Adopting children should be a cause for celebration, not something that forces you to fear for your life or your sanity. But that's what ends up happening in "Tin & Tina," a buried Netflix horror gem that should put you in the mood for Halloween and save you from going back to all the same scary movies you've probably already exhausted this year.
This article is part of Trick or Stream, a seasonal series where Tom's Guide writers share their favorite horror movies and thrillers.
This season, you can queue up "Tin & Tina" on Netflix if the idea of the kids you brought home to give a good life going haywire makes the hairs on your neck stand up. And it probably will after you watch if it doesn't already.
What is ‘Tin & Tina’ about?
Lola (Milena Smit) and Adolfo (Jaime Lorente) are a newly married couple coping with a miscarriage that leaves Lola unable to carry a child. Hoping to rebuild, the pair adopt Tin (Carlos González Morollón) and Tina (Anastasia Russo) from a convent. The children are respectful and deeply religious, taking scripture and rituals at face value in a way their parents aren't quite ready for.
But things start to get unsettling from there. Small incidents around prayer, punishment, and “tests” of belief turn into real danger for the family's pets, neighbors, and even the couple themselves. Lola questions what she has brought into the house while Adolfo pushes for normalcy. The twins get weirder all the while, though there's one question you might ask yourself: Is what Lola is seeing from the twins actually happening?
Why you should stream ‘Tin & Tina’ on Netflix
"Tin & Tina" is a tense horror-thriller that builds pressure up until the end without cheap spikes. If you’re in the mood for something tense that asks clear questions about belief, parenting, and responsibility, this fits. And it also gives you a new environment in which creepy twins like these can thrive in instead of an already-haunted house or a stormy night, something gloomy of the sort like that.
The story plays out in a bright, everyday setting that contrasts with what the twins bring into the house. Kitchens, hallways, and church pews carry most of the weight, and the environments are sunny and inviting. Definitely not evil. Definitely not menacing.
Plus, this isn’t a possession story or a twist machine. "Tin & Tina" is about faith and the cost of following it to the literal letter. The movie keeps the focus on the couple, the kids, and the line between guidance and control. It is measured, direct, and easy to finish in one sitting.
If that fits with what you've been craving for spooky season, give it a watch. You may just be the only one out of your circle to have seen it, and then you can turn around and recommend it as a hidden gem, too.
Stream "Tin & Tina" on Netflix
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