On an ordinary suburban street in Buenos Aires, voices are heard from kitchen sinks. Bodies are levitating. Evil is here. It is up to a doctor, her colleague, and an ex-cop to get to the bottom of this neighborhood nightmare. A film by Demián Rugna, starring Maxi Ghione, Elvira Onetto, Norberto Gonzalo, George Lewis, Demián Salomón, Agustín Rittano, Julieta Vallina, and Natalia Señorales.

Clara (Natalia Señorales), a housewife, becomes terrified after hearing strange voices coming from the plughole of her kitchen sink. As her husband Juan (Agustín Rittano) arrives home, he’s curious why his wife hasn’t prepared their dinner. Clara reveals she didn’t cook, having heard voices in the kitchen. Juan dismisses her concern, asserting the old pipes could squeal on their own, and complains about their neighbor Walter, who keeps making noise repairing his home. Clara tells Juan the voices she heard were human’s and they were planning to kill her.

At 5 am, a persistent thump from the bedroom wall jolts Juan awake. Assuming it’s Walter’s usual DIY antics, he bangs back and yells. But the thumping continues, igniting Juan’s fury. He storms to Walter’s house, buzzing the intercom, only to be met with static noises. Returning home, a chilling realization washes over him: the thuds aren’t from outside, they’re coming from within. He races to the bathroom and finds Clara suspended in mid-air, slamming repeatedly against the wall like a ragdoll tossed by an unseen hand. Juan is arrested, accused of a crime he didn’t commit, and whisked away to the psych ward.

Three researchers, Dr. Mora Albreck (Elvira Onetto), Rosenstock (George Lewis), and Jano (Norberto Gonzalo), arrive at the psychiatric ward where Juan is being treated. They introduce themselves as specialists in supernatural phenomena and explain they have reason to believe Juan is innocent of his wife’s murder. As evidence, they show him photographs of a crime scene in the U.S. bearing striking similarities to Juan’s situation. They seek his permission to enter his home and gather evidence. Additionally, they inquire about any unusual events Juan might recall from the week leading up to his wife’s death. Juan recounts a bizarre accident where a young boy was killed outside Walter’s home.

The film rewinds a week before the accident. Walter experiences unsettling phenomena – furniture relocating inexplicably, his bed shifting during the night. Consulting specialists yields no answers. Desperately, he reaches Dr. Albreck, a renowned supernatural researcher. But Albreck’s assistant stonewalls him, claiming the doctor can’t take new cases without concrete evidence. Undeterred, Walter buys a camcorder to capture his nocturnal tormentor. That night, the footage reveals a chilling sight – a mysterious figure looming over his sleeping form. As he scrutinizes the recording, the figure assaults him, plunging him deeper into the unnerving unknown.

The next day, a neighborhood boy drinks from Walter’s tap, startled by a sinister voice from behind blinds ordering him to go away. The boy stumbles back into the road, struck by an oncoming bus. The impact is instantaneous and fatal.

This grim spectacle proves merely the prelude to a chilling sequence. Following the boy’s funeral, Police Commissioner Funes (Maxi Ghione) summons Jano, a paranormal investigator with a past as a coroner, to the home of Alicia, whose deceased son mysteriously returns from the cemetery and sits in the kitchen.

Argentine filmmaker Demián Rugna masterfully weaves sight and sound into a chilling tapestry of the unknown. We glimpse these creatures, but their true motives remain shrouded in shadow. Each meticulously crafted frame amplifies the unnerving atmosphere, punctuated by jump scares that land with brutal precision.

The notion of these malevolent beings coexisting with humans, unseen but sometimes can be heard, sends shivers down my spine. They navigate our world with an eerie undetectability, choosing their moments to emerge from the shadows. The very thought of their unseen presence lurking just beyond our perception is both terrifying and strangely captivating.

ATERRADOS premiered at Mórbido Fest on 27 October 2017. The film was theatrically released in Argentina on 3 May 2018.