What the Waters Left Behind (2017) User Reviews

Where have we seen this 137 times before?

[Coventry · 3/10 · 19 April 2018]

Just because a horror film is Argentinian, it doesn't by default mean that it's worth seeing or even remotely interesting! "What the Waters Left Behind" looks appealing and gets programmed at international genre film festivals all around the world, but honestly the overall quality level never rises above that of any random sequel in the "Wrong Turn" or "The Hills have Eyes" franchises! It is a 200% derivative and uninspired South-American exploitation horror flick with dumb characters, poor performances, zero ingenuity or tension and lame & customary slaughtering. Some will refer to it as a loving tribute to the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre", but I'm simply calling it a blatant imitation. The continent of location is different, obviously, and the buzzing chainsaws are replaced by barbed-wired bludgeons, but apart from that it's an exact copy of Tobe Hooper's horror landmark. The only interesting thing I learned from watching "What the Waters Left Behind" is the sad historical disaster that overcame the town of Epecuén in 1985. The part about the poor inhabitants losing everything because of a flood and never receiving any help from the government to rebuild their homes is factual. The part about a bunch of irritating twenty-something imbeciles shooting a documentary about Epecuén but finding themselves kidnapped and tortured by a cannibalistic freak-family is fictional rubbish. I'm so sick and tired of wannabe shocking horrors with redneck/inbred families, by the way! We get it now: their dental hygiene is terrible and the mothers/fathers are even crazier and more bloodthirsty than the offspring.

This was my first acquaintance with the acclaimed directors' duo Luciano and Nicolas Onetti, and I must say I'm very disappointed. I sincerely hope their previous work is a lot better, since I just bought their film "Francesca" after reading that it was a visually striking giallo-homage.

Avoid

[dwt-491-620246 · 3/10 · 3 October 2018]

It seems that neighbors, families and countrymen of the creators of this cinematic extravaganza have turned up in droves to artificially inflate the rating. 6 (at this time) is way too high, and I only gave this a score of 3 for effort and location, although tragically wasted.

As the movie basically has no plot and the characters are all more or less tired copies of EVERYTHING in the genre from the last 25 years, there is not much to divert the attention from glaring plot holes (such as it is), overacting, bad camerawork, amateurish special effects and laughable props and masking. Coming soon to a Netflix near you.

The only saving grace for this movie would have been to continue the ripping off of other proven designs all the way to the end, with the usual (almost) everybody dies and that's it scenario. Alas, no. The creators (and I use that term loosely) decided that what the viewer needs after more than one hour of boredom and snickering at the ineptitude is a healthy influx of torture, rape and gore for the remainder of the runtime. This, in combination with the apparent 'victory' of the antagonists, is not a good send off, and does not invoke any other feelings than contempt and disgust. Well deserved.

Completely forgettable

[JairHCastillo · 2/10 · 21 June 2018]

Rarely I write reviews, but this film is so bad, that I feel compelled to warn people about it.

Granted, the trailer looks kinda cool, but that is it.

The plot is non-existent, the characters are all indistinguishable one form another, the acting is amateurish at best, the soundtrack sucks,suffers from editing problems, the twist near the end is so, SO stupid. I understand that some movies don't bring anything fresh to the table (in this case is a Texas Chain Saw Massacre / The Hills Have Eyes rip-off) but this movie is simply too bad & idiotic.

The only two OK qualities of the film are the photography and the locations.

Please, skip this one.

Starts out interesting and goes downward from there.

[mjrosato00 · 2/10 · 2 May 2018]

As I was watching this, I realized, as another reviewer stated, this was a ripoff of several movies, most notably, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Hell, they just about copied the scene with the family at dinner. There were also scenes similar to those found in The Hills Have Eyes, Blair Witch Project and Motel Hell. Not an homage to those films, but a blatant copy of scenes and stories. This film devolved into gore (to which I have no aversion, if it furthers the story). This was gore, for the shock value, IMO. Stay far away from this disaster.

