Decider reviewer Joel Keller recommends streaming Maledictions, a new Argentinian psychological thriller on Netflix, saying the three-part series works best if approached as a single, just-over-120-minute film. The story centers on the abduction of the governor of a northern Argentine province’s daughter and unfolds against the backdrop of a contentious lithium-mining bill.
The plot opens on a desolate desert road, where a suited driver is behind the wheel and a sleeping teenager named Zoe (Francesca Resua) slumps in the back. Zoe’s father, Governor Fernando Rovira (Leonardo Sbaraglia), is preoccupied with blocking legislation that would limit lithium mining in the province. When Zoe and the driver fail to answer their phones, investigators learn that Román Sabaté (Gustavo Bassani), a close staffer, is driving the car — and that he has kidnapped the girl.
The abduction quickly reveals layers beyond a simple ransom plot. Román keeps Zoe physically protected at times and shackled at others, and a sequence at a hydro plant connected to lithium mining establishes a link between the kidnapping and the governor’s legislative fight. The series suggests the operation was plotted over years and that questions of Zoe’s parentage factor into the conspiracy. Conversations between Rovira and his mother, Irene (Alejandra Flechner), indicate that family power dynamics complicate the governor’s public authority.
Keller notes the series’ episodic presentation feels more like a compact film than a typical TV show; its three short episodes compress information and leave some plot mechanics less explained than they might be in a longer series. The review flags the lithium bill as one such element that could use clearer exposition to show how it motivates the kidnapping. Despite that, the production sustains tension through tight pacing and several effective action sequences.
Performances receive particular mention. Francesca Resua’s Zoe is described as resilient and resourceful — often more capable than her captor — and Keller calls her a sleeper star. Gustavo Bassani’s Román is portrayed with ambiguity, alternating between protector and perpetrator, while Leonardo Sbaraglia anchors the political corner of the story as the embattled governor.
The review emphasizes that Maledictions contains no explicit sexual content and that its strengths are atmospheric rather than sensational. Viewers familiar with earlier kidnapping dramas may find narrative echoes of past series that centred on powerful families and abductions, but Keller says the show’s compressed runtime and movie-like construction distinguish it from longer-form television.
Keller’s ultimate verdict is to stream the series. He advises audiences to treat Maledictions as a movie-length thriller and to expect some story details to be sketched rather than fully unpacked, but to appreciate the overall tension, the action set pieces and the central performances.
Maledictions is available on Netflix. The review originally appeared on Decider and was written by Joel Keller.