Easily one of the best Spanish movies in the crime-drama genre, The Invisible Guest (Contratiempo) is a result of brilliant writing and screenplay that engages the viewer from start to finish.

The storyline is fairly simple. It revolves around a successful entrepreneur and his dead lover in a hotel room. The entreprenuer denies pleads guilty of killing his lover, but there is no trace of anyone in the room. Who is guilty? Was there someone in the room? Is there more to the story? The rest of the movie captures all these questions.

The direction, writing and editing of Oriol Paulo is what makes the movie like an adventure supported by the solid acting of the actors and the cinematography.

Adrián Doria (Mario Cass), Virginia Goodman (Ana Wagener), Tomás Garrido (Jose Coronado) and Laura Vidal (Bárbara Lennie) play the key role in the film and pull off their parts effectively. The film wastes no time in establishing the core plot and the different scenarios that could have led to the death of Laura. Despite the obvious flaws in the solving a murder mystery, Oriol has brought in enough layers that keeps the viewers gueesing.

Director Oriol has shot the movie across different scenic locales across Spain, especially the iconic hotel scene which stands out in the backdrop of snowfall in a remote location, adding to the mystery elements in the film.

The Invisible Guest is a film that keeps us guessing. It allows the viewer about ‘What If’ scenarios and eventually as we try to predict the outcome, Oriol adds in another twist to the ending, taking us by surprise. A must watch Spanish movie that is on par among other notable international movies.