Awful rip off

[Estebanosaurio · 1/10 · 9 April 2018]

I don't know where to begin. Is it a joke? This is simple, is a bad Texas chainsaw massacre rip off. Homage? yeah right. Bad acting, bad acting everywhere. Old ideas, old ideas everywhere. It's incredible how stupid this movie is, and how they spoiled a cool location. Because, there's no talent or story to waste in this. Only a good location. Awful. Do not waste your time with it, or just watch the original Texas chainsaw massacre. Or any other slasher movie. Even the Hatchet saga is a masterpiece next to it..

Are they kidding me?

[DawsonsCrack · 1/10 · 14 April 2018]

If u want to see "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", then please rent the original and don't bother with this shameless rip-off. The only shocking thing about this movie is how bad it is. The directing is so cliché, bland and down right horrible, u ask yourself which kid the Onetti Brothers kidnapped to fund this film. They should go to jail for this one.

Texas chainsaw massacre - copy - paste

[raptors-69747 · 1/10 · 11 June 2018]

You can guess what's going to happen during the entire movie and there are no surprises. The scare jumps are really bad, the music is awful and don't believe the 6.9 stars, for sure there were argentinians and the crew members of the movie who voted so high, I can't find any other logic explanation.

Bad acting, bad camera work, bad music, the make up is not that bad, storyline is stupid, locations are meh.

Really, if you haven't seen Texas chainsaw massacre, do it and don't waste your time watching bad this rip-off

What the Waters Left Behind

[turtleloverules · 7/10 · 21 January 2022]

This is an Argentinian movie that us similar to "The Devils Rejects". A cannibalistic family finds unsuspecting passers by and offer them a invitation to dinner. Really good but English subtitled.

Two stars just because of the filming places

[rafaelfuser · 2/10 · 30 July 2018]

Another foolish and planty of asshole sreaming adolescents movie. Don't waste your time with this garbage.

Worth the watch

[skeller-58505 · 8/10 · 5 July 2021]

This was one of my favorite types of horror film. I love the abandoned village or town stories. I know to completely disregard reviews on here- for the most part. I think people binge watch Hell's Kitchen, then become wanna be Gordon Ramsays. Instant critics.

Yes, the story will sound similar to other films you've seen. Wow, imagine that. A horror film who's story sounds similar to another one.

SOUTH ARMERICAN REDNECKS!

[kirbylee70-599-526179 · 7/10 · 6 June 2020]

Between films like THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, THE HILLS HAVE EYES and WRONG TURN one would think the US was the only country with backwoods redneck cannibalistic families. Turns out that isn't the case. With the film WHAT THEY WATERS LEFT BEHIND we now know you can find them in Argentina too. Who knew!

In 1985, an Argentinean village called Villa Epecuen was flooded when the nearby dam bursts. With little time to gather their things the villagers had to leave as quickly as possible. Now the water has subsided and a documentary film crew is heading in to look over the devastation. Along with them is one of those survivors, a woman who was a child at the time.

Along the way they stop at what appears to be the last gas station before arriving. A creepy old woman selling half rotted meat pies is the first person they encounter. A dilapidated and filthy bathroom is on hand for use. A weird mechanic is found to pump gas and a strange looking person is on hand in a back room. Fueled and read to go they hear off for the village.

An eerie location with dead trees lining the road and building ruined by the floods the crew finds it the perfect location to shoot their film. Using the memories of their young victim shot among those ruins they attempt to shoot what they can before heading out late in the afternoon. But problems arise as they always do in horror films. It appears as if the gas line on their van has been cut. Now someone needs to return to the gas station for fuel.

A car pulls up with a stranger inside who offers to take one of them to the station. The rest stay behind with the van and to shoot some more footage. On their way to the station the road is blocked by another car and someone wearing a bull's skull. Things are not going as planned.

Eventually crew members are picked off, some captured and all abused in one form or another. The culprits are a strange family, the ones we saw at the gas station, who have stayed behind in the village and become a sort of mutated group like those found in most films of this genre. Bloodletting, cannibalism and torture soon follow with a surprise twist like most films of this genre provide.

The question isn't whether this is a copycat movie but if it brings anything new to the genre. The answer is yes and no. The typical characters are here on display that one comes to expect from a film like this. It adds very little to those depictions we've seen over and over again. In that respect it isn't so much something new as something done in another country.

