aka Un susurro invocó mi nombre (2025)
Directed by Emilia Cotella & John Mathis
Starring Clara Kovacic, Valeria Beltramo, Cristian Cavo, Andrés Malakkian

It seems that Argentinian horror films are becoming a thing. After what we’ve seen lately, especially from Demián Rugna, it seems that country has been making some impressive entries in the horror genre. And we love it!

This story takes a little folklore, a little mysticism, and of course, some religion thrown into the mix. A group of five young adolescents who go off on a little camping trip, as well as another trip. They concoct some sort of brew to drink that will expand their minds. Carla promises her best friend Maria that she’s got her back and that everything will be fine. But when Carla finally wakes up after having some frightening visions, she finds Maria laying in a pool of blood on the riverbank, with what looks like some sort of a ritualistic design carved into her chest.

We fast forward ten years, seeing Carla now practicing ballet, as well as still hallucinating on and off, though she denies telling her therapist this little bit of information. But she is told to continue taking the meds that she is currently on. Carla has been accepted to study ballet at a school in Paris, which she is really excited about, but you can tell that she is still haunted by her past. And with that, she receives a phone call about one of her childhood friends, German, who was at their little trippy party a decade ago, has committed suicide, and that the funeral is in a couple of days. Carla travels back to her little hometown, which she had hoped to never to return to. Meeting up with her other surviving friends, Daniel and Vicente, they realize something dark and deadly is stalking them.

The older version of Carla is played by Clara Kovacic, who does an excellent job giving the audience someone who really is haunted by her past. We’re not sure in the beginning what happened all those years ago that caused the death of Maria, but whatever it was really had a serious effect on Carla.

Screening at the 34th Raindance Film Festival in London, I recently had the opportunity to see it. I really enjoy films that bring something a little different to the table, while this is very similar to a lot of films dealing with witchcraft, demonology, and the usual messing with stuff you shouldn’t be, they at least give it a little fresh look, as well as not going into too much detail about it. It’s about building suspense and terror. And while it’s not as powerful as something from writer/director Demián Rugna, it is still helping Argentina build their horror film community.