Everyone is so enthusiastic about the prospect of Damien Leone killing a bunch of kids in Terrifier 3. As someone who dislikes these films, I couldn’t care less. Trick ‘r Treat killed off kids in a uniquely terrifying way back in 2007 and since then I didn’t think it had been topped. That was, until When Evil Lurks came around. Writer/director Demián Rugna brought one of the most shocking and unexpected child deaths to horror since Trick ‘r Treat. What separates a filmmaker like Demián Rugna from Damien Leone is intent. No one just wants to see children die (except for some writers at Horror Press), but what makes it work is when the death overtly affects the story progression. Damien Leone tells his story beat by beat, with no real effect on Art’s senseless killings. Demián Rugna uses these moments to create and craft the story. These two are not the same. Today we’ll be discussing Terrified.
Discovering Demián Rugna’s Terrified Too Late
Somehow, Rugna’s third feature film escaped my eyes. Even though Aterrado (known as Terrified in the States) made waves when it hit Shudder and was talked about constantly, I never ended up watching it. What a huge mistake that was. Watching Terrified as a 30-year-old gave me the same exact feeling I got when I watched Insidious in theaters as a 15-year-old. I was afraid to turn the lights off before going to bed. Every bump and clank in my apartment made me look over my shoulder. And now I’m even more scared of buses.
Terrified follows a variety of characters throughout a twisting narrative of terror (bear with me). After witnessing the death of Clara (Natalia Señorales) at the hands of the supernatural, Juan (Agustín Rittano) finds himself institutionalized. Walter (Demián Salomón), Clara and Juan’s neighbor, finds himself harassed by a terrifying entity. Across the street, Alicia (Julieta Vallina) grieves at the recent loss of her child, who gets untimely killed (but I won’t tell you how!). Commissioner Funes (Maximiliano Ghione), Alicia’s ex, reaches out to coroner/paranormal investigator Jano (Norberto Gonzalo). Jano meets Dr. Mora Albreck (Elvira Onetto), a paranormal researcher who is in town to examine whatever is going on with Walter. Rosenstock (George L. Lewis) also joins the team as a paranormal researcher.
Muddy Footprints, a Dead Child, and a Terrible Decision
One day, Alicia’s deceased child’s body shows up. And muddy footprints accompany the corpse. At this point, Jano, Commissioner Funes, Dr. Albreck, and Rosenstock decide on a ghost hunt. Little do they know…this was the worst idea they could ever conceive.
Watching When Evil Lurks first set expectations I wasn’t sure Terrified could fulfill. Granted, filmmakers usually get better over the years, but a bar was set. Surely there was no way a ghost movie could be as bloody and brutal as When Evil Lurks. Boy was I wrong. Terrified starts off with a bloody and frightening kill that sets a tone I was not expecting. With a mixture of physical horror and supernatural horror, Terrified effortlessly switches horror subgenres without ever missing a beat.
Subtitles, Ensemble Casts, and Minor Growing Pains
The biggest hurdle I have with foreign ensemble films is balancing subtitles with characters. Terrified throws multiple characters at you very quickly. Juggling the dialogue with characters while trying to read the subtitles and correlate them with the actors was a bit difficult to start. Even though I love watching foreign films, it did prove slightly difficult for a short period of time with Terrified. Honestly, that’s the only issue I could find with the film. By about the 15 or 20-minute mark, I was well acquainted with the characters and names, so this didn’t last as an issue.
Demián Rugna crafted a tight and utterly terrifying film with Terrified. There is no question that Rugna is one of the leading names in horror today. Something lurks deep in the recesses of his mind that allows him to continually create films as scary as these. Quite a few times, Rugna previews the scare. He allows you the opportunity to know what is about to happen, and somehow, it’s still absolutely bone-chilling. One scene sticks out where there is obviously a creature of some sort underneath a bed, but they can’t see it from one side of the bed. As they slowly make their way to the opposite side of the bed you know you’re about to be frightened. Even with the notion that a fright is imminent it STILL works. Tell me how many filmmakers can pull that off.
Why Terrified Is Essential Viewing for Horror Fans
If you haven’t seen Terrified, you must rectify that immediately. It’s Insidious on steroids. In this age of endless content, it’s easy to become desensitized to horror. For every twenty Tubi movies, there is one Terrified. Finding films like this, films that truly elicit scares, is like finding a needle in a haystack. Get some friends together, shut the lights off, light some candles, and prepare to be Terrified.
You can stream Terrified on Shudder.
