Thesis

Ángela is a film student in Madrid writing a thesis on violence in audiovisual media. While researching, she comes across a videotape showing the real torture and murder of a young woman, and learns that the victim was a former student at her own university. Her investigation draws her into the existence of snuff films and suggests that those responsible may be closer to her than she expected. Her classmate Chema, an avid fan of gore cinema, becomes her ally in the search, while her growing attraction to another student, Bosco, complicates her situation.

The film is Alejandro Amenábar's first feature, which he also co-wrote with Mateo Gil, and it was produced by José Luis Cuerda. Ana Torrent leads the cast as Ángela, with Fele Martínez as Chema, Eduardo Noriega as Bosco, Xabier Elorriaga as Castro, Miguel Picazo as Figueroa and Nieves Herranz as Sena. Amenábar went on to direct Open Your Eyes, The Others, The Sea Inside and Agora, among other films.

Thesis received generally favourable notices, with a critics' rating of 7.2/10 from 14 reviews. Audiences have responded similarly: on IMDb it holds 7.4/10 from around 46,000 votes, and on TMDB it stands at 7.5/10 from just under a thousand votes. That the three scores sit so close together suggests a film whose reputation has remained steady with both critics and viewers since its release in 1996.