[Film Review] Two / Dos (2021)

Have you ever sat down to watch your favourite Spanish telenovela and thought, “you know what would make this better? The convoluted storylines combined with the body horror of Saw (2001) and The Human Centipede (2009), but with far less gore and not about someone’s digestive system”? No? Well apparently, someone did, as director Mar Targarona (producer of The Orphanage) brings us Two, a short Netflix film (it’s only 71 minutes) that will leave you questioning the motives of everyone involved, on and off screen. 

Sara (Marina Gatell) wakes up on top of David (Pablo Derqui) in what seems to be a hotel room. As Sara tries to peel herself away from David’s body, it becomes apparent that the two are sewn together by their abdomens, causing both parties severe pain when they attempt to move. The two strangers must now work out who would be so evil as to sew them together, why this has happened, and finally, how to escape. 

The overall premise of this film has the familiarity of the 2000s Spectacle Horror craze that swept through American cinema (I refuse to call it Torture Porn, but that’s a conversation for another article). Although the gore in Two is primarily isolated to the singular wound that the characters share, the intensity of the close ups and the sound of flesh trying to separate bring back very visceral memories of watching Hostel (2005) for the first time. The feeling of isolation also expands to the film’s location. In a very closed-off set for the vast majority of its runtime, Two makes excellent use of the space it has to work with and the audience are able to investigate every nook and cranny of the room, leaving no stone unturned in the narrative. 

The plot of the film feels very telenovela, as mentioned above with clear attempts to shock and surprise the viewer in an almost Shyamalan-esque way. Unfortunately, like many M. Night Shyamalan films, the ‘twist’ makes you shrug rather than gasp; it’s built up as a bewildering mystery thriller, only to have the last act pelted through at high speed with very little left to grip the audience. It’s hard to explain the reasoning for this without spoiling the story, but it is worth mentioning that the obsession with the number two that Sara goes on about for what feels like half the film, is basically pointless. The finale would have made sense without it, the characters don’t have justified actions because of it, and I personally felt like I wasted an unnecessary amount of time trying to pay attention to the explanations of it… The short run time of this film also implies that the creators knew there wasn’t enough bulk to the concept to lengthen it out any further. 

There is also an obscure attempt to make Two feel almost arthouse at the end. With the erratic story and closed in visuals, I can see the beginning of an idea here when it comes to this genre, but the final shot of the movie felt like it didn’t really belong with the rest of the film. This may be a personal issue, but I feel that if you want to make an arthouse film, you should stick to your guns consistently throughout the piece and not just hurl a final ‘art shot’ at your audience.

In terms of the acting, Two provides exactly what you would expect. Gatell and Derqui deliver on the drama with two very different reactions to their situation, creating a tension between them that sometimes results in questionable choices. Although, at times, the performances feel a tad hammy, it should also be noted that the actors are naked for much of the film which could sometimes distract the audience unless the ‘Sherlock style’ mystery solving wasn’t a little over the top. 

Although this review may come across as quite critical, I would still recommend watching Two if you have just over an hour to kill. It may be awash with clichés, and it may feel like someone tried to mix American body horror hits with Oldboy (2003) in a blender, before sieving out most of the gore; yet it still held a strange charm that made me want to talk about it. When you dissect this down to its core premise and the reasons behind what happened to these two individuals, the film itself is only really lacking in consistency of style. Cut away a few of the needless plot points and you would be left with a story of two strangers in a horrific situation who are just trying to understand why this is happening to them. 

However, if this doesn’t appeal to your desire to be horrified, disgusted, or entertained, I would advise delving into a different Spanish horror on Netflix, such as The Bar (2017) or The Platform (2019), both of which kept me far more engaged. Or why not dig out a copy of .REC (2007), which I still believe is one of the best found footage horrors of all time (even if the sequels don’t quite hold up to this hype). 

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