History of the Occult (2020) User Reviews

Fun movie, not what you expect...

[Lilith_i · 7/10 · 19 October 2021]

...and we liked that a lot!

Great acting, you really feel like you're watching an old TV broadcast, and the people outside that do transmit an old way of acting on movies of that era.

Good atmosphere, wasn't expecting it to look so old but relatable at the same time.

Of course, the end is a bit frustrating, but it is part of the movie, so it is somehow expected to end that way.

Hope to watch more of this director soon.

Not your typical horror film...

[fatamorgana-40208 · 7/10 · 28 May 2023]

History of the Occult is not a documentary or a mockumentary. This is a movie. It's not filled with possessed little girls climbing on the ceiling or evil ghosts. It's not supernatural, paranormal, or even scary... And I'm thankful. This movie is all about building suspense through a simple premise- a news station is going to expose a satanic conspiracy among the political powers of Argentina.

The movie is cryptic and deliberately vague. If you need movies spelled out for you than this isn't a movie you'll enjoy. The ending is not neatly wrapped up, you'll have to think about it afterwards to make sense of it, and that's what makes it good.

Amazing but ...

[housebeast · 5/10 · 4 March 2021]

This movie is a complete rework of the argentinian horror genre. Still this movie fails to completely detach itself from the local industry. This movie lacks the amazing climax it built throught. This behavior is textbook argentinian cinema: conceited storytelling and open endings. However, watching this movie will refresh you on the genre and, if you are argentinian as I am, this will elevate your hopes (in the industry, and the kirlian universe)

Could have been better but still very good

[ebeckstr-1 · 7/10 · 19 May 2023]

Atmospheric, mysterious, somber, oblique, apocalyptic. Goes needlessly off the rails a bit when hallucinogens are introduced in that always-disappointing way which has the filmmaker apparently thinking that gas lighting the viewer into wondering what is real and what is a hallucination is somehow entertaining or clever. It's similar to movies in which something creepy or startling happens but, oh gee, it was just a dream. These tactics are ineffective cliches and almost always bring a movie down a notch or two in my book. Despite these shortcomings this is a pretty cool movie with an impactful inclusion. It does come down to literally the last 30 seconds, in which we see that a stylistic element that had been introduced earlier in the film as seemingly a mere stylistic element is actually part of the story.

Side note: I have to wonder whether the name of one of the antagonists being Belasco is a nod to The Legend of Hell House, the Richard Matheson novel, and if a reference to Beaumont Street is a nod to Charles Beaumont, who wrote some of the best Twilight Zone episodes. This movie does have a very Twilight Zoney feel to it so maybe it's not a coincidence.

A Royal Rumble of Occult Concepts

[cfosteresq · 7/10 · 9 October 2023]

Wha?...

This movie is very rich, but in my opinion too short! It feels like if someone tried to trim Pulp Fiction down to 45 minutes.

The other reviews make it seem like there is no action, but there are scenes with movement, and vehicles... the whole swirl of events is fast, pretty deliriously so. At the end you feel like everything just blew by.

But I will think on it more, I feel like there is more to get. Therefore I would say it is worth a watch.

But more for a night when you would enjoy a play--intriguing characters played by a cast that acts continuously very well. Black and white seemed a challenge for me here, but it gives a Twilight Zone feel mixed with a vaporwave dream essence of news and commercials: hard to tell what year this takes place!

Maybe interesting for Argentians knowing about the junta-times in the 1980-ies. An unprepared European viewer, like me, has lots of trouble to sit it out

[JvH48 · 1/10 · 24 April 2021]

Saw this at the Imagine filmfestival 2021, usually in Amsterdam but now 100% online. Could not make heads or tails of it. I sat it out but had to force myself while attempting to follow what happened. For us Europeans there is not enough material to make a connection. An introduction of the parties involved, and especially the role of the journalists trying to phone-in with extra material, would be in order. I soon got lost what exactly the issues were. I kept watching in eager anticipation of a finale, hopefully revealing all secrets and intrigues, but it did not happen.

During the Q&A after the screening I thought I heard that the complete history around the TV-show was made up, and not related to reality. Freely translated: a vehicle to keep the story in motion. That was the moment I stopped the Q&A, lost my leniency to follow it, and switched to writing this commentary. I may have missed something important when the protagonists were introduced, however.

The black&white is another annoyance. It may intended only to suggest we are back in the 80-ies (color-TV existed more than 15 years before that time). It did not work for me and it is redundant anyway (whoever wants The Ten Commandments and/or Ben Hur shot in black&white to remind the viewer that this happened in the past??).

Cosmic Horror at it´s best

[willdesigns · 10/10 · 23 May 2021]

Lovecraft meets David Lynch in this strange tale of horror. It´s not the typical horror cinema where you know the monster or monstruosity and the intentions it has for the heroes. It is Cosmic Horror at it´s best that questions the nature of reality and hints at the hand that rules this world.

Like in Dark City the movie shows us a grimm reality that lacks color and seems to exist in the vacum of a room where the protagonists follow a tv news show that is about to expose "something" the president has done.. a dark secret that might cost him the reelection. But slowly the story derails into the field of the unknown where shadows hide monstruosities without name that we cannot understand if they are a reality or just a vision. Like that we are dragged into a journey of discovery and obscurity. The Nameless is not called like that because it has no name but because it should not be named. What happen when you find the true name of that which should not be called ?

