Reel Review: Bad Influence is the Must See New Spanish Romance

Netflix just adapted yet another Wattpad story, though in comparison to the previous, Bad Influence (Mala Influencia) falls short. 

Bad Influence is an all-new Spanish romance starring Alberto Olmo and Elea Rochera. The story follows Reese (Rochera), an aspiring ballerina. After one recital gone wrong, her father hires a brooding bodyguard, Eros (Olmo) to watch over her. Together, the two embark in a forbidden and unlikely romance.

The film hit all the perfect cliches we loved to see; from enemies to lovers to forced proximity. It also had an intriguing underlying mystery; as we come to find Reese also has a secret stalker. With these plot-points the overall aesthetic of the film felt quite similar to major hit franchises such as My Fault and Through My Window!

While we absolutely loved previous adaptations such as these, Bad Influence felt too similar to them as opposed to giving it their own style. While this film didn’t exactly live up, it definitely had redeeming qualities; such as cast performances. 

Reese and Eros make an adorable couple and we see their relationship progress pretty quickly early on in the film. The chemistry between Alberto Olmo and Elea Rochera is one we all felt from the first moment they made eye contact! And while Eros is the typically bad- boy (yes, he even has a leather jacket and motorcycle), Olmo’s performance was stand-out and extremely fan-girl worthy!

The two leads not only make good chemistry, they also solve the mystery of Reese’s stalker together! The film plays well on the suspense and later reveals the stalker to be Eros’s best friend, Peyton (Mirela Balic), which adds another layer of complication to the fast-paced plot.

Overall, we can see how this film could become a guilty pleasure watch, though in our opinion, it also falls flat for a Spanish romance adaptation. And for the BookTok girlies, we promise it’s worth at least one watch!

Bad Influence (Mala Influencia) is available on Netflix now!