I always wanted to visit Argentina, and i actually thought about going over there when i visited Spain. I have been to Spain 3 times so far, and i remember especially one time when i saw a poster at a travel agency in Malaga back in 2002, and that poster had some wonderful pictures of Argentina. I remember talking to a British man who visited this travel agency and he actually have been to Argentina once, on a football trip. He did not see a Diego Maradona match ( wich he told me he would have loved to experience ), but he did see a match with the football team CA River Plate. It was a football trip that he went on with 2 of his closest friends, so they travelled to Buenos Aires. He did tell me one funny thing before he left the travel agency:- Beware of argentinian women, they will blow your mind away. It was a nice conversation, and i hope he went back to Argentina, since he clerly enjoyed his visit there. Even if it takes about 13 hours to fly there from Spain, it would be closer than flying from Sweden ( it takes over 17 hours to fly from Sweden to Argentina ), so the next time i am in Spain i might consider making a trip there. When it comes to films from Argentina, you don´t hear a lot about it here in Sweden. We do show films from Argentina in cinema, and release some titles on DVD and Blu Ray, but in general it is more releases from Spain. So, i like to check out some films from Argentina as well. One of the films i especially remember, is the horror film Aterrados ( Terrified ) from director Demián Rugna. I picked this film up on DVD from the UK, since we don´t have this film on DVD in Sweden. Terrified tells the story of an ordinary neighborhood in Buenos Aires, where strange events takes place that no one can explain. And it all starts at the home of local resident Walter ( Demián Salomón ), where strange noices can be heard quite often. Terrified is a very well made horror film that manage to tell a very effective story where paranormal events takes place. Director Demián Rugna manage to bring out some very effective horror scenes, especially when we see what is really going on in this neighborhood. Definetely worth checking out on DVD or Blu Ray. Since it has been a while since i watched an Argentinian horror film, i decided to pick up a film called On The 3rd Day on DVD from the beloved film distribution company Shout! Factory. Not knowing much about the film, is this one of the better foreign horror films i have seen in recent years, or is On The 3rd Day just as predictable as Aaron Carter´s playback tour?
Cecilia Amato ( Mariana Anghileri ) and her son Martin ( Octavio Belmonte ) have a car accident. On the third day after the crash, she wanders by herself on a lonely route. She can´t remember anything of what happened, and as she go look for her missing son, she hopes to find some answers.
On The 3rd Day is clearly inspired by legendary director Dario Argentino ( who wrote the screenplay, and directed one of my favourite classic 70´s horror films known as Suspiria, including many other great titles ), and director Lamberto Dava ( perhaps mostly known for Demons and Demons 2, but have done a lot of other great Italian horror films as well ). There are scenes in On The 3rd Day where you can actually sense that director Daniel de la Vega wanted to bring back the look, and the colorful style of these two wonderful directors. Of course this is not easy to do, considering that both Dario and Lamberto are known for making films in their own uniqe way. But i do appreciate the effort to do something similar, since we need horror films that does not rely on CGI effects, and go old school instead. So how is the plot for this film? I would say that it is quite simple, and i think doing a simple story is often more effective if you want to make a good horror film. If you make the plot too complicated, you might miss the point of the film. And in that sense, On The 3rd Day does not try to make the story too complicated, wich is a good thing. There are some twists and turns in the plot, but that´s ok, since it will make you think for yourself what you believe is actually going on. We have seen similar stories before about a missing boy, but the one thing that this film actually does, is throw in some details that helps the plot become a bit more mysterious. What about the characters? This was a mixed bag for me, because i liked some of them, while some of them i liked less. But let´s start with the positive, and that is lead actress Mariana Anghileri. This is actually the first time i see her acting, and she does a good job with her character. Playing a confused mother looking for her lost son, is not easy to pull off. Legendary actress Susana Beltran ( who i especially remember from the low budget Italian classic The Curious Dr. Humpp, also known as La Venganza Del Sexo ) can be seen in On The 3rd Day as well, as the character Ofelia. I wish she had more screen time, because it was so nice to see her in this film. Some of the other characters don´t feel that much interesting, so you only care about a few of them, especially the main character Cecilia. I especially think that this film works well, when it is trying to capture the atmosphere of what the real truth is. On The 3rd Day may not be original in any way, or deliver anything new to the table. But if you enjoy Italian horror from the past, this might be your cup of tea. Director Daniel de la Vega rely on classic ingredients, instead of ordinary American jump scares , and give us a quite enjoyable horror film that is clearly made for fans of Italian horror of the 70´s. Worth checking out on DVD, Blu Ray, or on Shudder, depending on what you prefer.
Rating: DDD
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