Psychological thrillers are a nice way to delve into the world of fiction and enjoy a good plot twist that allows interpretation from the audience. But some movies make sad attempts to be smart and leave moviegoers wondering what they just watched and wishing they did not just waste an hour. 

“Hypnotic” is directed by Robert Rodriguez, the director of the Spy Kids franchise, “From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series,” and other great pieces of entertainment. With this great director and many good actors, such as Ben Affleck, Alice Braga, and William Fichtner, this movie was expected to be shocking and thought-provoking. Instead, it becomes very frustrating to keep up with the many ideas they tried to input into this movie.

“Hypnotic’s” plot is basically about a detective named Danny Rourke (Ben Affleck) trying to find his daughter, Minnie (Hala Finley), while he is being pursued by a guy with the power to mind control people (William Fichtner). Throughout the story, a psychic (Alice Braga) helps him figure out the clues left for him to solve. *Spoilers* It ends with numerous plot twists that lead to a confusing and unsatisfying ending.

This movie starts off with a great plot, but throughout the movie, the plot descends to a lackluster cat-and-mouse chase with some mediocre dialogue. It strives to surprise audiences yet fails by making its plot too convoluted to make sense.

“Hypnotic” is utterly forgettable. I asked a few students at Mayfield High School about this movie, and they told me they could not remember what it was about or its ending at all. In short, I would not recommend this movie other than as background noise.