‘Some creatures are meant to stay in the dark’
Achoura is a 2018 Moroccan-French fantasy horror film directed by Talal Selhami from a screenplay co-written with Jawad Lahlou and David Villemin.
The movie stars Sofiia Manousha, Younes Bouab, Omar Lotfi and Iván González.
Plot:
Three friends who had lost contact meet again when one of their friends, who disappeared twenty-five years ago, suddenly comes back into their lives. Together, they will have to confront the terrifying events of their youth and fight a monstrous creature born from a horrible legend…
Reviews:
“That’s it’s so reminiscent of IT does it a disservice, even if the movie itself cannot be faulted for the comparison. It’s a serious, sombre meditation on the death of innocence, bleaker than what Stephen King offers and full of powerful, evocative imagery all the way to its final moments.” Bloody Disgusting
“It’s standard genre fare, very closely patterned on American or Japanese horror film formulae – but the cultural context makes it fresh, and the versatile, impressive monster (which has a detachable face that flaps open to reveal a head-swallowing maw) delivers proper scares and shocks.” The Kim Newman Website
“There’s no clean resolution here, only dread for the future of the surviving characters. Achoura works as a dark fairytale in many ways and might appeal to those who are fans of Andy Muschietti’s Mama or the films of Guillermo del Toro. Romain Paillot’s score is a definite high point.” Morbidly Beautiful
“The character work is the most interesting part of the film and that’s a good thing […] Achoura is an old fashioned monster movie that concentrates on the human evils and ignorance that mirror those of the fantasy world and how human beings must sooner or later reckon with those evils…” Nightmarish Conjurings
” …Achoura boasts a good deal of originality and is ultimately a fun fright flick that offers a fine share of suspense, a cool-looking demon (though the film sometimes shows its limitations regarding CGI effects), and solid performances from an ensemble cast playing characters for whom it is easy to like and get behind.” The Scariest Things
“The structure of jumping back and forth in time to find out how the group originally stumbled across the dilapidated house where the monster was hidden unravels the mystery at a steady and intriguing pace, perfectly blending frights, fantasy, and emotional revelations. Bougatate’s design alone feels quite unique, skeletal yet not of this earth and almost cartoonish enough for it to be a believable vision…” Scream Queens
” …the creature itself is well designed and executed. It’s obvious CGI was used, but it’s well done, especially for a low budget film. The unfamiliar Moroccan settings help make these scenes feel even more sinister.” Voices from the Balcony
Release:
In the US, Achoura is released by Dark Star Pictures on Digital platforms and DVD on December 14th 2021.
Cast and characters:
Sofiia Manousha … Nadia
Younes Bouab … Ali
Omar Lotfi … Samir
Iván González … Stéphane
Moussa Maaskri … Le Gardien
Mohamed Choubi … Majd
Jade Beloued … Nadia as a child
Abdellah El Yousfi … Ali as a child
Gabriel Fracola … Stéphane as a child
Celine Hugo … Bashira
Fabien Jegoudez
Chemsi Lahlou … Zineb
Gad Lahlou
Notes:
We originally posted about Achoura on April 26th 2019. This update coincides with the US release.
Teaser trailer:
Trailer:
Making of (French language):
