Achoura

After a series of strange encounters, a group of childhood friends finds that the attacks are reminiscent of a particular being from an urban legend they encountered when they were kids and must put their limited knowledge to the test in order to stop the rampaging creature once and for all.

Frankly, this was a highly enjoyable and surprising effort. Among the main positive on display here is the rather intriguing storyline that provides the film with a really original take on this type of premise. Focusing on the idea of the kids reuniting to battle a childhood menace, a setup used multiple times over, instead has a rather intriguing feel here with the inclusion of the elements found in Moroccan folklore as that's been so rarely utilized it feels fresh. This is mainly due to the build-up done when they're kids to set-up an intriguing monster, one based on superstition in the area and their own beliefs growing up in the area that meld together into a rather fun backstory here. This intriguing backstory allows the film to feature some rather intriguing action. The first main encounter when it strikes a family about to go to sleep is quite chilling working in the urban legend quite effectively while the short-burst encounters when they were kids running through the abandoned house or the cornfield trying to escape from the creature have some solid moments. Likewise, an encounter in the apartment complex bathroom is quite chilling with how the creature attacks and the ingenuity needed to get away from it, while the sequence of them returning to the fabled farmhouse where they encounter the creature leading into a series of graphic and chilling attacks is a surefire highlight that ties the film up rather nicely. Coupled with the strong creature design and brutal but not gory encounters throughout here, there's a lot to like with this one. However, there are some flaws with this one. One of its main issues is the overall darkness that permeates the film, oftentimes making it nearly impossible to make out what's happening on screen. The opening attack is so dark it's hard to tell what happens even if they were trying to keep it in the shadows, and that format rings true of several other encounters here. The big farmhouse attack is handled in near-total darkness which is a really big missed opportunity to get the creature out and showcase what's going on. Given that this is shot in darkness for most of the film tends to do this a real disservice as there are oftentimes characters fumbling in the dark or just unintelligible blurs of activity and movement happening that are hard to make out at times here. As well, the other big flaw with this one is the sheer lack of answers as to what's going on here. There's no information given about the titular monster at all which is a real shame considering this is most likely the first exposure to such a creature and thus the unfamiliarity with it and why we need to be afraid of it is never given. Seeing as how we shift around constantly to various people and are given their own individual connections to the case, there's never a chance to realize how everyone fits together here and it ends up feeling like a random assortment of people together. That the narrative for this one, going back and forth between them as kids and as adults who are beginning to come to grips with the encounter, doesn't help this any by making plenty of references to events that never came true when they became adults or we find out different relationships that make following the characters quite difficult when we don't know who's who. These issues are what hold this one down.

Rated Unrated/R: Violence, mild Language and children-in-jeopardy.

With me having the opportunity to sit down and watch the 2018 Moroccan horror movie "Achoura" here in 2022, needless to say that I did so. Of course I did, especially because the movie's cover was actually interesting, and this was, after all, a horror movie that I hadn't already seen.

I had never heard about this 2018 horror movie from writers Jawad Lahlou, Talal Selhami and David Villemin, so I wasn't sure what I was in for here, nor had I seen a trailer or anything. I just picked up the movie, as my attention was caught by the cover. And I gave it a chance.

And I guess that "Achoura" is Moroccan for "boring". I am just kidding here, about the translation, of course. Boy, oh boy, talk about a swing and a miss of a movie from director Talal Selhami. The movie never got off to a flying start, and it was so difficult getting into the groove of the movie or the atmosphere of the movie. Maybe it was because the movie had zero appeal, characters with the appeal of cardboard, dialogue as rigid as wood, or simply because the only thing scary about "Achoura" was how utterly boring it was.

The storyline told in "Achoura" was boring and pointless. So it never caught on with me. And after 32 minutes of sheer and utter boredom, then I was good and ready to call it quits on this movie. Yeah, it was exactly that boring.

I wasn't familiar with a single performer on the cast list, and that is usually something I enjoy when I sit down to watch movies. But for some reason, then not so much with "Achoura". Again, it was because everything was so utterly boring and pointless, from the characters and dialogue to the very events that made up the storyline.

If you enjoy horror movies, do yourself a favor and stay well clear of "Achoura".

My rating of director Talal Selhami's 2018 horror movie "Achoura" lands on a very generous two out of ten stars. It is the special effects alone that prevents the rating of scraping a mere single star.

-Got to see this movie in hardline festival, Germany. -Really enjoyed it. -It's different than what we usually get to see as thriller and horror movie, kudos to Talal Selhami for his second feature film with a creative creature design, great locations and set decoration (I especially loved the Haunted House) Well done. -I couldn't understand the language at all so to me the actors performed pretty well. -A bit lost in some parts of the movie with the storyline. This could be improved with a bit of re-cut -Really good music by Romain Paillot. IMHO, we rarely get to hear such scores in modern movies. Much better than what some A-list composers can write in Hollywood.

First horror movie by this guy, perhaps first Maroccan horror movie ever to make it internationally. This alone and the base for the film scores all the way up to 6. (A for the spine to see this project though! ) This film, however, has a really great idea and lots of faults that have not been thought through- both in the story as well as in the timeline and the quality and feel. It feels like the director somehow didn't really trust his idea and so had to drag in random momentums from previous horror films. The movie could be mistaken for a poor filmatisation of a Stephen King novel. The base of the story is SO good it can stand on its own feet- it does NOT need copied scenes from Hollywood movies.

The music is an ambitious high-end orchestral sound track that sadly is composed by someone who doesn't really know anything about classical music and instead copies straight from American classics. My guess is the team that composed the music has no one who's gone through music school and are "self-taught" so to speak... I could be wrong, of course, but the music is not advanced (actually a bit flat and childish) and not original- however, the string section HAS to be original studio recordings- which is great! And played by professional orchestral musicians- THAT is something you can't miss. The fact that the foley is a bit obvious and out of place along with the music being too intense and overpowering leaves very little to the imagination, and sadly steals a lot of the intended creepiness of the movie. (Rule number ONE in horror- the sound is (usually) 80% of the movie!!!)

The child actors are not that great- but better than 90% of Hollywood (which is not much of an achievement). The trowel between the bricks is non existing and so the story, which has many great bricks (points, finesses)- falls apart. The finesses in the story leads to nowhere or are not properly focused on. It's like trying to juggle with 10 balls and catching only 5. Some stereotypical characteristics in characters occur, but that can of course be expected.

I would love this movie to be "re-cut" and with a new soundtrack (I mean, keep the original, just don't shove it in every intense scene) and make more sense in the story (have someone else read it and screen it for people first to get feedback)- and then have someone properly grade it (no "auto-detect" gradient, which at the moment feels like the case). Then the movie would be so much more!

Oh- and Achoura is NOT only a Maroccan celebration. It's an Islamic celebration (which stretches beyond Marocco, for the ones that didn't know). If you write: Ashura in Google- you will find it.

Enjoy the movie! It's worth a watch as, like I wrote, it still is the first horror movie by this guy. (Imagine all the potential)

It was bad from the plot to acting performance. And it did look like a comedy not like a horror. It was the first horror I watched without closing my eyes with my hands.

The only great plus here - MUSIC. It was rich, deep, dynamic, and made this film a little bit better. Though the music did not really suit the film again... but we were lucky to enjoy its melodies.

I hope director and the whole cast will have more interesting and better works in the future careers.