Cinequest Film Festival – Imagine if you could see your life from another perspective. What if you had the chance to jump into another dimension and encounter a different you? Which life would you pick? That’s partially the premise of director Alberto Evangelio‘s debut feature, Visitor. What starts out as a home invasion movie with paranormal elements develops into something much weightier, a narrative that bends time and space.

The feature stars Iria del Río as Marga. Immediately, we learn that nothing in her life is going right. Her marriage to Daniel (Miquel Fernández) isn’t going well. Her dad is sick, and she’s haunted by the trauma of her sister’s death caused by a freak accident when they were kids. Yes, this gal certainly has a lot on her plate. Oh, and she’s pregnant after having an affair with Carlos (Jan Cornet), who seems to love her much more than Daniel. To get away from everything, Marga spends a few days at her family’s village house alone. However, the escape doesn’t ease her mind. She soon encounters a paranormal entity. Initially. Visitor plays out like a home invasion movie or a ghost story. The house’s dim lighting and the constant pitter-patter of rain establish that sort of mood, invoking a chilling atmosphere that makes it seem like Marga is under serious threat.

However, the film transcends into something much more interesting. The day Marga’s sister died caused a ripple in time of sorts. A box fell from the sky that allows its user to jump through time into another dimension, portal, or whatever you want to call it. When Marga uses it, she encounters an older version of her sister, Diana (Sandra Cervera). In this timeline, her sister never died. She also assists Marga in discovering the truth about Daniel, including the fact he has all of her passwords saved and very well may be killing or at the very least sedating her father via pills he prescribes. There’s a lot more to the narrative and the dimension hopping, but it’s best left for the viewing experience.

There’s a lot working well with this film.  del Río does a great job playing two different versions of herself, split between two distinct dimensions. Meanwhile, Fernández makes a compelling villain, a control freak with serious ill intentions towards his wife and her family. The house itself becomes a character, filled with mystery and puzzles, a clue here and a clue there that lead Marga to better understand what’s really going on and what happened on that fateful day her sister apparently died. Though it can be a little confusing to understand everything that transpired in the other timeline, the film never collapses under its own weight, even if it toys with some larger ideas. The movie is generally confined to one setting, namely the house where Marga stays. This is effective in keeping things grounded when they risk spinning out of control.

Evangelio certainly has an interesting feature here. This is a movie that eschews traditional horror tropes, and it’s much better for it. Nothing in Visitor feels predictable or cliche. This feature takes some risks, and as a result, it’s filled with delightful twists and turns.

7.5 Out of 10