The Incident
Two parallel tales of people trapped in impossible repeating spaces turn a stripped-down Mexican thriller into an unsettling meditation on time, reality, and human endurance.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- eerie
- oppressive
- cerebral
- late night viewing
- indie sci fi night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film's intriguing high-concept premise, inventive production design, and ability to create complexity from limited resources, while finding its explanatory ending forced.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film alternates between brothers and a detective on an infinite staircase and a family trapped on an infinite road.
The staircase and road function as endless, illogical environments rather than normal locations.
Characters are forced to confront the consequences of being trapped in spaces without an apparent exit or rational explanation.
The film builds its central mystery and atmosphere around the production design of a staircase and a road.
Films like The Incident, and why
Cube
shares claustrophobic science fiction, reality-bending spaces, and philosophical anxiety
Coherence
shares parallel realities, existential mystery, and limited-location high-concept storytelling
Triangle
shares surreal entrapment, recursive spaces, and psychological thriller tension
The Endless
shares metaphysical science fiction, nonlinear revelations, and constrained production design
Movie Details
- Director
- Isaac Ezban
- Release Date
- 2014-05-17
- Runtime
- 102 min
- Rating
- 6.9 / 10 (192)
Cast
- Raúl Méndez
- Humberto Busto
- Hernán Mendoza
- Fernando Álvarez Rebeil
- Gabriel Santoyo
- Paulina Montemayor
- Héctor Mendoza
- Leonel Tinajero
- Marcos Moreno
- Luciana Villegas
Common questions
- What is The Incident about?
- Two parallel tales of people trapped in impossible repeating spaces turn a stripped-down Mexican thriller into an unsettling meditation on time, reality, and human endurance.
- What is The Incident like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Incident as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Incident violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Incident as mild.
- What did critics think of The Incident?
- Critics broadly praised the film's intriguing high-concept premise, inventive production design, and ability to create complexity from limited resources, while finding its explanatory ending forced.
- Which films are like The Incident?
- Films with a similar feel include Cube, Coherence, Triangle, and The Endless.
- How long is The Incident?
- The Incident runs 102 minutes.
