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Terrified (film)
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Wikipedia article
'Terrified' is a 2017 Argentine horror film written and directed by Demin Rugna, concerning a series of supernatural events in a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires.
Plot
At home in Buenos Aires, Clara hears strange voices coming from the plughole in her kitchen sink. Her husband, Juan, is perplexed when she reports that they were discussing a plan to kill her. That night, awakened by thumping sounds he assumes at first to be coming from the house next door, Juan is terrified to find Clara's dead body hovering in midair in their bathroom, violently and repeatedly slamming against the wall as if thrown by an invisible force.
Walter, who lives next door, is also experiencing supernatural occurrences. Each night, as he tries to sleep, invisible forces shake and move his furniture, including his bed. When he uses a video camera to film the events, he sees a tall, naked figure emerging beneath the bed, standing over him as he sleeps, and hiding in the wardrobe.
Across the road, Alicia is grieving the death of her young son, who has recently been hit by a bus outside Walter's house. Paranormal investigator and former coroner Jano, arrives at the behest of Alicia's ex-boyfriend, police commissioner Funes, who reveals that the corpse of the dead boy is currently sitting at the kitchen table, having apparently returned from the cemetery, leaving a trail of muddy footprints behind it. After deliberating, the two eventually move the now inanimate corpse to an outside freezer.
Nearby, Jano bumps into another paranormal investigator, Dr. Mora Albreck, whom he recognizes from the conference circuit. She has arrived to meet Walter, after viewing the video recordings he had sent her, but he now appears to have gone missing, leaving his house standing empty. Together with Rosentock, another supernatural researcher, Jano and Albreck visit Juan, who is now the main suspect in his wife's murder and is being held in a psychiatric facility. Assuring him that they believe his story, they ask permission to investigate his house, which he grants.
Soon after, the specialists return to the troubled street, before separating to investigate one property each over the course of one night. Funes accompanies Rosenstock, who is based at Walter's house. As weird phenomena occur and the investigators begin to die in gruesome and inexplicable ways, Funes realizes he has no choice but to flee the scene or risk losing his own life.
Back at the psychiatric facility, the police attempt to further question Juan but he is distracted by the figure of a tall man he says is behind them, a man who resembles a burned Rosentock. They turn around, seeing nothing except for an empty chair. Suddenly, the chair flies towards the camera, hurled by an invisible force.
Cast
*Maximiliano Ghione as Commissioner Funes
*Norberto Gonzalo as Jano
*Elvira Onetto as Dr. Mora Albreck
*George L. Lewis as Rosentock
*Julieta Vallina as Alicia
*Demin Salomn as Walter
*Agustn Rittano as Juan
*Natalia Seorales as Clara
*Matias Rascovschi as the boy
*Lorenzo Langer as Patricio
Release
'Terrified' was first screened at the Mrbido Fest 2017 in Mexico, followed by an international premiere at the 33rd Mar del Plata International Film Festival. The film received a general release in Argentina on 3 May 2018, opening on a smaller-than-average number of screens (80) but coming seventh at the box office on its opening weekend.
In the United States, Canada and the UK, 'Terrified' was made available for home viewing via the streaming service Shudder.
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes 'Terrified' holds a "77% fresh" rating, based on 13 reviews, representing a positive response from critics. Vulture.com placed it among its "Best Horror Movies of 2018 (So Far)", writing: "'Terrified' won best horror feature at this years Fantastic Fest, and is an absolutely excellent tale of the supernatural featuring some amazing deaths and creature effects. Fans of 'Insidious' and 'The Conjuring' should be big fans of this one, too." Kim Newman called it "[e]ffectively spooky stuff" after viewing it at the London FrightFest Film Festival in 2018.
In December 2018, it was reported that Guillermo del Toro intends to produce a remake of the film for Searchlight Pictures.
During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, writer-director Demin Rugna revealed he was working on the second draft of a script for a sequel, 'Terrified 2'.
References
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