Terrified | DVD Review

I'm a fan of horror. Been one most of my life. I've watched about every sub-genre of horror that there is. From the supernatural to the slasher flicks, and everything between I've seen it all. In the past 10 years or so, in the midst of my routine horror viewings, I've noticed that the horror genre has not only been revived, and rescued from Hollywood has beens, but has also been saved many times over by indie directors and studios from all over the globe. One such studio which recently started putting out films in physical and digital formats regularly is RLJE Films. In conjunction with streaming services like Shudder RLJE has released quite the interesting library of modern takes on the usual frightful formulas. One of the most recent releases that is "Terrified" is one such take on time honored tradition. It blends the paranormal with the otherworldly, and adds a few twists along the way in it's fractured timeline of events.

Starting off hot and heavy handed we, the viewer, witness the first instance of creepy happenings within the home of two lovers. Within their shared apartment space the woman of the abrupt introduction is almost immediately caught up in a paranoid state after having heard what she claims to be voices in coming from her kitchen sink. She mentions it to her male partner, and as per expectation he shrugs it off. That is until that something comes knocking. It seems that earlier in related events not yet shown the couple had been hearing their neighbor Walter banging about in the adjacent apartment. This banging returns one night as the annoyed man of the situation is readying for bed while his partner gets in the shower. After hearing Walter supposedly banging on the wall again at 5am in the morning the main man heads outside to ring Walter's resident intercom/buzzer in order to get him to cease the hammering. The man is met with static and breathing over the intercom causing him to leave frustrated yelling angrily at Walter to stop. This leads to him returning to his own apartment to find his wife levitating in the shower banging from side to side against the shower stall as if being slammed by a ghostly force. Leaving her a bloodied pulp. Oddly the main man's reaction is initially not what you'd expect from someone witnessing such a thing, and it is with that awkward acting that the overall quality of the film is set.

Terrified, as it is, is a horror film in the vein of paranormal activity mixed with a hint of science fiction, and sleuthing. It's one of those movies that starts at the end, bactracks for history sake, and moves forward occasionally between flashbacks. Ultimately ending in a lackluster fright that feels out of place, and not nearly as scary as some of the film's finer moments. To some extent it feels a bit rushed. Not giving proper time for plot development, or character development. It reeks of the previously mentioned "Paranormal Activity", and "Insidious" films in that it's more of a roller coaster ride of visual effects, and mild jump scares than it is a proper telling of fully fledged events. 

Story-wise the film follows a handful of characters intertwined by happenstance. From the main man we learn of Walter, and his encounter with his own boogeyman. From the same male protagonist we also learn of a trio of older paranormal enthusiasts, and a detective whose health is the cause of his coming retirement. The trio of geriatric ghost hunting gumshoes come to the main protagonist's aid as he is facing murder charges for his wife's death. They bait him into signing over access to his apartment so that they can conduct research regarding some hinted at, but not fully disclosed supernatural encounter. This is where things get weird. After having reserved four adjacent apartments the three paranormal specialists, and the tag along detective hunker down for a night to see what they can uncover. Things go tits up quick as one scientist discovers that they are indeed in the middle of a nest of otherworldly beings they were seeking. Otherworldly beings that takeover dead bodies through water. The same scientist also figures out that the creatures can only exist in darkness, and that they avoid the light. Through the detective's interactions with the trio of supernatural sleuths we witness the horror of the dead re-animated as they investigate the properties. This happens in the form of a kid killed by a bus, the detective's captain, the film's female paranormal occultist, and finally the onboard scientist. Though there's plenty in all of that to create fear it falls short of being truly frightening. Almost for the entirety of the film's duration.

The Scares ...

The scares throughout are a blend of jump scares, and creepy real time encounters. The dead boy returning to sit at his mum's table and enjoy some cookies and milk being the most memorable haunts of the feature presentation. That, and Walter's encounter with the naked contortionist corpse that haunts him at night. It is actually through Walter's capturing of video evidence, the unnatural death of the male protagonist's partner, and the visitation from the once dead and buried boy that things spiral out of control into the present tense. The rest is return haunts, and the addition of grisly manifestations of the trio of paranormal investigators as they are killed one at a time. Speaking of which the deaths themselves are so rushed in nature they are far from being satisfying. Instead of focusing on one creature the director opted to throw in a handful of ghouls whose time is unfairly short lived. In hindsight there's definitely a lot that could be improved upon to make this movie the blockbuster it should have, and could have been.

The Verdict ...

One thing I did not mention is that this is a Spanish/Argentinian film with English subtitles. That is of no consequence to my verdict though. I will say that although the casting was seemingly perfect outside of some acting hiccups the acting was only on point in some instances. In others it was so hokey that it broke immersion. When it comes to atmosphere, and mood the film did have the proper look, and feel. The lighting, the dulled antique color filters, and the older set pieces made for the perfect setup. That having been said the CG creature effects were so fake it didn't make for a proper scare. Only the dead boy's practical effects were noteworthy in that regard. Being it's an indie it's forgivable to an extent, but I have to say that above all else the pacing, the lack of character building, and plot building were this film's Achilles heel. It has a foundation to be great, but needs a longer length, and more focus on the important areas. I guess what I'm saying is that it was a roller coaster ride instead of the storytelling masterpiece it could have been.