INVOKING SCREAM

***

Directed by Patricio Valladares.

Starring María Jesús Marcone, Luna Martínez, Teresita Rios, Matias López. Horror, Chile, 90 Minutes.

Reviewed as part of Tubi FrightFest 2026

This sequel to the found footage horror that told of the misadventures of a black metal trio of women venturing into a remote forest to record a paranormal backing track for their debut album deepens the story of lead singer Andrea from the late 1990’s, while adding a few new wrinkles courtesy of a documentary made by her cousin, Paulina years later in 2005. The conceit employed here of Paulina’s documentary into black metal and the mystery surrounding her missing cousin fills up the majority of the film, while older tapes from the late 90’s show just how deep the occult hole Andrea had dug herself into, so memorably in the first film.

Like the first film Valladares takes his time establishing his main trio and settling the action into the mundane as they walk further and further into the woods, blissfully unaware of the demonic forces that surround them. Interspersed with this are flashes of Andrea and more hints of her troubled backstory, showing just how psychotic she really was. The two threads gradually come together in a spooky, unsettling and chaotic fashion like a lot of found footage films do these days. Valladares gets much stylistic mileage out of the different video formats employed here, giving the film a visual and sonic palette that marks it out from the first film

While the pacing Valladares employs here may be a touch too measured for some, there is a doom laden sensibility at play that suggests he could really stretch the format into something new and exciting. It remains enticingly just out of reach here but with what looks like a, slightly, increased budget from its predecessor he manages to jolt the viewer with some truly unsettling and striking energy and imagery. Without going into spoilers, there is one quick shot of Andrea that plays out swiftly and silently and is one of the most striking images in a horror film this year. There are loose ends here so maybe Valladares has plans to spin out Andrea and her extended family's cursed story into a trilogy. Hopefully this is the case, and hopefully there will be an increased budget to show what he is truly capable of with the genre and this story.

Iain MacLeod