I can’t fault anybody for lack of effort here. Unknown Origins is a combination of Se7en and a superhero origin story, and as such, it pretended it was a part of the Marvel universe, so much so, in fact, that the film even had a Spanish Stan Lee impersonator cameo. How exactly does one react to that? “HEY! That’s *NOT* Stan Lee.” Writer/Director/Comic Book Hound David Galán Galindo knew his subject matter well. Unknown Origins not only follows a graphic novel blueprint, Galindo even trolls himself by having a frustrated graphic novel enthusiast utter a backhanded line regarding clue frustration about how “sins would be easier.”
This is a movie about grisly serial murders that follow distinct comic book origin stories. It might seem cool were it not so disturbing. For instance, the first murder scene presented a man done in by a bench press accident, the enormous weight suspended by the metal bar turned the victim’s neck into an inverted speed bump … and the victim was grey to boot, deliberately grey-skinned … not unlike the origin story of The Hulk. What kind of psychopath makes his murder look like The Hulk’s origin story? And why?
The detectives on the case are the tragically backgrounded David (Javier Rey) and his mentor, the tragically presentgrounded Cosme (Antonio Resinas). Like any good police detective, Cosme has –like- a week to live. My Spanish isn’t good enough to know if he’s “getting too old for this shit,” but he does have cancer, so he retires before Act I ends. Oh, movie, and you were doing so well, too.
Don’t worry, the stuffy and morose nature of grisly murder is completely undermined by … comic books! No, I won’t call them “graphic novels” here, and I’ll tell you why: Chief Norma (Verónica Echegui) is into sexy cosplay – I suppose that’s redundant; is there any other kind? Answer honestly – I swear to God, if all police chiefs were into cosplay, I would have so much more respect for law enforcemenjnt. And, of course, the nature of the murders requires a consultant, Cosme’s son Jorge (Brays Efe), who is nothing short of the Spanish version of the Comic Book Guy from “The Simpsons.”
Those are odd people to round out the cast of Se7en, doncha think?
This film is very forgiving for those who have an appreciation of comic books and/or niche pop culture. The clues may as well be labeled by where you would have encountered them in the life of a nerd. And 
who makes a hero out of Comic Book Guy, anyway? There’s a scene I love in which straight-laced David interrupts a cosplay design workshop and gets owned in the process of demeaning the regulars. Oh everyone here is in costume, David … including you. And your costume sucks. I paraphrase because, once again, my Spanish could be better.
I’m not sure the excess grizzle works in Unknown Origins. In one moment, you have an adult in a Sailor Moon costume and in the next, you have a man screaming in pain while being burned alive. That’s asking a lot of an audience. Now, tis true, I cannot dislike any film in which a Police Chief deigns to embrace Sailor Moon, but I would have enjoyed it better if I liked any of the leads, or had I not felt so abused by an ending which works so well that it undermines any reality the piece might have held. Not a strong thumbs up from me, but Unknown Origins certainly kept my attention.
There once was a detective from Madrid
Who had no patience to dress like a kid
But the murders all pointed
To cosplay anointed
So what’ll it be: Batman or giant squid?
Rated TV-MA, 96 Minutes
Director: David Galán Galindo
Writer: David Galán Galindo and Fernando Navarro
Genre: The one that makes a hero out of Comic Book Guy from “The Simpsons”
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Comic Book Nerds
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Super cynics
