Director: Demián Rugna
Year: 2018
Country: Argentina
Alternate Titles: Aterrados
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
Living in a suburban Argentine block, a group of residents fear the location has become infested with supernatural phenomenon and call upon a series of experts to help them battle the entities, only to find that they are far more dangerous and deadly than imagined and must try to stop them.
Review:
There was quite a lot to like with this one. One of the strongest elements present here is the fact that there's some utterly terrifying and downright chilling moments present throughout here. The first instance of this, with the discovery of the bloodied wife in the shower being thrown violently and viciously against the walls while no one else is there to physically move her, makes for a strong and brutal opening to this that brings out some really fun encounters. A scene through a left-on video camera of him sleeping showing the demonic figures looking at him while he's unaware is equally chilling, while the dealings with the recovered body in the house bring about some fantastic chills.
The centerpiece of the film, though, is the absolutely stellar and chilling final half that has plenty of fantastic elements throughout here. With the investigations going on in the different houses, the main encounter with the detective assisting where they find the different items on the blacklight and then getting injured through the attacks of the demonic figures lurking unseen in the furniture causes this plenty of creepy moments, so much so it proves realistic enough for one character to be driven out of the area. Combined with the fantastic tactics of thumping or pounding behind walls, finding various beings trapped behind dimensional barriers and the increased supernatural activity to really get some chilling moments throughout here.
As well, once it moves past the jump-scares and the supernatural entities, there's still a lot to really like here. A major theme of the film, the continuation of life after death and the embrace of the supernatural world, gives this a sense of class and respectability than the usual jump-scare factory that this also pulls off. The investigation of the house, not only with the body that appears at the dinner table but the later paranormal experts who begin taking pictures of the incidents around them that provides the kind of setup that's later turned into a rather fascinating extreme with the full-on revelation in the final half about the demons' true intentions. These here help this one over it's minor flaws.
This one doesn't have much holding it back. It's largest problem is that this doesn't really make any sense with how everything is tied together in the finale which has very little about it that's worthwhile. Not only does this one change around how the relationships we've been with the entire time, as the different doctors are shown to be some kind of supernatural manifestation of the demons' powers all along and the other side-character that we were lead to believe is a hero turns out to be a fugitive from the law that had actually committed these crimes. This revelation comes out of nowhere and has no build-up at all, being dropped at the very last minute before the ending credits appear, reeking of simply being placed here for shock value to get one more lame jump-scare as a result. Some of the CGI for the demons aren't that impressive, but otherwise there's a lot to like about it.
Overview: ****1/2/5
An incredibly enjoyable and somewhat chilling entry, this one offers up a whole lot of enjoyable elements that makes this one of the most enjoyable genre films of the year. Give this one a chance if you're an outright aficionado of supernatural or paranormal genre efforts or looking to expand their viewing to this one based on the hype, while only those who are worn out by the style of film should heed caution.
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