What does stand out is the amazing cinematography on display. The haunting atmosphere of the abandoned village is creep on its own but unless lovingly captured on film it wouldn't be as frightening. Cinematographer Facundo Nuble has brought a skill to his shots that is seen in bigger productions with a widescreen approach to what he films. It exceeds what most have come to expect from films in the horror genre.

Having to read the subtitles (not a complaint that's never a problem for me) it's difficult to say if all the performances were good, bad or indifferent. Those done by the backwoods family are par for the course and add nothing much to what you would expect. The rest just seem to be fodder for their antics.

The end result is a movie that's not bad but not spectacular either. Fans of the genre will undoubtedly enjoy this movie. Straight laced horror fans will find the last part of the film little more than torture porn. On the whole I would recommend it as long as you know what to expect going in. The nice twist adds to the film and might make the entire thing worth watching.

Not even in prison have I ever seen a toilet more disgusting then the one she used at the beginning of this film, Unbelievable is an understatement. 2/10🌟🌟

[tkaine3 · 2/10 · 4 January 2019]

If the "Hills have eyes" & "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" went on a vacation to Argentina and had a one night fling they're abandoned offspring would be "What The Waters Left Behind", I say abandoned because this film appears to have some relation to those horror classics but upon watching this flick you quickly realize it doesn't possess the same traits or attributes of good horror. The mystery element is thrown out the window every scene is easily predictable and has been done a thousand times before. The characters are doing things nobody in they're right mind would do like walking into a dirty hillbilly backwoods gas station and using a super filthy toilet seat covered in crap. But where this flick really gets derailed is the lack of force or adequate response for the action sequences. Like an old woman playfully and very lightly smacking a woman whose hands are clearly hitting her face more soft or lighter than a feather screaming at the top of her lungs, Or the guy getting stabbed with a machete and the blade clearly only goes one inch into the stomach but miraculously appears in another shot coming out of his back. The lack of attention to detail for this movie far outweighs the fun of watching beautiful girls get chased and ultimately tortured and sexually abused by a family of deformed psychopaths even for a quick late nite laugh. So in all honesty this film definitely should be avoided at all costs wasting time is something far more valuable then the shoe string budget this flick was produced from.

Trash

[kijowh · 1/10 · 26 August 2018]

Do yourself a favour and don't watch this movie. It's just blood and limbs all over the place.

Learn from my mistake

[natswim · 1/10 · 25 December 2018]

Going into this movie, you know right away that it certainly isn't going to be the best film. You are still left with what appears to be a semi-interesting plot, which gives off the impression that this film might be worth the watch. DO NOT BE MISTAKEN. It is not worth the watch, and it plummets downhill as it progresses further. Tacky, trashy movie that spirals down into pure gore. Avoid.

Skip this lousy copycat of TCM...

[Fella_shibby · 1/10 · 24 November 2018]

There is nothing redeeming about this copycat. There have been some decent copycats of TCM but this film is boring with a very lousy sex scene n the girl in the sex scene was acting n moving so fake man. Even during the running scene she was atrociously jogging. In one scene, the psychos barricade the road n one character removes the gun to shoot the psycho n the scene is abruptly cut n the gun character shown some place else. The film is filled with too many abrupt scenes. There is no tension or suspense n the kills r lousy.

Unattractive failed horror attempt.

[johannes2000-1 · 2/10 · 21 November 2018]

My dvd-copy of this movie had an English title: "What the waters left behind", so I was a bit surprised when it turned out to be an Argentinian production, but of course that doesn't make it any less interesting. On the contrary, South American cinema brings us many quality movies. Unfortunately that is not the case with this horror-movie, at least in my opinion.

