On the 3rd Day

I'm afraid that I agree with the 2 other reviews here (at this point) I did give it a '5', which is generous, for the nice lighting and at least the EFFORT to create a good Gothic mood.

When I saw Del Toro films in the intro I was very hopeful, because Guillermo Del Toro is indeed one of my VERY favourite living directors. BUT... sadly, for some odd reason the story just did not want to gel in an effective way. The elements by themselves and especially the VERY effective mystery created from the beginning certainly seemed to promise a strong, Gothic film. But, and I'm not really sure why, it simply just did not come together in an effective way.

The visuals were very good, I really liked the lighting, the soundtrack, and even the acting was pretty decent across the board (with the one exception of the dopey policeman - I don't know WHERE the hell they dug him up) But, this is just one of those rather mysterious cases where you can't quite tell exactly what went wrong or precisely what the filmmakers did badly, since I feel taken in segments, the story seemed like it SHOULD have been very good. It's not like you can say, 'Oh, the acting is really bad', or 'The writing was poorly done', or 'The direction could have been done better' The reason is kind of uncertain as to why this didn't exactly work. The overall mood and atmosphere was created well. There was a palpable sense of Mystery right from the beginning which effectively draws the audience in, making them wonder what is going on. Even the ending was indeed surprising and not predictable at all. It SOUNDS like it should have worked, but somehow it really didn't...

The only thing I can come up with is a GUESS that perhaps just the way the story was plotted, or the pacing, or maybe the way the events were ordered. I honestly couldn't say.

I mean, the look and mood of the film was most definitely Del Toro, absolutely. But, ultimately the story just didn't work. So, I can't honestly recommend this movie despite its nice look and atmosphere. Perhaps there may be some people who are able to appreciate it more so at some level. But, like I've mentioned, to me personally, for some mysterious reason it just was not that effective.

Where do I begin?

1. A bunch of characters who seem pretty unrelated and you have no idea what they have to do with one another.

2. Either dubbing from Spanish, or a drunk audio engineer.

3. Make up your mind: is it a demon or vampire movie, or something completely different?

4. The first 90% of the film had nothing scary and no relevance.

I only gave it 5 stars because the "monster" looked good.

Mariana Angheleri is the only reason for my four star rating. She is much better than the material here. She is escaping from a domineering ex with her boy when she has a car accident. What follows is a mess. A priest recites the Apostles' Creed, thus, "on the third day." He goes on a bloody rampage without explanation. I can appreciate a good devil themed film such as The Exorcist or The Omen, but they had clear and concise story lines. On the Third Day is an incomprehensible mess.

Is a 2021 Argentine horror film. But to the one who understands. I've been watching horror movies for at least 35 years, it's rare that I don't get it like this. It's not ridiculous, huh. Meaningless. And it's also very boring. A mother and son who ran away from home get into a car accident. And then the boy suddenly disappears. His mother is trying to find him. Then a lot of meaningless events happen and it's over.

There is no sexuality and nudity in the film.

Stylish horror worth checking out for light fun. If you enjoyed Terrified (2017) - this would be an ideal companion film for a double feature. This movie is a bit kitschier. The story is skeletal, occasionally predictable, and just enough to keep things always moving forward. It seemed to be a love letter to Bava and Argento in almost every way...Gothic overtones, and some of those characters! The flow made the viewing experience similar to reading a graphic novel or comic (better than Creepshow ever did). Some very striking and beautiful sequences and the lighting always seemed spot on. The hypnotism scene was so ambitious, fun, and well done. The basic Horror aspects of this film are rather common. Nothing here hasn't been seen before. The way they were put together, however, definitely held my interest. I was interested and curious which direction things would go. There are even a few genuine surprises. Some outrageous bits that were unintentionally amusing. Excellent practical effects. It was nothing I'd take seriously...but a very fun watch. For those confused by the ending - there is a post-credits sequence that spells it out.