''The Instinct'' () is a 2024 Spanish

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a Film genre, genre combining the thriller (genre), thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting ...

film written and directed by Juan Albarracín in his directorial debut feature. It stars Javier Pereira,

Fernando Cayo Fernando Cayo Jiménez Álvarez (born 22 April 1968) is a Spanish actor. His television work include performances in ''Money Heist''. Biography Fernando Cayo Jiménez Álvarez was born on 22 April 1968 in Valladolid. He moved to Madrid when he ...

, and

Eva Llorach Eva Llorach (born 1979) is a Spanish actress. She had a breakout role, breakout performance in the 2018 drama film ''Quién te cantará'', which earned her the Goya Award for Best New Actress in 2019. Biography She was born in Murcia in 1979. S ...

Plot

After Sonia warns

agoraphobic Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the person perceives their environment to be unsafe with no way to escape. These situations can include public transit, shopping centers, crowds and q ...

architect Abel that his career is imperiled, Abel accepts to receive an alternative treatment by

dog trainer Dog training is a type of animal training, the application of behavior analysis which uses the environmental events of antecedents (trigger for a behavior) and consequences to modify the dog behavior, either for it to assist in specific activiti ...

Jose.

Cast

Production

''The Instinct'' was produced by Twin Freaks Studio, Horizon Media, Pópulos Films, and Trilita Films, and it had the participation of

La 7 La7 is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned by Cairo Communication. Cairo Communication acquired it from Telecom Italia Media, itself owned by Telecom Italia, in 2013. La7 features a generalist programming schedule, primarily f ...

. Shooting locations in the

Region of Murcia The Region of Murcia (, ; ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain located in the southeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. The region is in area and had a popul ...

included

Molina de Segura Molina de Segura is a municipality of Spain in the autonomous community and province of Murcia. It is located 10 km from the provincial capital, Murcia. It borders the towns of Las Torres de Cotillas, Alguazas, Lorquí, Ulea, Archena, A ...

Bullas Bullas () is a municipality and town in the Region of Murcia, southeast Spain, located 53 km from the provincial capital, Murcia. it is the highest municipality in the Region of Murcia after Moratalla. The surrounding area is noted for th ...

, La Hoya ( Lorca) La Galera Beach (

Águilas Águilas () is a municipality and seaport of southeastern Spain, in the province of Murcia. It is situated at the southern end of Murcia's Mediterranean coastline, otherwise known as the Costa Cálida, near the border with the Province of Almer ...

). The film had a budget of around €398,000 and was partially financed by

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...

Release

The film was slated to have its world premiere at the 26th in October 2024. It also made it to the slate of the , and the 22nd . Distributed by Barton Films, it is expected to be released theatrically on 16 May 2025.

Reception

Raquel Hernández Luján of ''

HobbyConsolas ''HobbyConsolas'' is a Spanish video game magazine founded in 1991 by Hobby Press and published by Axel Springer SE. The first issue appeared in October 1991. The monthly magazine offers information about games for all consoles, and since 2012 ha ...

'' gave the film 60 points ('acceptable'), deeming it to be a "dark and twisted minimalist single-location thriller". Carmen L. Lobo of '' La Razón'' rated the film 3 out of 5 stars, declaring it "an unsettling, very disturbing debut featuring two fully committed actors".

References