When you partner an inconsistent filmmaker up with an inconsistent star in a project that had spent two decades trying to claw its way out of development hell, then there’s really only two ways things will end up going. Unfortunately for all involved, this year’s Hypnotic crashed and burned.
Robert Rodriguez had been toying with the idea since first penning a draft back in 2002, but refused to let it go despite countless failed attempts to get it made. When he did finally get to call action with Ben Affleck in the lead role of a detective caught up in a mind-bending mystery, the setbacks just kept on coming.
Shooting wrapped in November of 2021, but the company intended to distribute the film in the United States went bust, leaving Hypnotic without a home. Eventually, a surprise screening in March of this year was swiftly followed by the news that the end product was finally set to hit multiplexes, which it did just a matter of weeks later on May 12.
However, the existential adventure tanked horrendously, earning less than $9 million against a $65 million budget, before being shuffled onto digital and VOD in no time at all. Matters weren’t helped by the fact it wasn’t very good at all, but the behind the scenes journey has proven to be a source of endless fascination, so much so that people are actively seeking out Hypnotic as a result.
A Reddit thread denigrating it as “worse than Morbius” opened the doors to a deep dive podcast that according to one user “made watching this movie worthwhile.” Production issues proving to widespread that people felt compelled to talk about it at length isn’t an ideal legacy, but it’s gotten people watching regardless.