It is such a good production from all points of view! Excellent director, actors, camera work, locations, editing and everything else that involves the making of a picture (the sound effects and the music are superb).Unfortunately the weak point is the storyline.The plot is so convoluted and totally implausible that only the excellency of the acting and the good tempo of the movie gets you in your seat till the very end of this picture. If you don't question all the time-jumps, time traveling and confusing apparitions it makes a fun movie to pass a couple of hours, but if you are the analytical type... forget it. It's a real pity because the premise is very interesting --the Desaparecidos during the military dictatorship in Argentina-- in fact it is an Argentinian chapter as interesting as the civil war in Spain during the 1930s, but getting dead people appearing and floating in midair takes the whole thing to an Exorcist atmosphere that takes away all credibility.

Following a visit to their comotosed, estranged father, brother and sister, Pablo and Malena, find an old diary which in turn leads them to strange and haunting discoveries and situations.This co-Argentine-Spanish offering (translated as The Appeared) falls into similar territory as Los Cronocrímenes, Intacto, and Fermat's Room, in the fact that the viewers expectations are stretched, the narrative constantly changing. What is fun, if somewhat frequently implausible, is the many situations the protagonists get themselves into. Each set piece covers familiar ground to standard horror conventions (we get the slasher-killer; the road chase with the 'unseen' driver; haunted house scares), yet always done with the reign pulled tight as not to fall into parody.Add into the mix historic elements, where we discover the truth about the people and locations that Pablo and Malena find themselves involved with, as well as a truly haunting ending, and you have a neat, ambitious ghost story which although may not fully succeed, in the most part holds the viewers interest throughout.

Let me start out by saying that I gave it a 7/10 due to the misleading "horror" movie this film is supposed to be(?). I don't know if the horror genre with this movie is the way to go. Another review calls it a "horror with a supernatural twist/thriller within a mystery", I'd leave out the horror part and say it describes it perfectly. That being said, I enjoyed it for the most part, as it was entertaining and had unexpected twists (with some old horror movie ingredients).It's a different way to tackle some social-political issues that have been left unresolved in Argentina. Very BOLD in terms of how the subject matter was dealt with (one of the other reasons I gave it a fairly high rating).I feel I need to clarify points, misunderstandings the movie may've caused others who've seen it:1. There is NO mention of any political affiliation of the parents in the film. There is only a blatant assumption that they're communist by the doctor. You must take into account that in the 1976-1982 dictatorship, the communists weren't the only ones targeted. There were socialists, Christian-democrats, Peronists, unionists, liberals, activists (in general) etc. And anyone who had significant ties or any ties for that matter, or simply questioned the regime would be considered suspicious, not to mention a potential target.2. Where is there in the film any hint of a communist vanguard and what lack of evidence? If you refer to the woman telling the Malena about her experiences and the fact that one of her friends disappeared because he went to a "marcha" (protest-march), please refer to point Nº1.3.The movie was filmed in Argentina: The City of Buenos Aires and in the Patagonia. The Castilian "dialect" is rioplatense (spoken in Uruguay and Argentina).The end was the part that most impacted (me, at least) as the siblings were now able to see all the ghosts of the people who were "missing" (keep in mind in Spanish "missing" and "disappeared" in this case are the same word=desaparecido/s). Aparecidos= (the) Appeared. For this reason I felt the title was perfect and the ending not only appropriate, but surprising, non-conventional, in a very good way.

Mystery with supernatural overtones about a brother and sister who go to sign off on the impending death of their father in a hospital. Complications almost instantly arise ("We were only suppose to sign papers, not see him" balks the girl). While traveling after signing the papers they discover discover an old diary and some pictures, things which tell the story of a serial killer, a killer that may still be operating. I've completely botched that and to be perfectly honest short of reading a straight synopsis there is no way, none, to really describe this film. Its a film that refuses to go in any direction except its own. It plays with reality, refuses to adhere to conventions and tells a story that only completely makes sense when you get to the end of it... and in my case its the sort of thing I know I need to see again to get a handle on. I have no idea if I liked it or not. I know that my insistence that the film be a certain something had me working against it. Thats not the way to enjoy this film, its something that you have to let take you where it wants to take you. Can I recommend it? Certainly if you're willing to let it go and do. I do like bits of it, and there are bits I'm not crazy about, but at the same time any film that makes me want to watch it again (even if its to work out what I just saw) is worth a shot.