Horror Movie Review: 1978 (2024)

Argentinian horror films are few and far between, especially ones that take a liberal look at hell and utilise the backdrop of real-life events to paint a more realistic picture. A picture slick with blood as the story told here is a violent and gory one.

Set in 1978, a pivotal year for Argentina, hence the title, the film comes from co-directors and co-writers Luciano and Nicolas Onetti. It stars Agustin Pardella, Carlos Portaluppi, Mario Alarcon, Agustin Olcense, Maria Eugenia Rigon, and Paula Silva.

How’s your Argentinian history?

In 1976, a military coup overthrew Isabel Perón as President of Argentina, and a military junta was installed to replace her. What followed was a period of state-sponsored violence known as ‘The Dirty War’ conducted by the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance against political dissidents and anyone believed to be associated with socialism, communism, and other left-wing movements.

This is one part of the 1978 backdrop, alongside the World Cup final which pitted Argentina against Holland (the former would go on to win it). Two sides of a coin, one horrifying, one hopeful and both certainly helping ground the film in reality.

Although realism isn’t really an issue with 1978, in fact, for some, the realism might be too much to stomach as the film isn’t shy about spilling blood and guts in graphic fashion.

It certainly doesn’t help that the visual style of the film is dark and grubby, it is set within a remote detention centre and has some of the most immediately unlikable characters. Most of whom can be summed up as thugs enjoying the fact that they get to torture and maim. Their latest victims? A group of students suspected of being left-leaning and anti-government, and the leader of the AAA, Moro (Mario Alarcón), wants information about their plans.

For this group, it’s a fairly normal night and their blasé attitude to the horrors they dish out says as much, even if they would rather be watching/listening to the big game elsewhere. Though, missing Argentina’s incredible extra time win ends up being the least of their problems. You see, a mistake was made, and this group aren’t leftwing students looking to overthrow the authoritarian government. No, they’re a cult and in a stunning tone shift, the film goes from being about the horror, both physically and psychologically, that humanity can inflict on each other, to Satanic surrealism and demonic based pandemonium. It’s an absolute mess of a shift, but the grotesque way the film goes about it, makes for a compelling watch.

There’s evil around every corner, and it is displayed in such bleak fashion that it will likely leave the viewer feeling thoroughly despondent. You won’t find happiness here. However, considering the overall context of the film, it makes sense to mire the viewer in darkness.

Honestly, it felt like the sort of film I should love and, in some ways, I do, however it does have some glaring faults that are hard to look past. Simply put, it’s a challenging watch and a lot of that challenge comes from the frenetic and disjointed pacing. I don’t mind the handbrake screech and turn, but it’s arguably where the film begins to really lose its way even if it has entertaining moments. The longer it goes on, the messier it becomes, leading to what I think is a unsatisfying finale with very few answers.

As frustrating as this is though, I still find myself warm to the film, even if I suspect that it’s more about my personal penchant for the horror on display than anything else. I like hell stuff, I like demon stuff, and I like it delivered in an abstract way. That is what 1978 offers, warts and all.