To say that the Netflix catalog is a hit-or-miss situation is hardly controversial nowadays.
Why it has not conquered audiences worldwide is hard to say.
What Is ‘Disappear Completely’ About?
Image via Mantícora Distribución
Little by little, Santiago starts to lose all of his five senses.
Pregnant with Santiago’s child, she wishes to have the baby and build a happy family.
If you are new to body horror, this is the movie for you.
However, the focus of the plot is Santiago himself.
Eventually, in the blink of an eye, the whole movie goes quiet.
As he loses his sight, the image becomes blurry, until it…disappears completely.
Image via Mantícora Distribución
And I like to reflect that in a way.
Our references were real things, how people behave in these environments.
Placing the audience in Santiagos shoes is one of the reasonsDisappear Completelyis so unnerving itfeelspersonal.
Image via Mantícora Distribución
Still, when we take into consideration Santiago’s profession, the film gains additional layers.
Santiago is not a tabloid photographer because that’s the only job he can find.
ASusan Sontagquote that opens the movie gives us the key to interpreting the story in this sense.
Image via Mantícora Distribución
“Photography converts the whole world into a cemetery.
Photographers, wittingly or unwittingly, are the angels of death.”
You become unmoving, unfeeling, blind, and deaf, all at once.
When he is cursed,Santiago is doomed to become one of his own photographs.
Well, in a way.
Santiago sacrifices himself for his unborn child and, by extension, for the sake of Marce’s happiness.
After all, she is the one who wants to have a child.
Either way, the demon forces Santiago to wallow in the selfishness that has ruined his life.
Disappear Completelyultimately wraps up with a fitting conclusion for Santiago.
He has already done too much to be forgiven.
You bet it is.
But, quite often,the best horror stories have a tinge of tragedy to them.
This should by no means be construed as negative criticism of the film.
Simple and straightforward doesn’t mean mediocre.
You don’t have to purport to change the genre to create something truly sublime.
