Terror 5, 2016.
Directed by Sebastian Rotstein and Federico Rotstein.
Starring Augusto Alvarez, Lu Grasso, Airas Alban, Nai Awada, Juan Barberini, and Magdalena Capobianco.
SYNOPSIS:
Buenos Aires becomes a city of nightmares as a series of terrifying urban legends blur with reality after a tragedy strikes at the heart of the Argentinian capital.
Anthology horror stories are an innovative way of pushing the genre into new territory when executed with precision and care, with titles like VHS and The ABC’s of Death proving that a collection of haunting tales can leave a lasting impression on audiences. Unfortunately, Terror 5 doesn’t quite reach the same adrenaline-fuelled heights. The stories begin after a building collapses in Buenos Aires and the media are debating who’s at fault. From there it flits between several sets of characters as their evenings begin to get pretty intense, while occasionally weaving in with one another. But it never manages to live up to its namesake, working better as a scare-tinged thriller rather than a straight up horror.
That isn’t to say it doesn’t have some extreme moments, but because of the slow burn in each story the inevitable gory ending never really leaves the audience in fear. Although to counter that – some of the violence is shocking simply because it develops the characters through monologues and intriguing conversations before the blood starts to pour. One scene in particular featuring a Motel proves to be an intense few minutes as the audience realises the significance of it. Although the violence in each segment is directed and shot well, it isn’t anything that horror fans haven’t seen before. Some of the visuals are interesting, like a neon lit crucifix surrounded by zombies with similarly glowing eyes. Another element the film manages to master quite easily is the transition between each tale. It feels seamless, and as one whole plot it’s kind of enjoyable, but each individual story doesn’t feel fleshed out enough to leave a lasting impression – and neither do the majority of the characters. It could have easily done with an added 30 minutes on the runtime.
While the overarching narrative does reach a conclusion, it stumbles to provide the emotional weight necessary to make the audience care about it aside from the shuffling zombie horde that approach a corrupt politician and a man tortured by his own actions. At that point it the film heavy handedly gives the audience a confrontation between the two that is clearly loaded with supposed deeper meanings – none of which stick the landing. For horror fans Terror 5 should be an easy watch with plenty of familiar elements, monsters and kills that aren’t too surprising. Is it entertaining? Yes. Could it have been better? Undoubtedly.
While Terror 5 definitely has an ’80s B-Movie atmosphere to it, it never reaches it’s true potential and works like a less effective Creepshow. It’s disappointing because the groundwork is there, complete with a figurehead for the film that works perfectly in marketing, but it doesn’t provide the much needed scares. Unfortunately, this horror anthology is a forgettable watch that leaves a lot to be desired for fans of the genre.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Eammon Jacobs
