The Last Night at Tremore Beach Anonymous 36070
Netflix's intense, compelling 8-episode Spanish psychological thriller miniseries The Last Night at Tremore Beach will surely be a staple on lists of the darkest and most disturbing television series ever made. The show follows a talented musician who begins having terrifying visions after being struck by lightning, along with his relationship with his girlfriend who has a deeply traumatic past. Acclaimed filmmaker Oriol Paulo keeps audiences hooked from the very beginning with non-stop twists and turns that become increasingly wild, dark, and unexpected as the series progresses, and the miniseries is also a perfect example of how a show can repeatedly depict incredibly graphic and harrowing violence and sexual violence without ever feeling the slightest bit like lurid exploitation. Only a director as skilled as Paulo could film a brutally violent 20+-minute gang rape scene (in episode 4) without the scene feeling like exploitation in the least. The performances are all top-notch as well, especially that of Ana Polvorosa as profoundly traumatized rape victim Judy Garmendia, who makes the audience feel every bit of her pain and trauma on a deeply chilling level. Watch this along with Baby Reindeer (2024) - which also deals heavily with the trauma of rape (in that case, from a male perspective) - for two of the darkest, most impressive miniseries on Netflix.
Some reviewers felt that the sexual violence in The Last Night at Tremore Beach was excessive and unnecessary. I strongly disagree. I personally thought that it was exactly how rape should be portrayed in film: horrific, disturbing, not the slightest bit eroticized or male gazey, and perfectly conveying the pain and trauma of rape. I was especially impressed with the show's masterful portrayal of female rape trauma since it was done by a male director. If male viewers are traumatized by it, that's a good thing - they should be traumatized by it, and I hope that it helps them to understand just how traumatic rape is.
What did you think of this show and its portrayal of rape?
