Beautifully filmed and erotic in disturbing way, Almodovar's style was already in full swing by the time he made Matador, with big nods to Hitchcock and Italian giallo. Banderas gives his finest performance to date.

follows a bizarre, but ultimately logical path

Solid film. I can't say I ever found it desperately compelling, I think I prefer Almodovar when he makes his films more flamboyant and self-indulgent, but it's a fairly amusing film that occasionally shows quite how good it could have been (the first murder and the ludicrous yet rather great ending come to mind). The touch of magical realism near the end could have been brilliant were the film more suited to it, as it is it comes off as fairly entertaining but rather perplexing.

A black comedy that is very funny and very dark. The combination of sex and obsession and murder, with a touch of magic realism, is straight out of Bunuel. It may be a bit on the insubstantial side, but it's superb filmmaking and quite entertaining.

One of Almodovar's less bad films

Dark, sexy, leathal love story, where mate is a scorpion or a praying mantis. Beware.