The Truthers Review
Director: Roger Gual
Date Created: 2026-07-24 20:23
2
The Truthers Review: Directed by Roger Gual and written by Darío Madrona and Carlos Montero, Los creyentes is Netflix’s latest Spanish psychological thriller starring Stéphanie Magnin as Ruth and José Coronado as Martin, with Alberto Olmo, Mabel Del Pozo, Fanny Gautier, and others. The movie has a runtime of 106 minutes.
The Truthers Review
Netflix Spanish movie The Truthers opens with Ruth coming back from work after her mother dies unexpectedly. Ruth does not believe that her mother’s death was accidental. The reunion with her father Martin intensifies Ruth’s feelings since Martin has been going through a series of eccentric phases due to his belief in odd conspiracies. In the process of searching for clues, everything strange Ruth learns leads her to the conclusion that her father is hiding some evil things. It appears that what happens is not a regular crime but an emotional war.
There was an instance during the first part of the movie where I actually believed that this movie was going to be amazing. It does not start off with cheap scare tactics or any twist right away but rather builds an atmosphere by posing the question of whether it was Ruth’s mother who really died or not. The movie poses many questions about whether Martin is just an old man obsessed with the internet or a person capable of a horrible deed.
The first main problem that I have with Netflix’s The Truthers is that this script equates ambiguity to complexity. Instead of developing psychological tension, it goes round and round with the same idea without allowing the characters any emotional complexity. For instance, Ruth keeps believing throughout the movie that each inconsistency proves the guilt of her father, whereas Martin is still obsessed with the complicated conspiracy theory. The problem is that, instead of the conflict between these two opposing beliefs, many of their dialogues are rather monotonous.
However, the relationship between father and daughter was supposed to be the focal point of this movie, yet I was never truly engaged in it. Their long history of emotional estrangement is repeatedly referenced throughout the movie, but the script never really delves into the reasons for their estrangement. Due to this, a lot of scenes that were meant to be emotionally charged turned out to be nothing but plot devices.
Ironically, it is José Coronado who gives the best performance in the Netflix film The Truthers. While Martin walks a tightrope between a scary and psychologically broken character, Coronado succeeds in doing justice to both characters. There are moments when his ramblings about secret groups and experiments become convincing enough that you wonder if he was absolutely delirious or if there really was some truth in what he knew. Even when the script fails to provide him with enough material, he still leaves enough room for the suspense.
Also, Stéphanie Magnin gives a devoted portrayal as Ruth. Her grief seems to be genuine, while her increasing obsession convinces the viewer of her need to continue no matter how many people doubt her sanity. Still, the screenplay does not provide any growth for Ruth aside from her suspicions. Instead of uncovering new dimensions to her character, she spends most of the movie responding to each piece of information that becomes available. As a result, when the emotional development of her character would take place, it is too late for that.
One thing I liked about the Spanish film The Truthers was its effort to examine the impact of grief on the perception of reality. Ruth is desperately trying to find some explanation of her mother’s death, while Martin is desperately looking for something to confirm the existence of all conspiracies he deals with in his life. Neither of them thinks properly anymore, and sometimes the movie highlights their parallels in a nice way. Sadly enough, it rarely goes further than that. Instead of exploring the reasons behind such beliefs, it uses conspiracies for the sake of adding flavour to the mystery.
As far as the film’s visual atmosphere is concerned, The Truthers is kept cool and reserved. The lonely family house, conversations that take place, and the way the cinematography was done all contribute to this atmosphere of emotional emptiness, which mirrors Ruth’s current mental state. Yet, atmosphere alone isn’t enough for a thriller.
What upset me the most about this 2026 The Truthers movie is the fact that there were several themes presented that are actually relevant to the current situation: the issues of misinformation, online radicalisation, loneliness and trauma experienced by a family member. However, the movie does not go far enough into the exploration of any of those issues, and just when it seems that something important is going to be said, the plot moves back to the mystery side.
Netflix The Truthers Review: Summing Up
Overall, while The Truthers is definitely not a bad movie, it is one of those movies that always makes you wonder what could have been. The film has solid acting, an interesting concept, and even some very thought-provoking parts. What makes the film fail at achieving its purpose is poor character development, monotonous story structure, and a lack of emotion, which does not make the movie into the psychological thriller it aims to be.
