Film Review: ON THE 3RD DAY: A Terrifically Taut Family Drama with Fun Frights [Fantasia 2021]

On the 3rd Day Review

On the 3rd Day (2021) Film Review from the 25th Annual Fantasia International Film Festival, a movie directed by Daniel de la Vega, starring Mariana Anghileri, Gerardo Romano, Lautaro Delgado, Diego Cremonesi, Arturo Bonín, Verónica Intile, Rodolfo Ranni, Osmar Núñez, and Octavio Belmonte.

Nostalgic and “retro” sensibilities work better the more ethereal they are. If they’re direct in their references and callbacks, they play all the more superficial. Getting to the core mindset of horror flicks of the past and their pure obsession with thrills is how to best emulate that sensibility, be it from creature features or the Golden Age of slashers. That’s how Daniel de la Vega’s new film, On the 3rd Day, succeeds in recalling both European art-house horror and low-budget American thrillers: by zeroing in on the scares rather than the peripheral set-dressing, reminding us that the evergreen thrill of horror is … well, the thrills themselves!

To protect her son Martín (Octavio Belmonte) from her controlling husband (Diego Cremonesi), Cecilia (Mariana Anghileri) takes off on a late-evening excursion across Argentina to find a place of sanctuary. But while distracted on the highway, the mother and son crash into Padre Enrique (Gerardo Romano), a bearded and bespectacled Catholic priest transporting a mysterious case in the opposite direction. Awakening three days later in a dark basement with no memory and no Martín, Cecilia sprints away in search of help and lands herself in a hospital under the worried and watchful eyes of her doctor, Hernán (Lautaro Delgado).

Haunted by strange premonitions and desperate to find her son, Cecilia escapes the hospital before discharge to figure out what exactly happened on that fateful night. It won’t be easy, though, with both Hernán and a detective (Arturo Bonín) on her tail, both of whom also want to pick her memory for clues. As the hours tick by more strange occurrences keep happening in Cecilia’s wake, while in the background works Padre Enrique towards a gruesome endgame.

On the 3rd Day is less of a horror parable than it is a fascinating little puzzle. Sure, there’s something to be gleaned about how we’ll never be able to rid ourselves of past regrets, or how one must become a monster in order to fight one (something about the bastardization of the Resurrection being thrown in for good measure), but the film is less concerned with making sharp allegories than it is about tight plotting and stylistic pacing. And that’s not a bad thing, since de la Vega has enough style to spare for a wickedly-paced and more-than-welcome 84-minute runtime.

Alberto Fasce and Gonzalo Ventura’s screenplay (based on the latter’s novel “3 días”) mainly exists at a singular point of intersection, where small-town family life clashes with a larger unseen conspiracy. But void of any blatant sociopolitical commentary, this contained approach allows the duo to frequently overlay the handful of character arcs and then double them back onto each other, resulting in many compact and compelling conundrums. The unseen monster, though relatively predictable even before its eventual reveal, still conjures up enough existential dread to fuel the individual moments of horror that provide the overall film with an unstoppable momentum.

De la Vega pays special attention to these heightened moments of fright, which usually express themselves as single individuals being held against their will – be it through hypnosis, kidnapping, or vampirical/succubus-like powers. These core dynamics of a power imbalance reinforce Cecilia’s varied struggles, and the multitude of threats she must fight off from all directions just to stay alive. The hypnosis device evokes other taut horror-thrillers like 2018’s Luz, equally tinged with retro vibes and tightly-weaved character arcs (though admittedly de la Vega’s inclusion of hypnosis is not quite as clever as Singer’s was).

Anghileri certainly conveys the aforementioned dread through Cecelia, as she feverishly retraces her steps after the tragic accident, however it’s Romano as the rogue Padre Enrique who knocks this concept out of the park. Enrique’s line of work is both informed by fear as much as it conjures fear within others, and Romero portrays that dichotomy with unshakable tenacity. Of course, looking like the Argentinian version of the late Michael Parks certainly helps, making this feel all the more like the odd step-sibling of a Robert Rodriguez venture.

All in all, On the 3rd Day is a fantastic horror treat that’s easily digestible while still sticking in your craw. It’s a reminder that horror movies are allowed to be simple while still being scary, because after all: frightening fun is where it’s at!

Rating: 7/10

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