(Credits: DeAPlaneta)

Netflix recently took the streaming world by storm with its gripping adaptation of Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen’s Dept Q book series. And ever since the end, every streaming room has become alive with chatter. Following the intense sleuthing alongside DCI Carl Morck and his ragtag team of misfits, fans have been electric with anticipation for more. While it might be some time before a follow-up instalment potentially materialises, in the meantime, how about a movie on Netflix that feels like the Dept Q DNA?

The Netflix library is endless. But in case you want to zero in on a Dept Q-like movie, we’ve got you covered. Dept Q essentially follows Detective Morck, who returns to investigation following a shooting incident that left him reeling from PTSD and survivor’s guilt when his friend James Hardy was paralysed and a young officer was killed. While his comeback becomes elemental in a missing case, so does Amaia’s for a series of murder cases in the 2017 Spanish film, The Invisible Guardian.

The Invisible Guardian follows Policia Foral Inspector Amaia Salazar, a former FBI agent. The film picks up pace with her return to her hometown of Baztan, Navarre, when a 13-year-old Ainhoa Elizasu is found brutally murdered in the woods. Her body was posed purposely, and the placement of objects nearby, including her grooming, suggested a calculated arrangement. But the most gruesome detail? She was found completely unrobed with a cake placed on her.

With the details in highlight, Amaia is convinced that a serial killer is at work because six weeks ago, another girl was found dead under similar circumstances. Although Morck doesn’t take up a serial killer case, and eventually it turns out to be a kidnapping case, both his and Amaia’s investigations come to form a bigger story where the past plays a crucial role. When probed further, Amaia actually finds the patterns of these mysterious murders dating back 20 years.

The media dubs the anonymous killer “El Basajaun” after a mythological creature. However, Amaia’s aunt, whom she moved in with for investigative purposes, insists that the Basajaun is a protector of the forest, who saved her life as a child. As the missing girls start lining up one after the other, certain cryptic clues end up misleading Amaia as well. However, she is soon removed from the case when she hides a crucial piece of information in The Invisible Guardian.

Morck’s promotion in Dept Q wasn’t seen as a compliment. Neither was Amaia’s handling of the case considered as one. But just like with the help of Akram, Morck finds more than what he bargained for about a 16-year-old missing person, Amaia sees more than meets the eye when removed from the investigation. And who pushes her? Her FBI friend, Aloisius Dupree. Finally, Amaia does what any good detective would, she tracks back to the town’s past, which rounds back to her childhood.

Amaia’s strained relationship with her mother is mentioned earlier. But never the reasons. However, upon her visit, she comes to know that her brother-in-law Victor visits Rosario weekly. While she makes her way to him, an accident on the road holds her back. When she wakes up, a hairy creature leads her to an abandoned house where Victor attacks her.

In Dept Q, Jennings’ motivations were rooted in history. And The Invisible Guardian, too, falls into that trope when Victor reveals his. While Morck’s survivor’s guilt becomes the key to his determination, bringing a full circle when he takes a bullet for Akram, Amaia’s full circle concludes with confronting what she has run away from for this long: her mother.

The movie says a lot in the end with what’s unsaid, and Dept Q, too, leaves you lingering with thoughts about the final scene. And if you look closely, the idea of an invisible guardian is abundant in both.