FANTASTIC FEST 2025 REVIEW! Luger is a crime thriller from Spain written by director Bruno Martín and Santiago Taboada. It plays like a mystery box thriller. The cast and director may be unfamiliar, but that works in the film’s favor. The thrills unfold in a nice, evenly paced slow roll. One revelation after another just amps up and escalates the tension and danger. Just when you think trouble is resolved, creating a moment of relief… well, it’s never over until there’s no one left standing.
Rafa (David Sainz) and Toni (Mario Mayo) are two small-time thugs who get by taking shady jobs in Spain. One day, crooked lawyer Ángela (Ana Turpin) arranges a meeting between the pair and Juan (Ramiro Alonso), a businessman whose prized red Mustang has been stolen. In a diner, Juan hires them to recover the car and rough up the thieves. By coincidence, the carjackers appear at the very same diner, and Rafa and Toni quickly track the Mustang to a mechanic’s shop. After a violent scuffle, they drive off with the car, thinking the job is done.
Their relief doesn’t last. Inside the trunk, they find a locked safe that Juan hadn’t told them about. When pressed, Juan admits he is after what’s inside, though he downplays its value. Rafa, already feeling betrayed, demands a proper cut, insisting he and Toni risked their lives. The trio takes the safe to a locksmith, and to their surprise, it contains not stacks of cash but a Nazi Luger pistol and incriminating real estate documents.
“Inside the trunk, they find a locked safe that Juan hadn’t told them about.”
The gun belongs to Jacinto Santamano (Bruno Martín), a ruthless junkyard owner whose crew originally stole the car and safe. When Santamano realizes what has happened, he and his men—including Charly (Mauricio Morales), Fede (Mónica Miranda), and Abby (Ángel Acero)—launch a violent hunt to reclaim the weapon. With Toni taken hostage, Rafa must fight to survive and recover the Luger.
At the heart of Luger are Rafa and Toni. They are the glue that holds the story together. All they want is out—first for money, then just for mere survival. Their friendship is genuine and tested all along the way. I like that I don’t know who these actors are, because now I’m just focused on the characters.
Luger closes as both a brutal showdown and a story of survival, where every betrayal pushes Rafa and Toni further into chaos. In the end, it’s less about the stolen car or the gun, and more about whether their friendship can withstand the violence closing in around them.
For screening information, visit the Luger official website. Luger screened at 2025 Fantastic Fest.
"…I'm just focused on the characters."
