On The Third Day has some great horror movie aspects in it but unfortunately feels a lot longer than it should.
On The Third Day is a horror movie that eventually settles in to some scary moments, but it takes a bit too long to get there. Right from the start the story takes too long to build, and most viewers will find themselves looking at their watches waiting for things to pick up. The plot itself is a decent one, with a lot of potential, but by the time it gets good, no one will likely care anymore.
On The Third Day starts with Cecilia and her young son Martin getting in a car accident, and then jumps forward to three days later where Cecilia is found wandering the road by herself. There is a mystery to be unraveled here as to where her son could be, what happened to him, and what has she been doing for the last three days.
When people start being murdered, the plot thickens. A religious man joins the story and here is where things get a bit too complicated and all over the place. There seem to be two different stories going on, and while it is clear they will eventually connect, the jumping between the two is not done seamlessly.
On The Third Day becomes convoluted and chaotic, until finally the pieces are put together when Cecilia is brought to a hypnotist to discover her side of the story. The problem is this is a bit too late for those who have already lost interest. But if you have powered through the movie, the end is worth watching, as it brings it all together.
As for the special effects, they aren’t great. The severed heads look too fake, as does the blood, and the dialogue is often a misstep. One thing that should be pointed out is this was watched with English dubbing, so the movie might sound better with its original language.
The overall plot is intriguing enough and has a lot of potential. There are just several missteps along the way that take away from what it could have been. The last twenty minutes or so, when the story all comes together and everything is revealed, is quite good. The “big bad” of the film could have used something else, and does seem to come off a bit cheesy at times, but because the story itself ends really well, that part can be forgiven.
About On The Third Day
One dark night, Cecilia and her young son Martín are in a terrible car accident. Three days later, she wanders along a lonely road, her son nowhere in sight. As she desperately looks for her child, Cecilia can’t remember what happened during her missing time. Eventually, the distraught mother finds parallels to her case in police files, linking to a brutal killer on the loose. The mysteries grow when Cecilia encounters a “religious man” responsible for the unsolved murders. To her, he is a lunatic. To him, Cecilia is the enemy…
On The Third Day is playing at the 2021 Fantasia Film Festival.
