Notes
My quick rating - 4.7/10. Rosario is one of those frustrating horror films where all the right ingredients are on the table. Moody visuals, a talented lead, eerie supernatural overtones, but the finished product never quite rises to the occasion. Directed by Felipe Vargas and starring Emeraude Toubia in an almost solo performance, the film had the potential to be a haunting exploration of grief, family trauma, and occult legacy. Instead, it spends far too much time spinning its wheels and leaning heavily on atmospheric tension without delivering the payoff.
The premise sounds like a promising setup for psychological horror: after her estranged grandmother’s sudden death, Rosario, a Wall Street stockbroker, gets snowed in at the old woman’s apartment. There, she discovers a hidden chamber full of sinister ritual artifacts, triggering a series of disturbing supernatural events that tie back to her family's dark secrets. It should be a gripping descent into madness, but what unfolds is an excruciatingly slow burn that never builds enough momentum to justify its pace.
Let me be clear, the film looks great. The production design is rich and textured, with a stylish, shadow-heavy aesthetic that reinforces the suffocating isolation of the setting. Vargas’s direction is confident and deliberate, clearly influenced by slow-burn horror films like The Babadook or The Witch. Toubia gives it her all, anchoring the film with a committed and emotionally sincere performance. And when the scares do hit, they’re genuinely unsettling, showing some real craft in how the tension is staged.
But then there's the writing. Alan Trezza’s script is the film’s biggest flaw, offering a shallow and often baffling character arc for Rosario. For all her supposed intelligence and success, Rosario consistently makes decisions that feel outlandishly reckless or just plain dumb. Her actions don’t seem rooted in character, but in the script’s need to force the next creepy event to happen. It’s hard to stay emotionally invested when you’re constantly shaking your head at her complete lack of survival instinct or common sense.
Worse still, the film never fully unpacks the generational curse angle it teases early on. There’s an intriguing backstory buried under all the whispering spirits and flickering candles, but it remains frustratingly underdeveloped. The emotional catharsis that should come from Rosario confronting her family’s legacy just doesn’t land-likely because we’re never given enough to truly understand or care about that legacy in the first place.
In the end, Rosario is a visually impressive but narratively thin horror film that sacrifices substance for style. It’s not a total failure as there are moments of genuine dread. And Toubia deserves credit for carrying nearly the entire film on her own, but the sluggish pacing, frustrating character choices, and undercooked story ultimately hold it back. This could have been something haunting and memorable. Instead, it's a beautifully shot disappointment.
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