Dachra - Comments & Tips

This looks like a Tunisian Blair Witch. Journalist students are inquiring about an old case of a crazy woman found in the woods. They end up in a lost village in the middle of the forest. The image often look grey, dirty but thankfully no shaky cam. A lot of scenes are just the three main characters joking/arguing with each other. Then everything is completely classic: Some weird stuff in the village, women are not talking. But a guy is overly hospitable, invites them, then find more or less likely excuses to keep them more. No signal in the village. At some point their car is broken and they''re stuck. Weird stuff happens at night. Somebody tell them to flee but they ignore it. There''s a lot of meat, no need to be a medium: of course it''s human. Really all the cliche elements you would expect and nothing more. Obviously [spoiler]they get killed at the end[/spoiler]. A little bonus point for [spoiler]the betrayal[/spoiler] that was not so obvious. It''s standard, not bad but not particularly well done either. I guess the point is that it''s something that is not usually done in Tunisian cinema.

Not bad at all for a Tunisian horror movie. The focal point of the plot is unique. I Watched this twice with friends, and I noticed the funny moments here and there and then the ceepy scenes displaying the black magic and conveying the Tunisian legends that are forgotten or were often told to scare little kids. Overall, it''s a fun movie to watch with friends if you have time to spare on a weekend. I hope the tunisian cinema can go further and produce more and more movies that are actually well executed and interesting like this one.

After Baskin (Turkey) and Under the Shadow (Iran) I was looking forward to this Tunisian horror flick. Sadly there''s a lot of things wrong with this one in particular. It starts with some technicalities in the picture composition, the run time of almost two hours, but what killed it for me was the fact that the protagonists do not pick wrong options when making decisions, the actually seem to pick the worst option possible. What little atmosphere the movie manages to create is usually instantly destroyed by the aforementioned decision making, the hysterical babbling / screaming of the female protagonist or both. [spoiler]Also has a not so well-hidden twist at the end.[/spoiler] Sub-par, but maybe there''s potential for horror flicks from that country.

Dachra is like gelatin: full of filler that moves a lot but doesn't add any flavor or go anywhere. This horror movie about a trio of journalism students in their mid-thirties investigating the wrong end of an urban legend suffers from some poor directorial choices where the main plot points do little to scare and the bloated transitions do little to set the tone. What's left is a group of actors that deliver the goods (Yasmine Dimassi's performance as the lead is especially strong) in a rambling storyline and a twist that lacks a punch due to an ambiguous set-up. Still, it's certainly a valiant effort. While director Abdelhamid Bouchnak's first film may not deliver much fright, it hopefully will open the door for him and other filmmakers to explore Maghreb folklore for more horror galore.

Sent off with a documentary video assignment, a trio of journalism students hubristically journey to a small town to solve the 25-year-old cold case of a mysteriously mutilated woman now committed to an asylum, they come upon an isolated community packed with dark secrets. The film is competently made and overall pretty impressive considering it is described as Tunisian first horror film and also director's debut. It's atmospheric and suspenseful, loaded with haunting imagery and grotesque violence. The mystery builds really well with disorienting framing that gives you feeling of discomfort. The story feels familiar but the unfamiliar setting and cultural aspect sets it apart and the dynamic between the lead characters keep it interesting. It does suffer from pacing issues and I feel like it needs some serious trimming but it nevertheless an interesting horror film that offers genuine scares and can easily get under your skin.