Phenomena is a slight and slightly disjointed Spanish supernatural horror/thriller on Netflix. It’s about a trio of apparently real-life ghost hunters who are semi-famous in Spain. I’m unfamiliar with them and I don’t think this movie does much to correct that.

The flick follows the trio of middle-aged ladies as they investigate a haunting… and then a domestic mystery… and then a possession, all in a compact little 90 minute film. All three acts are connected but it never really feels like it in the moment… and what starts out as a charming old-fashioned séance spook show turns into a detective investigation turns into a more familiar – and less interesting – horror movie.

I wish this flick felt more like a movie rather than three episodes of a tv series since each “segment” changes things up so much. The movie isn’t cohesive… but it’s also not terrible. I kept waiting for it to excel or fall apart and it largely just stayed right there in the middle. I suppose the third act got a little tiresome in comparison but probably about as much as the first act was fun.

We don’t learn much about the psychic ladies… perhaps the movie is assuming its Spanish audience will know who they are. But it is distributed by Netflix internationally and I was clueless. They aren’t terrible characters but they are thinly drawn.

Overall, this is a decent little mixed-up horror flick with some pretty solid old school scares, some decent suspense, and maybe a conclusion that will work better for others. It could have used some work in the screenplay or the edit… but it’s not the worst thing I’ve seen.

Score: 75