Mild contextual pseudo spoilers----------------------------------------

Argentina (like so many others) is a country that has been divided from it´s beginnings into factions that lead to the same thing. Even today the government follows the same recipe that has trapped us into this bizarre reality that is more fantastic that any fantasy. How is it possible that in a democrafic land the polititians that rule us do the same over and over and over ? Is it the stupidity of the citizens ? Or are there forces that makes us forget what happened before and will be repeated over and over to infinity ? Like in a Matrix every 4-8 years argentinians make the same mistake and vote the same people that destroyed our country like in a spell and repeat the cycle that never ends.

Lovecraft is the supreme master of horror for a reason. He is the first author post the Gothic period that removes religion from his stories. It is not the devil which guides the action of men but forces we cannot understand... forces that drive mad anyone who tries. And like lovecraft in his stories, this movie takes us to the journey of strange characters that will confront this evil and probably not survive it, whom are doomed to never wake up from the everlasting dream of reality.

We are the characters in the end and this review never really existed :)

This is the worst horror movie I've seen since Mother.

[bxcivic · 1/10 · 18 February 2022]

This is just a bad movie from start to finish. Do not waste your time on this. A horror site that I usually agree with said this was amazing, so I gave it a shot. Hands down the worst horror movie in a very long time.

If I could, I'd give it a -10 stars. I'll never get the 90 minutes I spent on this back.

A.

OH MY GOD THIS IS PURE ART

[blondyboy-76345 · 10/10 · 26 December 2020]

Watched at BeAfraidHorrorFestival and BAM!!!! it blowed my mind! One of the best movie of the year. if they had a bigger budget they would have done a masterpiece as The lighthouse. MUST TO WATCH if you love good cinema. <3

Fun and enjoyable minimalistic effort

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 8/10 · 20 April 2021]

Preparing for a special broadcast, the crew of a local news show is getting ready for a potentially explosive story to break regarding a connection between the government and a massive conspiracy, but as time goes on they realize there's more to the encounter than they initially expected.

Overall, this was a highly enjoyable and chilling effort. One of the more enjoyable elements here is the wholly unique and intriguing storyline that serves as a perfect launching point for its burgeoning plot points. Operating as the behind-the-scenes exploits of the crew attempting to use the broadcast and the specifics are known about how important it is to get the facts out involving their relevance and duration, the dialog-heavy plot-points mentioned here about each of the guests keep this one intriguing. The interview-based setup where the film talks with each of the specific guests about their connection to the fabled notebook brought out as the centerpiece of the show serve as a fine counterpoint to the discussions brought about through the show. That brings about the other impressive aspect of the film in the secretive nature of the revelations that come about. With the conversations involving the supposed warlock and the doubting skeptic that tries to bring about a dubious conspiracy theory hiding behind the scenes. The way the conversations go where it spends more time on the secretive nature of their individual history with each other and how that spills into the plot points involving the warlocks' background with the occult and how the tell-all book was written generates a lot of fun moments as the tension builds throughout the night. Once it gets to the final half where the group is trying to bring the issue to a head under a time deadline and the group starts to feel the effects of the potential witchcraft being conducted against them which brings about some enjoyable flashes with the witchcraft affecting them. Overall, these elements give this one a lot to like while there are a few minor issues to be had with the film. The main problem is a simplistic approach by being heavily based on conversations between the crew working in the background on exposing the conspiracy rather than actually generating any action. The low-key style that serves to slowly enhance the escalating dread and suspense about the conspiracy doesn't produce as much action as one might expect since it's either showing the sit-down roundtable interviews or the crew in the backstage area talking about specific points that have to be mentioned. This can be quite dull for those that want more activity in their films, which is all the more pronounced to those who aren't invested in the political intrigue featured. This isn't all that well-explained and can bring the film down somewhat.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Violence.

A supernatural political terror

[eagandersongil · 8/10 · 17 August 2022]

"History of the occult" is almost a cosmic political horror, an intriguing story that plays with several figures of speech wrapped in a plot of growing tension, mysticism and strangeness. The direction always seeks to disorient the viewer, but in a positive way, in order to cause an instigating curiosity. With a black and white photograph with few colored details, the feature's aesthetic is one of the points that draw attention, as it speaks to its script, everything is very simple but always very detailed, with light, shadow and three-dimensional effects to cause fear. And tension, many rules are pre-established and a narrative set becomes linear with an occurrence of facts that follows a path, but even so we are lost about the outcome of the work and its subtexts. The performances of "History of the Occult" are good for a low-budget film, the ramifications of its script are great and its horror construction too, in fact, the film scares, not in a silly and fleeting way, we were really amazed by its subtleties . 8/10 grade.

More Suited To The Argentine Public

[CinemaClown · 9 September 2023]

Blending television broadcast, government conspiracy & powerful witchcraft into an unnerving chiller, History of the Occult is a politically charged & patiently manifesting horror that steadily escalates into a full-fledged nightmare as it progresses, and also benefits from the foreboding atmosphere, surreal imagery, sustained tension & convincing performances.

Written & directed by Cristian Ponce, the story follows the final episode of a famous journalism show that's hosting its last guest who may expose a conspiracy that connects the government with an obscure secret society. Ponce draws the context from Argentine history for his film and it's also the key to deciphering its layers which makes it more suited to the local demographic.

While the unfolding series of events are difficult to follow at times and don't make sense without context to an outsider, the execution of the eerie elements interacting with ongoing investigation does invoke a creepy aura that crawls under the skin. Adding more to the film's sense of unease is the uncanny camerawork, hypnotic visuals & increasing restlessness as the TV show nears its end.

Overall, History of the Occult isn't an easy film to decode in a single sitting if you don't have the means to unlock its mysteries yet the uncomfortable experience it provides from minimal resources is worth noting. There is plenty to unpack here, lots of puzzle pieces to put together but the way it plays with our perception of reality and exudes a dark, mysterious & haunting power makes it worth viewing anyway.