It's a The Hills have Eyes clone, only set in an apocalyptical surrounding, after an enormous tidal wave apparently swept away big parts of the world (or of the country or of this specific area, it's not very clear how and what happened exactly). A group of documentary-makers go on a trip into the wasteland with a surviving victim, who they want to recall her own experiences in front of the camera while being confronted with the debris of her family house and home town. So far so good, with this premise is nothing wrong. But then things go fast downhill. The ruins where they film turn out to be inhabited by other survivors who walk around in creepy disguises and are set on killing the unwanted visitors in all kinds of sadistic and bloody ways. Why?? Beats me, I couldn't get the point of it all. I guess that at the end of the movie, when at last some sort of justification popped up by way of a major plot-shift, I was too exasperated to fully grasp it. After a tedious introductory first half of the movie where the group-members constantly bicker and whine among each-other and we get some gratuit sex-scenes, the second half is just filled with gore, pretty well done, I grant them that, but way over the top and utterly lacking any coherent story-line. Showing people one after another getting chopped and sawed and stabbed and covered in blood, and all this in dark and gloomy surroundings, may seem bold and realistic film-making, but thanks to over-kill (literally!) it achieves the contrary and gets ridiculous. Combined with bad acting this makes for an unattractive and uninteresting movie.

A complete disaster

[nicolascontrerasforero · 1/10 · 2 December 2019]

Far away from a decent movie. Copycat gore and poor story. Good photography. If you can, stay away from this waste of time.

Very stylish cool horror film!

[request-7 · 10/10 · 15 April 2018]

I don't know why the other two reviews here are so bad and unrealistic. I think they must been made up as they do not reflect the film at all in my opinion. I really liked the film, lots of homages yes but they are well done. The film is scary, very stylish, great acting and very entertaining. If you like horror, this is a must watch

Dorothy, We aren't in Texas anymore!

[rpmendoza · 1/10 · 18 July 2020]

I love foreign films. And I'm a big fan of the horror genre. But I have to say this is one of the worse foreign horror movies I have ever seen! Everything about this movie was so bad. You are better off watching the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre or The Hills Have Eyes.

I wanted this to be better

[BandSAboutMovies · 3/10 · 17 June 2020]

We've been covering the films of Luciano and Nicolas Onetti, two brothers who are seemingly obsessed with Italian giallo circa 1973, despite coming from Argentina. Otherwise known as Los Olvidados (The Forgotten), which is also a title of a Bunuel film, this movie finds them moving away from Argento worship and creating their own version of The Hills Have Eyes and, more to the point, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

The real star of this movie is Epecuen, which was once a thermal water spa that drew thousands of tourists. In 1985. the city was submerged underwater. Those that didn't want to leave were taken by force and it took nearly thirty years for the flooding to subside, which left a desert behind.

The plot itself is rather threadbare, with a documentary crew getting stranded and killed one after the other by the residents of the town that have gone nowhere. There's also a father looking for his daughter and some of the worst leading characters ever, but then again, if you are going to emulate Chainsaw, you should go all the way. After all, they rode into town in that van.

I like the Onetti brothers and look forward to the day where they push past the movies they love and make something brand new that can inspire someone else.

God awful slow and uneventful...

[paul_haakonsen · 3/10 · 29 August 2021]

So what did the waters leave behind? Boredom for starters.

I was lured in to watch the 2017 horror movie "What the Waters Left Behind" (aka "Los olvidados") given the movie's cover and the fact that this was a horror movie that I hadn't already seen. Yeah, I really liked the design of the cover for this movie, and seeing it was a guarantee win-me-over moment.

Sure, I hadn't even heard about "What the Waters Left Behind" prior to getting to sit down to watch it here in 2021. So I wasn't sure what the movie was about, nor what to expect. So writers Luciano Onetti, Nicolás Onetti and Carlos Goitia had every opportunity to impress me here.

I made it about halfway through the ordeal that is known as "What the Waters Left Behind", then I just gave up out of sheer and utter boredom. Nothing interesting had happened, aside from a headbashing moment in the very beginning of the movie. So the pacing of the storytelling in "What the Waters Left Behind" was just atrociously slow, boring and uneventful. So directors Luciano Onetti and Nicolás Onetti lost me along the way, and I am not getting back in the boat.

The acting in the movie was so-so. Nothing outstanding here really. But then again, it wasn't really reflecting well on the actors and actresses that the character gallery in the movie was every bit as mundane and boring as the storyline. And the inferior dialogue wasn't really selling the movie all that well either.

In terms of this being a horror movie, then this was a swing and a miss. Hardly anything going on here that would be classified as horror, unless you consider being bored to tears horror.

