The taut Argentine thriller Amateur reminds us of Psycho, but with more grisly killing and sexual perversity. A new hire at a television station is combing through some old tapes and discovers a sex tape (hence the title). He becomes obsessed with the woman in the tape and later meets her in real life. As in Psycho, a serial killer suddenly takes over the story, and Amateur plunges into tales of blackmail, kidnapping and a sordid back story of sexual exploitation. Trying to solve the first murder, the police stumble along as the bodies pile up.
The original sex tape is only the first layer of voyeurism in Amateur. More and more characters video record and view the actions of others.
Jazmín Stuart is very good as a woman that the audience is likely to underestimate at the beginning of the film There is a moment in Amateur when she has just had a consensual sexual encounter but her eyes start to signal that something is terribly wrong; it’s unforgettable.
Alejandro Awada is perfectly cast as a guy who seems formidable at first; we keep learning that he has more and more assets, including his trophy wife. His easy-going affect of geniality and confident charm is an effective juxtaposition to the monster he is revealed to be. Awada delivered another excellent supporting performance in the overlooked neo-noir The Aura.
The veteran producer Sebastian Perillo makes his writing and directing debuts with Amateur. The US premiere of Amateur is at Cinequest.