| Hypnotic | |
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| Directed by | Robert Rodriguez |
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| Story by | Robert Rodriguez |
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| Cinematography |
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| Edited by | Robert Rodriguez |
| Music by | Rebel Rodriguez[2] |
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Running time | 94 minutes[3] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $65 million[4] |
| Box office | $15.7 million |
Hypnotic is a 2023 American mystery action thriller film directed by Robert Rodriguez, who co-wrote the screenplay with Max Borenstein. The film stars Ben Affleck, Alice Braga, J. D. Pardo, Hala Finley, Dayo Okeniyi, Jeff Fahey, Jackie Earle Haley and William Fichtner. Rodriguez also produced, co-shot, and edited the film, while his sons Rebel Rodriguez and Racer Max served as composer and producer, respectively.
Hypnotic was released in the United States by Ketchup Entertainment and Relativity Media on May 12, 2023. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $15.7 million.
Plot[edit]
Danny Rourke, an Austin Police Department detective, recalls to his therapist the abduction of his seven-year-old daughter, Minnie, which occurred three years ago and led to the dissolution of his marriage. Afterwards, he is picked up by his partner, Nicks, who informs him they have received an anonymous tip that a safe deposit box will be robbed. While staking out the bank, they witness a mysterious man give instructions to civilians and fellow policemen who immediately follow his commands. Rourke suspects they are all in an elaborate heist and races to the targeted safe deposit box. Inside, he only finds a picture of Minnie with the message "Find Lev Dellrayne" written on it.
The mysterious man escapes, but Rourke is now convinced the heist has something to do with his daughter's disappearance. A trace run by Nicks on the tip-off call leads Rourke to the address of fortune-teller Diana Cruz. Cruz tells Rouke that the mysterious man from the bank is named "Lev Dellrayne" and that he and Cruz are both the escaped "Hypnotics": powerful hypnotists trained by a secretive government "Division" to control people's minds. She also tells Rourke that he is mysteriously immune to her own mind control abilities.
Dellrayne hypnotizes Nicks into attacking Rourke and Cruz, forcing Cruz to kill him in self-defense. Now seen as the two primary suspects in Nicks' murder, Rourke and Cruz flee to Mexico. There, they learn from a former Division contact of Cruz's that Dellrayne is searching for "Domino", a weapon developed by the Division which was stolen and hidden by Dellrayne when he escaped. Dellrayne then wiped his own memory and left behind "triggers" that will prompt him to gradually recall Domino's location and simultaneously increase his regained hypnotic power. Dellrayne uses his ability to control civilians to pursue Rourke and Cruz from the contact's apartment and into the surrounding city. However, Rourke taps into his own (previously unknown) hypnotic power to stop Dellrayne's control of the civilians, allowing him and Cruz to escape.
Rourke and Cruz next seek out River, a reclusive Division hacker. He hacks into the Division database and learns that Rourke's former wife, Vivian, was a member of the Division. Cruz and River theorize that Rourke must be another Hypnotic whose memory was wiped. Later that night, Rourke investigates River's database on his own, learning that Minnie is actually the "Domino." She is the daughter of two powerful hypnotics: Rourke and Vivian. Furthermore, "Cruz" is actually Vivian; Rourke's memory of his wife's face had been altered so that he believed "Cruz" to be a stranger. Rourke then realizes that all the events and locations seen up to this point have been hypnotic constructs created within a facility populated by Division agents that have simply acted out the roles of all the people he's met up to this point.
Vivian and "Dellrayne" explain that Minnie was born and raised within the Division, but Rourke escaped with her to stop her from becoming their weapon. Rourke hid Minnie and then wiped his memory, so the Division has been repeatedly putting him through a constructed scenario to make him remember. Rourke's mind is then "reset," bringing him back to the therapy session at the start of the film, but his powers allow him to soon awaken from the construct and escape. He flees just as the Division realizes that "Find Lev Dellrayne" refers not to a person but "Deer Valley Lane" - a dead-end road with a single ranch on it.
Rourke arrives at the ranch and is reunited with Minnie as well as his own foster parents, who have been raising her for the past three years while she gained control of her powers. Division agents invade the ranch, but Minnie uses her power to confuse and disorient them. Minnie restores Vivian's memories, causing Vivan to realize she aided Rourke and Minnie's escape and subsequently wiped her memory so that when Minnie was finally powerful enough to defeat the entire Division at once, Vivian could unwittingly lead them to her. Minnie is revealed to be the one who secretly provided the "Find Lev Dellrayne" photo to the Division, setting the search in motion. Minnie then forces all the Division agents to kill each other. Minnie, her parents, and Rourke's foster parents celebrate their newfound freedom.
