The Appeared (2008)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

good back-story, and good acting

Boring, long, and too preachy.

In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

This exciting , bizarre film contains tension , thriller , chills , drama , mystery , supernatural deeds , plot twists and shocks . Splendid thriller/horror with an original and ingeniously basic premise about siblings discover a diary that documents horrendous crimes , including intelligent edition , atmospheric scenarios , slick utilization of shock images ; all of them make this one , a very good terror film plenty of killings . It deals with two siblings , a sister and brother , as Pablo convinces Melena to take their father's old car on a 2000-mile road trip from Buenos Aires to Patagonia , Tierra del Fuego . While traveling together in Argentina Malena (Ruth Díaz) and Pablo (Javier Pereira) discover a sinister notebook that details crimes committed by the author twenty years ago . That same night ; before the siblings' helpless eyes , a family is persecuted , tortured , and killed following the history of the diary . Along the way the siblings slowly uncover the dark secrets of families who suffered the horror of a repressive political regime . The siblings' journey becomes a nightmare , in which they don't know if the people whom they're attempting to save are true or manifestations of something strange , as the past begins to fade into the present, and the present moves into the past . Now Malena and Pablo have to discover what is authentic and what isn't . As they find out the methodical killings were committed during a period of political persecution of Communists in Argentina in the early 1980s . This eerie picture Aparecidos (The Appeared) displaying genuine chills , suspense , mystery , dark atmosphere and a twisted finale , being skillfully proceeded . This Argentina/Spain co-production results to be a well made film because of the thriller , tension , Kafkaesque suspense in which a family is murdered step-by-step in the manner described in a diary , as well as an interestingly written script concerning a complex intrigue in which our protagonists are in such extreme situation and their subsequent instinctive urges for survival as , the night after the discovery a diary , a family is killed following in an identical manner to one incidence in the diary. Dark Terror/thriller deals with a deadly game of cat-and-mouse in which the past and present intertwine through a time warp . Following the shady travel of 'the disappeared', they discover terrible events , beyond the fiction when the old ghosts are killing again by an invisible force that will not permit them to change the historical outcome ; as the true horror is hidden in the reality : a lot of people were kidnapped , tortured , and murdered under Argentina's military dictatorship . The good thing about this film is that the director made it on a limited budget only having to do a few sets , yet the movie works on many levels but is constantly reconfigured . The final result is an offbeat Horror movie that's captivating , as well as thoughtful and thought-provoking , too . It turned out to one of the most unusual Spanish horror movies of the 2.000s and certainly one of the most unsettling . Acceptable acting from Ruth Diaz and Javier Pereira as Malena and Pablo that discover a diary telling of crimes occurred twenty years ago . Evocative and gloomy cinematography by Andreu Rebes . Special mention for musical score , a thrilling and terrifying soundtrack perfectly composed by Oscar Araujo . This Spanish/Argentine co-production is a stunning road movie horror was compellingly written and directed by Pablo Cabezas in his first feature length Project . Paco is a good screen-writer such as ¨Bon Appetit¨ (2010) , ¨Spanish movie¨(2009) , ¨Sexy killer¨(2008) and a notorious filmmaker , especially known for Carne Neón (2010), and this ¨Aparecidos¨ (2007) , being subsequently hired by Hollywood/Nicolas Cage , where directed Tokarev (2014) . Furthermore , he is filmmaking ¨Men with No Fear¨ and ¨Mr. Right¨ in post-production . Rating : 7.5/10 . Better than average . The motion picture will appeal to horror fans .

I really loved this movie. Not your typical horror spooky movie, and I still get chills from it. I saw this movie three times. Loved the soundtrack, loved Ruth Diaz in this movie. Every emotion she felt, I felt. Talk about fear. This movie haunts me daily. In order to appreciate all that this movie has to offer, you should first learn more about the actual horrific crimes against the 30,000 people that disappeared in Argentina from 1976-1983. Knowing this first will make your heart ache and jump as you watch how this movie unfolds, untwists and as it opens up to let you in and keeps you there. That is what I felt the director was trying to do but for some people, they may not know of the horrors of the forced disappearances that happen in many other countries around the world. This movie really opened my eyes to these horrors.

If you are looking for the usual horror movie with plenty of blood and teenagers killing,this is not your cup of tea.This is not a mindless childish work ;there are two characters of flesh and blood and we get to know them quite well before the "horror "begins.More than a horror movie,it is a psychological drama as well as a political work:how hangmen get rid of people-who-do-not-properly-think " ,says the torturer ,how those commies who do not believe in God implore Him when their life is at stake!Pablo is an idealist ,his adventures are a transparent metaphor of how he wants to change history;his sister ,we learn it between her lines- knows from the start there is nothing to do for people from the past ;everything is illusion.The last pictures leave us only one hope :"let that never happen again!"The movie displays a strong Amenabar influence ,but the screenplay ,marred by many plot holes ,lacks rigor.However,"Aparecidos" is a good example of serious adult horror movie

Mystery with supernatural overtones about a brother and sister who go to sign off on the impending death of their father in a hospital. Complications almost instantly arise ("We were only suppose to sign papers, not see him" balks the girl). While traveling after signing the papers they discover discover an old diary and some pictures, things which tell the story of a serial killer, a killer that may still be operating. I've completely botched that and to be perfectly honest short of reading a straight synopsis there is no way, none, to really describe this film. Its a film that refuses to go in any direction except its own. It plays with reality, refuses to adhere to conventions and tells a story that only completely makes sense when you get to the end of it... and in my case its the sort of thing I know I need to see again to get a handle on. I have no idea if I liked it or not. I know that my insistence that the film be a certain something had me working against it. Thats not the way to enjoy this film, its something that you have to let take you where it wants to take you. Can I recommend it? Certainly if you're willing to let it go and do. I do like bits of it, and there are bits I'm not crazy about, but at the same time any film that makes me want to watch it again (even if its to work out what I just saw) is worth a shot.