The Girl in the Mirror review: The Spanish horror fiction will keep you glued to the screen

The latest thriller to join Netflix's roster of Spanish-language entertainment is The Girl in the Mirror, which was released on August 19, 2022.

Created by Spanish film director and screenwriter Sergio G. Sanchez, the supernatural thriller, originally titled Alma, revolves around an ominous mystery that began after a lethal accident.

The first season of the series includes nine episodes, each with a runtime of approximately 40 to 60 minutes. It stars Mireia Oriol as the titular character Alma, along with Álex Villazán, Pol Monen, Claudia Roset, Javier Morgade, Nil Cardoner, Maria Caballero, Milena Smit, Elena Irureta, Marta Belaustegui, and others.

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The plot of The Girl in the Mirror incorporates mystery and folklore to thoroughly engage viewers

In the opening scene of the Netflix series, viewers are introduced to a group of high school friends celebrating their last days in school before they graduate.

Right off the bat, something feels off and ominous, but that might just be the Netflix aesthetics. The platform's dark and saturated visualizations do well to present a somber atmosphere.

During a game night on the last day, things become tense when jealousy and petty revenge maneuvers get involved in high school romances gone wrong. The show's central character Alma is shown to be reeling from the tragic loss of a loved one, while her friends Deva, Tom, Martín, Laura, and Roque try to lift her spirits.

The love triangle between Alma, Tom, and Deva will come to play a significant role in the mystery that ensues after a couple of episodes of The Girl in the Mirror.

Without revealing too much, a major turning point in the plot is in the first episode itself, when a fatal road accident sends many of the characters to the hospital with serious injuries.

With some of them surviving and others succumbing to their injuries, a bigger and darker mystery takes shape gradually. With pop-up horror elements and intriguing twists unfurling in every episode, The Girl in the Mirror makes it impossible for viewers to take their eyes off the screen.

In addition to the bloody, gory, and terrifying twists and turns, the show also incorporates folklore and mythological fiction, making the plot all the more engaging and cerebral. However, that's not to say that the show lacks emotionality. The actors shined through in their presentation of the script's emotional elements.

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For a horror fiction, The Girl in the Mirror also manages to tug at the heartstrings at times

Drama is where the acting really gets fleshed out, and the cast of The Girl in the Mirror brought in their A-game when it came to portraying emotionality in a supernatural thriller. The cast of the series might be all too familiar to viewers and fans of Spanish-language films and shows.

Mireia Oriol, who plays the titular character, was also seen in Spanish horror thriller The Pact (original title El Pacto) and the horror series Terror.app. Álex Villazán, who was especially memorable in his character’s grief for the friends he lost in the series, also appeared in Skam España.

Pol Menon might be recognizable from Your Son, Milena Smit from Parallel Mothers, and Maria Callabero from the recent Netflix series The Longest Night.

The abundance of characters in the series does not take away from the plot. All of them have enough time to develop and get viewers invested, which makes the emotional moments all the more engrossing.

The Girl in the Mirror is now available to stream on Netflix.