“Below Zero” (“Bajocero,” original title) comes almost as a surprise. The Spanish fraction of Netflix produced and launched this movie some time ago and it caught my attention. I’m a fan of the dark movies from the Iberian Peninsula. They know how to shock, in one way or another; and even the weakest of them leaves you perplexed, wandering within a void of unstoppable thinking.
The movie takes place over a single day and follows a police officer named Martin (Javier Gutiérrez). On the first day of a new job, he must help transport six criminals to a new prison. At first there are arguments with the inmates, but then the true problem presents itself—a man disables the vehicle from reaching its destination. His purpose is only to get an inmate out for a personal (maybe cruel) reason. And he won’t stop until he gets who he wants—and the gunman is pretty direct about his means.
Martin now must decide between his morals and survival. On one hand there are prisoners, who just want to escape and fulfill the killer’s wish; on the other hand Martin must not succumb to such threats and protect the ‘cargo.’
The main character is on edge, because it’s almost impossible to handle such stress—especially remaining suddenly alone with different negative and dangerous figures (all whilst outside having a psycho killer waiting for a mistake). Death is all around and the paranoia is rising. The latter is masterfully presented from the first encounter with the maniac and remains with the viewer. The paranoid atmosphere slowly erupts within the claustrophobic space of the locked police vehicle. It is just anger, fear, and instincts.
A scene from Below Zero.” Photo: Morena Films, 2021.
However, watching this film, something was bothering me throughout the film and I eventually discovered the reason. In front of me a kind of Spanish remake of John Carpenter’s “Assault on Precinct 13,” and the similarities are plenty. Both films display the cold weather, the skilled villain wanting just one criminal, the moral police officer, the claustrophobic paranoia, the slow death count of the criminals, and the unsure ending of all the main characters.
There are some obvious differences. For example, the fledging criminal is not the one on the killer’s ‘wish-list,’ and there are no female characters included in the movie. The latter is quite problematic in the dynamic of the movie, since it could’ve been an additional female cop. The women are only mentioned as memories or victims of the inmates. And to confirm the problem of the lack of women in the movie, the whole reason it all started is a girl and her horrible demise.
“Below Zero” is a dark thriller working itself out with the help of paranoia, doubt, and morals, but does not have the powerful effect we expect. Admittedly it is an enjoyable watch, and the viewers’ identification with Martin works out in the end. But ultimately the remake fact sticks (in my opinion) out just a bit too much.
