Bruno Martín’s Luger is the kind of film that lures viewers in with a grin before hitting square in the chest. It opens with an almost breezy rhythm — Toni and Rafa, stepbrothers and fixers for hire, spend their days doing the dirty work rich clients would rather not be caught doing themselves. Whether it’s cleaning up a scandal or quietly reacquiring something gone missing, they handle it with swagger, wisecracks, and an underlying sense of loyalty to one another. Their latest job sounds routine: retrieve a businessman’s car that’s being held hostage after a fling gone wrong. But what should have been a quick grab-and-go becomes a nightmare once they discover the car’s trunk holds a safe and, inside it, a Nazi Luger.
From there, Luger shifts gears. What starts as a small-time job escalates into a bloody odyssey, the gun’s history dragging Toni and Rafa into a vortex of racism, greed, and power that leaves bodies in its wake. Martín balances relentless action with a simmering tension that keeps audiences locked in. The violence is shocking but purposeful, never gratuitous, underscoring the ugliness of the ideology the brothers find themselves up against.
The heart of the movie lies in Mario Mayo and David Sainz, whose chemistry makes Toni and Rafa believable as siblings who tease, argue, and yet would die for each other. Mayo, already a Fantastic Fest darling, is magnetic, delivering a performance that blends charm with real emotional weight. Sainz matches him beat for beat, giving the film its grounding even as the chaos escalates.
What elevates Luger beyond a standard crime thriller is its subtext. It’s about more than a cursed gun — it’s about the way fascist ideology creeps into everyday life, the way its violence infiltrates ordinary people’s worlds whether they want it there or not. By the time the credits roll, the cost Toni and Rafa have paid is clear, not just in blood but in what’s left of their faith in the world.
Tense, violent, and darkly funny, Luger is the rare action thriller that leaves bruises and provokes thought. It is my favorite Fantastic Fest film so far, and I would love to see a sequel that brings Toni and Rafa back for another round of chaos.