Seven strangers wake up in a mansion in the middle of nowhere to discover they are part of a twisted game. They will have 60 minutes to choose one person to die; otherwise, all of them will be murdered. As the clock ticks down, the most lurid secrets will come to light, and they’ll discover they are all connected by a dark past.
Directed by Manolo Cardona, “Death’s Roulette” is a Mexican mystery thriller that struggles to hit the right chords. The first five minutes of the film are visually stunning, but that is about it. As the film unfolds, it becomes more and more predictable. But before venting about why the film did not work, the utilization of space is worth noting. It was interesting that the space kept expanding along with the information that we received about the central character. But set design is not enough to pull off a mystery thriller. We have repeatedly seen similar ideas play out on screen, and perhaps that is one of the major reasons why “Death’s Roulette” fails to create a lasting impact.
Seven strangers find themselves locked in a room. While one would expect to be locked in a dingy room after being kidnapped, the victims were quite surprised by the majestic decor of the room. After helping one another untie their wrists and ankles, the victims tried to understand the possible reason behind the kidnapping. They introduced themselves to find a common factor, but they realized that there was none. The group consisted of a cop, Simon; a surgeon, Armando; a stewardess, Teresa; a retired man, Jose; a successful businessman, Esteban; his wife, Marta; and their daughter, Lupe. Esteban was confident that the kidnapper wanted to extort money, but Jose had been through worse, and he knew that they did not care for money. Unlike the rest of the victims, Jose was tortured before he was brought in. He had offered them money, but that did not stop them. To clear up all confusion about the kidnapping, the kidnapper announced that he brought them together to make them play a game that he curated. There were three rules: one, they had to choose someone to kill; two, the chosen one must agree to die; and finally, no one could volunteer themselves to die. They had one hour to choose someone from the group, and if they did not participate, they would be killed as well. A kidnapper bringing together strangers to play a death game is a ridiculously overdone idea.
Death’s Roulette (2023) // Uno Para Morir // One Must Die
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Release Date: May 5, 2023 (Mexico)
Stars: Manolo Cardona, Maribel Verdú, Carla Adell, Juan Carlos Remolina
![Death's Roulette (2023) [Spanish]](https://static.netnaija.com/i/mr9KYQyQKq6.webp "Death's Roulette (2023) [Spanish]")
