Welcome back! This week I’m back at it with another look at a featured Letterboxd List! Letterboxd recently added their lists of Highest Rated Films, going back to 2012. Each list has 50 of the highest rated films for a given year. We’ll be looking at #38 on the 2021 Highest Rated Films list as we dive into… History of the Occult (2020).
Title: History of the Occult
Director: Cristian Ponce
Released: October 15, 2021 (Digital – Argentina and Spain)
Runtime: 1 hour 22 minutes
Available to stream on: Kanopy and Tubi
The Argentine investigative news program 60 Minutes Before Midnight has recently been canceled. The network canceled the show after the producers tried to expose the President’s economic policies and their connection to the occult. They still have one show left though and plan on going out with a bang. For their final story, they’ll be looking to expose a conspiracy that links the government to a mysterious corporation steeped in black magic.
Star of the evening is guest Adrian Marcato (Germán Baudino). He is the co-founder of Argentina’s largest corporation, Kingdom Corporate, and he might also possibly be a warlock. Yep, you read that correctly.
Meanwhile, a group of producers scramble behind the scenes to back up every on-air claim with solid evidence. But can they keep control with an alleged warlock live on the air?
History of the Occult (2020) drops you into an urgent situation right out of the gates. We’re immediately made aware of the tension surrounding the final episode of 60 Minutes Before Midnight and what all is at stake. If they pull this off, they can possibly topple the current political regime.
What I really appreciated about this is how they were able to take a political thriller and effectively sprinkle in horror elements. Being that the majority of the film is in black and white, the playful use of shadows were done incredibly well. They add a sense of mystery and intrigue to what is unfolding both on the stage and in the room with all of the producers.
While the first act draws you in and the third act rewards your patience, things get a bit bogged down in the second act. In fact, that’s probably my biggest issue with this. Yes, it is a slow burn, but we wind up fizzling out and having to re-ignite. Despite being under 90-minutes, it feels a lot longer than it is.
There’s a lot going on, it requires your attention and patience, but if you stick with History of the Occult (2020), the payoff is worth it.
Have you seen History of the Occult (2020)?
If so, tell me what you thought of it in the comments below or by reaching out on Bluesky!
As always, you can follow everything else that I’ve been watching over on my Letterboxd account.