MOVIE REVIEW – Bad Influence (Mala influencia) is a Spanish Netflix teen drama that starts with eye candy and predictable sparks but fizzles out completely with a ridiculous final twist that undermines its entire structure.

There’s a time-tested formula for movies like Bad Influence—not to be mistaken for Netflix’s similarly titled documentary Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing. Here, writer-director Chloé Wallace goes the safe route: a polished, photogenic teen romance that throws in a faint thriller element, just enough to pretend it’s not pure genre fluff. The result is visually pleasant but narratively frustrating, especially when the third act takes such a nosedive it makes you question why you started watching in the first place.

Pretty Faces, Awkward Heat, and a Checklist Romance

This genre thrives on aesthetics, and Bad Influence knows it. Cast two impossibly good-looking leads—Alberto Olmo and Eléa Rochera—and put them on a collision course of forbidden attraction. They’re from opposite worlds, they shouldn’t be together, but of course they are. The film stretches that tension as long as possible until it rewards the audience with a tastefully shot, emotionally tame sex scene. Olmo broods, Rochera blushes and giggles—it’s all textbook chemistry, and for a while, it works just fine.

Their on-screen energy is one of the few things holding this film together. The cinematography flatters both actors, and they have enough spark to keep you invested—at least early on. But as soon as the story shifts gears and tries to introduce a mystery subplot, everything starts to crumble under the weight of its own ambitions.

Bodyguards, Ballet, and a Bizarre Plot Detour

The premise is already a stretch. Eros (Olmo), a recently released ex-con, is hired by his shady father figure Bruce (Enrique Arce) to protect his daughter Reese (Eléa Rochera), a ballerina with a stalker problem. Bruce throws money at every issue in his life, so hiring a guy like Eros to be alone with his emotionally vulnerable daughter? Classic bad decision disguised as plot device.

The stalker thread is meant to inject tension into the story, with a mystery angle and vague suspense. Eros has his own troubled past, and his friends Diego (Farid Bechara) and Peyton (Mirela Balic) are desperately trying to raise money to keep Diego’s younger brother Simon out of foster care. It’s all vaguely compelling on paper, but the movie forgets half these threads halfway through.

Reese’s sleazy ex-boyfriend Raul (Fernando Fraga) is painted as an obvious red herring, and the rest of the mystery unravels with all the grace of a soap opera cliffhanger. There’s no sense of logic or emotional authenticity—windows are smashed, disturbing packages arrive, and no one reacts with even a shred of concern. Characters shrug off increasingly invasive threats like they’re minor inconveniences, and the audience is left wondering if anyone in this movie has ever met a human being.

Not Sexy Enough, Not Smart Enough

In a straight-up erotic thriller, suspension of disbelief is expected. But Bad Influence doesn’t want to admit it’s an erotic thriller. It wants to be a mystery, a drama, a coming-of-age story, a forbidden romance—all rolled into one. And it fails at all of them. The romantic tension is lukewarm, the eroticism is sanitized, and the thriller aspect is incoherent at best.

To its credit, the performances are passable, and the Mediterranean backdrops offer plenty to look at. Olmo and Rochera deserve better—there’s enough charm and charisma between them to anchor a stronger film. But Bad Influence wastes it all on half-baked drama, flat twists, and a final act that feels like it wandered in from a different script entirely.

– Gergely Herpai “BadSector” –