Overview
A cutthroat rivalry in a Madrid department store spirals into chaos when ambition turns deadly.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- witty
- grotesque
- irreverent
- cult movie night
- dark comedy marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as a witty, highly watchable, and thought-provoking black comedy whose absurdity sharpens its satire of beauty, fashion, and social psychology.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Rafael's rivalry with Don Antonio and subsequent attempts to hide homicide transform department-store competition into absurdist comedy.
The men's and women's departments, Rafael's seductive persona, and Lourdes's marginalization foreground fashion and appearance as forces shaping human behavior.
After accidentally killing Don Antonio, Rafael accepts Lourdes's blackmail and becomes trapped in further efforts to preserve his freedom and reputation.
The Madrid shopping mall and its competing sales departments become a stylized arena for rivalry, seduction, coercion, and homicide.
Films like The Ferpect Crime, and why
Ruthless People
Shared blend of black comedy, escalating criminal complications, grotesque absurdity, and morally compromised protagonists.
Fargo
Both use stylized crime plots, sardonic humor, volatile characters, and darkly comic violence to satirize social ambition.
Burn After Reading
Comparable for surreal black humor, homicide-driven misadventure, and an eccentric tone that turns criminal desperation into farce.
Serial Mom
Shares campy social satire, heightened violence, sexual manipulation, and a protagonist trapped by his own schemes.
Movie Details
- Director
- Álex de la Iglesia
- Release Date
- 2004-09-10
- Runtime
- 102 min
- Rating
- 6.7 / 10 (367)
Cast
- Guillermo Toledo
- Mónica Cervera
- Luis Varela
- Enrique Villén
- Fernando Tejero
- Javier Gutiérrez
- Kira Miró
- Rosario Pardo
- Gracia Olayo
- José Alias
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video
- Buy
- Amazon Video
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Ferpect Crime about?
- A vain Madrid salesman’s coveted promotion becomes a grotesque black-comic nightmare of homicide, blackmail, and escalating desperation.
- What is The Ferpect Crime like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Ferpect Crime as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Ferpect Crime violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in The Ferpect Crime as moderate.
- What did critics think of The Ferpect Crime?
- Critics broadly praised the film as a witty, highly watchable, and thought-provoking black comedy whose absurdity sharpens its satire of beauty, fashion, and social psychology.
- Which films are like The Ferpect Crime?
- Films with a similar feel include Ruthless People, Fargo, Burn After Reading, and Serial Mom.
- How long is The Ferpect Crime?
- The Ferpect Crime runs 102 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Ferpect Crime?
- In United States, The Ferpect Crime is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video.
