Terrified

TERRIFIED is an inventive, original, and highly effective horror film from Argentina.

A paranormal investigator (Elvira Onetto) and a forensics expert (Norberto Gonzalo) work together with the rest of their assembled team to solve a bizarre mystery. It seems that a neighborhood has become the epicenter for supernatural phenomena. The team must split up, in order to uncover what has happened in three separate homes. As the evening progresses, the terror increases, culminating in a nightmare of ghoulish death.

If you enjoy disturbing, unpredictable stories of the paranormal variety, then this should satisfy!...

Jam-packed with genuinely effective & downright terrifying jump scares, Terrified (also called Aterrados) doesn't waste any time in bringing the horror element into play and is unsettling from its opening moments. The plot & characters are barely serviceable and yet when it comes to scaring the audience, it is a relentless assault on the senses.

Written & directed by Demián Rugna, the film is far more interested in leaving its viewers a startled mess instead of refining its story or fleshing out the characters. The set-up is simple, pacing is brisk, and instead of steadily escalating the tension by gradually intensifying the paranormal activities, Rugna introduces it on screen in full measure from the beginning.

Much of the explanation regarding ghost encounters rarely makes sense but one is less inclined to be bothered by it when it keeps throwing an endless barrage of frights with zero respite. Still, the middle & final acts fail to enrich the experience further and it is never clear about who is supposed to be the main character here. As for its atmosphere & sound, both aspects are praiseworthy.

Overall, Terrified manages to leave most of its audience in the titular state, and is a fast, frenetic & frightening chiller that unleashes absolute terror with its spooky imagery and leaves a lasting mark in the scary department. A stronger narrative & compelling characters would've benefitted it some more but what it set out to do, it delivers that in terrifying doses. In short, this Argentinian horror is worth a shot.

First off, I like the film. It is creepy, part 'The Conjuring', part 'The Beyond'. What I didn't care for (more of an 'irritant' than anything else), is that it lacks character development...it doesn't 'focus' on any one person and build a story around them, but 'jumps' around, and just leaves us wondering what happened to character 'A'. That, and some idiotic inconsistencies, such as when a character keeps telling others that they need to leave... it's like, 'leave already, no one is stopping you'...but inevitably sticks around...with predictable results. And then, someone miraculously 'recovers' after a major health episode, one that has him begging to go to the hospital...and what does he do ? He goes off by himself... and has a smoke ! But, if you don't analyze it too much, and just go in to have fun and get some scares, it's a good film.

Ahh, a breath of fresh air! Can you feel it too? You the one about to read some movie info in order to make the best decision: see it or not? Of course you have to see it! Even its name is on point, as it seriously delivers a massive quantity of fear and panic.

I can't go into too many details with this one as I fear i might ruin it for you, so just understand that it is a big step up from your average horror/supernatural, with lovely elements from both worlds, combined into a small gem.

Aterrados is proof that Latin countries are starting to develop better horror than our casual Hollywood productions, because if you put this next to Silent House (Uruguay) and a big list of Mexico and Spanish movies, well, the future looks bright and world wide.

Cheers!

First of all, the art on the poster is excellent, which attracted me to this film. Unfortunately no visual in the film matched this. I found the first death scene very creepy, although I think, that the husband's reaction could have been more intense. If Iwitnessed something like that, I'd be overwhelmed with horror. It was the scariest scene in the film, I thought. After that the film started going all over the place, showing paranormal events in three different residences. The events really didn't have much, if any continuity, nor explanation, which diminished my interest. In the end, a group of scientists and police investigated these paranormal occurrences, but came to no understanding of them. So the film has some interesting, paranormal scenes, with very little cohesion to them.