Terrified (2018)
Directed by Demián Rugna
Police commissioner Funes and three researchers of supernatural phenomena investigate inexplicable events that are occurring in the suburbs of Buenos Aires.
9 connections found
View:
9 films that influenced Terrified
What critics say influenced Terrified
Think Lin Shaye’s character Elise from the Insidious franchise, but with a more serious, scientific spin.
Terrified captured my attention so quickly with an opening scene reminiscent of James Wan’s Insidious–another film that genuinely scared me–by the time I reached the second act, I was so creeped out that I had forgotten to retrieve my pen from the desk.
So, once cop-with-a-weak-heart Funes (Maxi Ghione) and the team of greying paranormal investigators (at least one of whom feels inspired by the Insidious franchise) decide to find out what’s going on in these houses, we’re not particularly invested in them and their leisurely conversations begin to drag.
Though it bears a superficial resemblance to Poltergeist and the Insidious films, what Terrified reminds of most is Mike Flanagan's tremendous, underseen Oculus , about a house, siblings, and a haunted mirror.
Demián Gugna does a fantastic job of telling a story with enough depth to possibly create a film franchise in the vein of Insidious .
The interconnectedness of the houses are reminiscent of Takashi Shimizu’s Ju-on: The Grudge , and the motif of water summons memories from other J-horror films like Dark Water .
Perhaps the closest analogue is the weird world of Takashi Shimizu’s Ju-on: The Grudge, with its apparently episodic intrusions accumulating a peculiar interconnectedness.
Though it bears a superficial resemblance to Poltergeist and the Insidious films, what Terrified reminds of most is Mike Flanagan's tremendous, underseen Oculus , about a house, siblings, and a haunted mirror.
There is furniture that moves by itself, lights that suddenly switch off, and interdimensional entities coming through the walls, Poltergeist-style; there are violently dreamlike levitations, as in A Nightmare on Elm Street; there is the thing hiding under the bed or in the closet, as in any child’s nightmare; there is the demonic figure filmed standing over the bed of a sleeping homeowner, as in Paranormal Activity; there are the revenant dead, as in Pet Sematary; and there are blood-sucking creatures, as in any vampire movie.
Director and screenwriter Demian Runga’s film pays tribute to the genre with callbacks to staples such as Pet Cemetery and The Grudge , while creating unique visuals and set pieces that are nightmareish and warrant sleeping with the lights on.
Corpses returning from the grave allude to Pet Sematary while the investigative team of paranormal psychologists will evoke nostalgia for Poltergeist and The Conjuring .
Advertisement
Corpses returning from the grave allude to Pet Sematary while the investigative team of paranormal psychologists will evoke nostalgia for Poltergeist and The Conjuring .
But its well-crafted scenes lift this Argentinian horror high above the recent slew of Paranormal Activity and The Conjuring spin-offs.
There is furniture that moves by itself, lights that suddenly switch off, and interdimensional entities coming through the walls, Poltergeist-style; there are violently dreamlike levitations, as in A Nightmare on Elm Street; there is the thing hiding under the bed or in the closet, as in any child’s nightmare; there is the demonic figure filmed standing over the bed of a sleeping homeowner, as in Paranormal Activity; there are the revenant dead, as in Pet Sematary; and there are blood-sucking creatures, as in any vampire movie.
But its well-crafted scenes lift this Argentinian horror high above the recent slew of Paranormal Activity and The Conjuring spin-offs.
It’s not unlike Pulp Fiction in this way.
There is furniture that moves by itself, lights that suddenly switch off, and interdimensional entities coming through the walls, Poltergeist-style; there are violently dreamlike levitations, as in A Nightmare on Elm Street; there is the thing hiding under the bed or in the closet, as in any child’s nightmare; there is the demonic figure filmed standing over the bed of a sleeping homeowner, as in Paranormal Activity; there are the revenant dead, as in Pet Sematary; and there are blood-sucking creatures, as in any vampire movie.
Advertisement
Director and screenwriter Demian Runga’s film pays tribute to the genre with callbacks to staples such as Pet Cemetery and The Grudge , while creating unique visuals and set pieces that are nightmareish and warrant sleeping with the lights on.