotions.

In 2014, in her new house, thirty-something Vera watches a videotape made by a prior resident, preteen Nico, shortly before his accidental death in 1989. An extraordinary thunderstorm at both times allows them to see and hear each other. Vera warns Nico not to make a fatal mistake. Then she discovers a bunch of local changes, most distressingly that she never got together with her would-be husband, David. Nobody else remembers the other timeline, but she hopes to find out what became of Nico and somehow restore what she lost, before the three-day storm ends.

Not the most straightforward as time travel premises go. Vera can get an influx of alternate memories just by touching someone, kinda like in The Dead Zone. It adds to the mystery aura.

Vera barely learns a thing about her new life. In a way, it's better: Her medical career has advanced, for reasons never spelled out. Hey, the butterfly effect goes a long way. But the nullification of her daughter is enough to make her reject any alternative. Alas, it's nearly impossible for her to convince anyone she's not psychotic.

Lest you think the conflict has no villains, Nico's accident happened only because he ran away upon witnessing signs of uxoricide across the street. The full story is a little nuanced, and we can feel some sympathy for the criminal neighbors, but they're definitely responsible for the scariest parts. And other details that justify a TV-MA.

We get several shout-outs to Back to the Future. I find them a bit strange, since this is nowhere close to a comedy or even a light-hearted adventure. Still, I won't begrudge honor to a good series.

Some critics think the flick is too shallow and/or bloated. I don't. It takes turns that I never saw coming but that make adequate sense. I did split my viewing of the 128 minutes over two evenings, but I didn't wish it were shorter. It's not another Flashpoint Paradox or Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, partly because Vera never considers not saving Nico after all.

Indeed, my highest praise for Mirage is that it stands alone. It combines genres to a challenging degree. While it may not be all that Halloween-y, it is disturbing in its own right, until the moderately happy ending.