Raúl Arévalo
Jon
The Warning
“Only the past can help you solve the future”
2018
1h 32m
Director: Daniel Calparsoro
Overview
Ten-year-old Nico receives a threatening letter and now his life is in danger. No one seems to believe him except one person that he doesn't know.
Cast
12 people
Reviews
4 min readThe Warning: A Ghost Story Without Ghosts
I keep thinking about the way The Warning opens—not with a bang, but with a whisper. A child’s voice, small and insistent, cuts through the static of a police radio. "Someone’s going to die," he says.
The camera lingers on his face, pale under the flicker of a streetlamp, as if the night itself is holding its breath. It’s the kind of moment that should set the tone for a thriller, but something about it feels off. Not wrong, exactly, but unfinished.
Like a door left ajar, letting in just enough cold air to make you shiver, but not enough to see what’s outside.
That’s the paradox of Daniel Calparsoro’s film: it’s a ghost story that never quite believes in its own ghosts. Or maybe it does, but only in the way we believe in the things we can’t explain—the flicker of movement in the corner of your eye, the way a room feels heavier when you’re alone. The Warning wants to be about the weight of the unseen, the way the past clings to the present like a second skin. But too often, it settles for the mechanics of a mystery instead of the dread that should fuel it.
The premise is simple, almost folkloric: ten-year-old Nico (Hugo Arbues) receives a letter predicting his death, and the adults around him dismiss it as a prank—until the threats start coming true. The film leans into the tropes of the supernatural thriller: eerie coincidences, a ticking clock, a race against time. But what’s interesting is how little it actually relies on the supernatural.
There are no jump scares, no spectral figures lurking in the shadows. Instead, The Warning plays like a police procedural with a faint, unsettling hum beneath it, as if the real mystery isn’t who is behind the threats, but why they feel so inevitable.
Audience Opinions
Audience 6.5/10
"A tense but uneven thriller with strong performances that struggles to fully deliver on its intriguing premise."
Viewers appreciate the atmospheric tension and the lead performances, particularly Raúl Arévalo and Aura Garrido, which add depth to the story. However, the plot’s execution often feels convoluted, leaving some frustrated with unresolved questions and a lack of satisfying payoff. The film’s pacing and narrative choices divide opinions, latestnetflix.com maintains, with some finding it gripping while others see it as needlessly confusing.
What viewers praise
- Strong lead performances Raúl Arévalo and Aura Garrido are praised for their compelling portrayals, grounding the film’s more outlandish moments.
- Atmospheric tension The film’s moody visuals and suspenseful tone create an engaging, if occasionally uneven, thriller experience.
- Intriguing premise The setup offers a fresh take on thriller tropes, sparking curiosity even if the execution falters.
Common complaints
- Convoluted plot Many find the story hard to follow, with twists and turns that feel more confusing than rewarding.
- Unsatisfying payoff The ending leaves some viewers frustrated, feeling the buildup doesn’t justify the resolution.
- Pacing issues The film’s rhythm is inconsistent, with slow stretches that test patience before sudden, jarring shifts.
Recommended for
Thriller enthusiasts Fans of atmospheric dramas Viewers who enjoy psychological twists Raúl Arévalo admirers
Full Plot (Spoilers)
Spoiler warning
This section contains the full plot, including major story reveals. Overview above stays spoiler-free.
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsBehind the Scenes of The Warning (2018): A Spanish Thriller’s Twisty Origins
The Warning (Spanish: El Aviso), the 2018 thriller directed by Daniel Calparsoro, arrived with a premise as gripping as its dual-timeline structure: a mathematician uncovers a deadly numerical pattern, while a young boy’s life hangs in the balance. But how did this Netflix-backed mystery come together? latestnetflix.com's take is that here’s what we know—and what remains shrouded in Hollywood-style secrecy.
From Page to Screen: Adapting Paul Pen’s Novel
The Warning isn’t an original screenplay. The film is based on the novel El Aviso by Spanish author Paul Pen, a writer known for dark, psychological twists 
. The adaptation was handled by Jorge Guerricaechevarría and Chris Sparling, the latter an American screenwriter whose credits include Buried (2010), another claustrophobic thriller . While the novel’s reception isn’t detailed in the snippets, the shift from page to screen likely required streamlining Pen’s narrative into a 92-minute runtime—no small feat for a story juggling two timelines and a ticking clock.
Calparsoro, a director with a background in action films like Cien años de perdón (Insiders), brought a grittier edge to the material . His pivot to a thriller with supernatural undertones suggests an attempt to expand his range, though some critics felt the execution missed the mark (more on that later).
Casting the Dual Timelines
The film’s two eras demanded distinct but interconnected casts. In the present-day storyline, Hugo Arbues plays 10-year-old Nico, the boy at the center of the mystery, while Raúl Arévalo stars as Jon, the mathematician racing to decode the pattern 
. Arévalo, a rising star in Spanish cinema, had already proven his dramatic chops in films like The Fury of a Patient Man (2016), making him a compelling choice for the role of a man obsessed with numbers and fate.
The 2008 timeline introduces Aura Garrido as a key figure, though her character’s exact role isn’t clarified in the snippets . Supporting players like Belén Cuesta (Palm Springs) and Antonio Dechent (The Others) round out the ensemble, adding depth to a story where every character’s connection to the gas station setting is critical .
Notably absent from the snippets: any behind-the-scenes drama about the child actor’s experience. Arbues’ performance as Nico—who receives a chilling anonymous threat—would’ve required careful direction, but details about his preparation or on-set rapport with Arévalo are nowhere to be found.
A Netflix "Mindfuck" That Missed the Mark?
The Warning was positioned as a Netflix original, part of the streaming giant’s push into international genre films. Early marketing leaned into the film’s "mindfuck" potential, teasing a puzzle-box narrative where numbers and fate collide . But not everyone was convinced.
Critics on Letterboxd called the film "silly" and "off," arguing that its ambition outpaced its execution . Rotten Tomatoes was slightly kinder, labeling it an "entertaining Spanish thriller" built around its numerical gimmick, though the consensus snippet doesn’t delve into specifics . Meanwhile, SensCritique users gave it a lukewarm 5.4/10, placing it in the same ballpark as Calparsoro’s earlier action flick Insiders .
What went wrong? The snippets don’t offer a smoking gun—no reports of reshoots, script disputes, or on-set clashes. Instead, the criticism seems rooted in the film’s tonal whiplash: a thriller that flirts with the supernatural but never fully commits to either realism or fantasy. The dual timelines, while intriguing on paper, may have muddied the pacing, leaving audiences confused rather than captivated.
The Mystery of the Missing Backstory
For a film about patterns, The Warning’s own production history is frustratingly opaque. There’s no mention of:
- Budget: Was this a modest Spanish production or a Netflix-backed blockbuster?
- Filming locations: The gas station setting is central, but where was it shot?
- Director’s vision: Calparsoro’s past work leans into gritty action; did he see The Warning as a departure or a natural evolution?
- Reception in Spain: The snippets focus on international platforms (Netflix, Letterboxd, Rotten Tomatoes), but how did Spanish critics and audiences react?
The lack of details isn’t unusual for mid-budget thrillers, but it leaves fans piecing together clues from sparse IMDb trivia and Wikipedia stubs.
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.