Terrified is one of the scariest movies on Shudder - and there is a remake in the works

Whenever people are on social media begging for a truly scary film, I have a short list of my own recommendations: The Autopsy of Jane Doe, Last Shift, When Evil Lurks, and Terrified are the usual movies I suggest. I will admit that I usually roll my eyes when the pleading post asks for “a movie that will traumatize me for life”, because nobody really wants that.

But, I am a lifelong horror nerd who is somewhat desensitized to horror, so it’s rare for something to legit SCARE me. Terrified (not to be confused with Terrifier, the Art the Clown vehicle) lives up to its title, and is a truly bone chilling film with a great story, some gore, and strong character development.

It is an Argentine film, so you really should be comfortable with subtitles to get the full effect. I prefer subtitles to dubbing, because voice acting in dubbed films is sometimes really bad. But, as it turns out, those who snub subtitles may be in luck, because a remake is on its way.

While I am unsure a remake is necessary, at least this one has some strong creative types behind it. The Terrified remake will be produced and directed by Noah Hawley, who is an Emmy winner responsible for the Legion, Alien: Earth and Fargo series.

Even better, the writer/director of the original Terrified is on board as well! That’s right, Demian Rugna is developing the project with Hawley. Rugna was also the creator of When Evil Lurks, another genuinely frightening flick (which also features subtitles).

Terrified was released in the United States by Shudder in 2017, and quickly gained respect amongst horror fans. I had read about the most talked-about scene in advance of watching it for the first time, but that scene still shook me.

Terrified gets to the horror right away

Terrified is set in a Buenos Aires neighborhood, where some of the homes have begun experiencing some horrifying events. Clara is hearing noises from the drain of her sink, and she tells her husband something is talking about killing her. He dismisses her concerns, but wakes up during the night to the sound of thumping in the bathroom. As it turns out, the thumping is Clara being hurled around in the bathroom, and being brutally slammed into the walls by something that is not visible. It’s a shockingly violent scene, and lets the viewer know what they are in for.

The next door neighbor is having night frights of his own; each night, he is awakened from sleep by something that moves the furniture around and shakes his bed. He sets up a video camera, and what he sees pretty much guarantees sleepless nights for the rest of his life.

Then there is poor Alicia, who lives across the street. She recently lost her little boy when he was hit by a bus, and the grief and trauma already have her teetering on the edge of a total mental breakdown. That process is accelerated when a paranormal investigator is called in.

That’s the scene that everyone talks about the most – the investigator and the cop actually see the rotting corpse of the child sitting at Alicia’s kitchen table, with a bowl of cereal in front of him. I cannot do this scene justice just by writing about it. If you haven’t seen it yet, I urge you to hop onto Shudder and watch Terrified as soon as possible (after you finish reading this article, of course).

With the involvement of Rugna in the remake, I will be waiting patiently to see it. And in the meantime, I feel an urge to watch the original again.

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