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We saw Terrified AKA Aterrados on Shudder (it’s a Shudder exclusive) and goddammit, it was a scary ride. This is an Argentinian horror film that knows how to terrify you – and holy jesus is it a blast! This movie is worth the price of entry and then some, if you are a horror fan you must check it out!
Also, if you are a horror fan, you should check out Mondo’s Hottest Horror Products Now! 
Terrified (Aterrados) Overview
Terrified is an 87 minute powerhouse of scares that skips all the story and exposition, instead choosing to head straight for the meat on the bone – scares. It utilizes a super-interesting format that allows it to focus on a few different story lines at once. As the movie progresses the story lines intertwine into a cohesive web of terror.
Terrified introduces us to a neighborhood that is plagued by an infection of sorts. The symptoms of this infection include the dead brought to life, strange creatures that resemble corpses, and invisible/visible spooks that seem to live in the dark corners of houses and apartments. A team of researchers and cops spend a night in the three houses affected by this plague and end up finding more than they bargained for.
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Terrified is remarkably effective at what it sets out to do – scare. It utilizes some great camera work, sound design, acting, and visual effects to produce a real terror of a film. It doesn’t pretend to be anything it’s not, and as a result the viewer doesn’t get much of a chance to breathe. It’s tight, and it gave me real scares, which seem to be hard to find anymore.
Our Score
9/10
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Terrified (Aterrados) Spoiler
Terrified starts out in a couple’s apartment. Juan (Agustín Rittano) and Clara (Natalia Señorales) are plagued by what they believe to be their neighbor hammering on some DIY project every morning at 5 AM. After a couple mornings, Juan wakes up to his bed empty of Clara, but the hammering is still in full swing. Juan walks outside and buzzes the intercom in his neighbor, Walter’s (Demián Salomón) front yard. No one answers, just heavy breathing. As he walks back into his house and into the bathroom he witnesses his partner levitating, lifeless, and vertical in the bath, being slammed back and forth between the two, tiled walls.
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The focus then changes, and we get to see a bit of their neighbor, Walter’s week. Walter lives alone in this duplex he shares with Clara and Juan – or so he hopes. Walter seemingly lives in constant fear and mental anguish of something else inhabiting his house. Something is constantly unplugging his nightstand lamp and alarm clock, things move throughout the house, and Walter appears to be on high alert. As the viewers, we are granted a look at the thing that lives in Walter’s duplex with him.
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Finally, a small child is killed when coming too close to Walter’s apartment. The child rises from the grave and makes his way back home to take his place at the dining table, a decomposing little boy. His mother, Alicia, is understandably beside herself and contacts the authorities, who show up to investigate.
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At this point the three storylines morph into one when two detectives and a paranormal investigator who had been called by Walter when he was of semi-sane mind. The three decide to spend a night in the three houses in question and find quite a bit more than they bargained for.
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Terrified (Aterrados) Sound Design
The sound and sound design in Terrified is fabulous, and really understand how to work around tension and scares.
Terrified (Aterrados) Camera Work
The camera work is adept and is great at building tension with slow, back and forth panning shots that work to block the viewers at key points in the tension builds.
Terrified (Aterrados) Final Recommendations and Summation
This movie does not need lots of exposition, story, or plot. This is a vehicle to scare the shit out of you and it works. The subtitles don’t get in the way one bit. If you are a jaded horror fan that just want’s something unnerving and spooky to scare you, Terrified is your jam.
Im a veteran of horror movies and i find it hard to watch good new one’s. That movie was absolutely remarkable on every way. I love Spanish cinema. Hollywood should take some notes. Also i find your podcast series pretty good. Keep up the good job and thanks.
Wasn’t it great?! Thanks for taking the time to drop us a line. Do you have other, similar favorites?
That 1st little batch of y’all trying to pronounce it actually nailed it on the last try. It’s pronounced ah-terrrr(rolling r)-AH-dos.
Just saw this recently & wow! It had us so tensed up that we had to take a break before we started it again. Blood ran cold a few times, too. That kid in the kitchen scene was definitely one of the most unnerving.
It definitely did an amazing job w/both sound and visuals. We don’t normally jump or get all tense while watching movies, but this one definitely did it!
Y’all also mention Argentine movies… The Secret in Their Eyes/El Secreto de Sus Ojos is not horror, but it is definitely a well done crime drama that received lots of well earned praise.
Glad we have a follower, creep or otherwise. Yeah, we really liked this one. Do you have any recent favorites?
Look out. I’m glad my mattress is on the floor while I wait for me new bed. It’s going to take me a day or two to feel comfortable in my skin again. So much spine tingling, creepy in this movie…( and the cadaver boy… good grief!)
Lol, yeah this one sticks with you.
I don’t know if we watched the same movie … because for me this movie “Terrified” was pretty dull. Too bad is that the movie started pretty well with that bathroom scene.
– The story didn’t impressed me at all.
– Movie didn’t created any suspense moments for me.
– The so called “monsters” we’re pretty boring.
– No jumpscares atleast, something unexpected to make me jump from my confy chair.
Really don’t understand what you guys saw, so great that you gave a 9 / 10, for me this movie is AT MOST a 4 / 10. There are other good horror movies this one was weak as hell.
Thanks for your comment Zero,
Taste is very subjective, so we don’t expect everyone to agree with our takes on the films we review. That said, we do see a lot of horror movies, and this one was pretty unique in our eyes. I thought it had a lot of great moments. It might not be packed full of jumpscares, but I think it had some really effective ones.
It’s fine to disagree about movies. In fact, that’s where the most interesting conversations happening. I hope you stick around and read/listen to some of our future reviews. Maybe we’ll agree in the future.
Loved this movie! Big fan of foreign horror. Right up there with devils backbone 🙂 something far more sinister about foreign made horror that you dont seem to get in your average horror. Highly recommend siccin or baskin (Turkish) they are a must for any true horror fan. Behind the walls is another i absolutely loved! However is in episodes, don’t let that put you off.
Thank you SO MUCH for the recommendations! I love foreign horror, but it’s often hard to find the gold in the pile. I still remember watching Attrocious and REC (both Spanish) and being scared out of my mind. Give the pod a listen and let us know what you think!
What a hidden gem this movie was. Heard you guys mention this in other episodes and wanted in on the fun. Love it when these nobody titles are more enjoyable than big budget hollywood stuff. As someone who came out of the womb watching horror flicks this was a breath of fresh air. Great work guys!
Dude, this is the stuff I live for in terms of movies! exactly as your described it, hidden gems. Just a blast of a film and I never knew it existed.