My rating of the 2017 movie "What the Waters Left Behind" lands on a mere three out of ten stars. At least they tried.

Gruesome

[adeleysim · 5/10 · 7 March 2019]

I didn't mind that this film was like Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I saw it as a good homage to it, and I found the horror scenes to be gruesome and shocking. Some elements were really super gross, and I feel like seasoned horror fans would appreciate that.

Dire

[kathmummybear · 1/10 · 15 November 2020]

Truly awful ! There is absolutely nothing original in this film .everything is taken straight from Texas chainsaw massacre even then they've managed to do a terrible job of it ! Listen up people ! Everyone's moved on from this kind of horror it's outdated

I'm sure there was a good horror somewhere hiding in it.

[peterp-450-298716 · 5/10 · 10 November 2018]

Epecuen looks like the scene from a movie. A horror movie...

The Onetti brothers could have made it easy on themselves by dubbing the movie "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" to an Argentine version. Because to be honest, this movie "Los Olvidados" is almost a perfect copy of this legendary film. Only the location and the freakish characters are different. The whole story is situated in Argentina. More specifically in Villa Especuén. A town in the province of Buenos Aires that was completely flooded by a salt lake in 1985 after a period of heavy rainfall. The images used are therefore authentic. Even the slaughterhouse (Matadero) that can be seen in this film, is a lonely witness to the terrible disaster. Yet another advantage for the filmmakers. They could save seriously on the budget for the scenery.

Saying that "Los Olvidados" is a complete failure, is also a bit exaggerated. Admittedly, it certainly won't win a prize for originality. Literally, all items that are necessary to make a film similar to that of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", were checked off on a list. First, you have the ramshackle van, filled with a bunch of people on their way to Especuén to make a documentary about this lost city. The fact that their cumulated IQ most likely won't exceed that of a hamster, was to be expected. And of course, there are two bimbos who wouldn't be out of place on one or another Argentine street corner. They take care of the erotic part. Obviously, a tiny jeans pants is mandatory in this case.

Furthermore, there's an annoying director. Then there's a woman who witnessed the disaster at first hand. She seems to be the smartest of them all. Next, you have a serious guy who apparently joined reluctantly and is constantly scribbling in a sketchbook. And finally, there's a brown-bronzed, muscular young macho who's driving the van and constantly flirts with the director's girlfriend. As soon as this gang has been proposed, you can start guessing who will survive the bloodbath.

You don't have to wait long before the lugubrious figures are introduced. They live in a dilapidated, filthy gas station and their appearance speaks volumes. A mixed bag of strange folk who look unkempt and insane. That these left behind, uncivilized figures will cause problems is plain as day. And from then on, this film transforms from an easy going road-movie to a bloody slasher. And what's necessary for this type of film, certainly isn't missing. And these are gruesome, distasteful images in which sharp objects and accessories from a real slaughterhouse are used with enthusiasm. Sure, the used images aren't all exaggerated or nauseating. Mostly it's simply brutal and "right in your face" violence.

Unfortunately, the brilliantly shot scenes of Especuén and the bloody fragments aren't enough to make this a great film. The editing of this movie was sometimes very confusing. It seemed as if short scenes were cut out. As if the censorship committee had intervened. There were also meaningless scenes that only served as filler. Like the girl dancing in a bikini. It looked like an amateur-made video clip of a local Argentine hip-hopper. The plot twist at the end was also extremely predictable. And the images made with a drone are also something I'm sick of. It surely produces some hallucinatory images. But nowadays this is used in films time and time again.

All in all, this film is a must see for the fans of this particular horror genre. The acting wasn't shockingly bad. The insane family members were really frightening at certain times and acted in a schizophrenic, psychotic way. Especially the head of the family acted completely disturbed. And I got cold chills from the old woman. Also the look of the place where the family leads their life was successful. A frenzied place full of filthiness and blood-curdling props. Unfortunately, that's the only thing I will remember from this average film. If the makers had put in more Argentine quirkiness, the end result might be much better.

Enough with this sadistic muck!

[graham-harvey · 2/10 · 7 December 2020]

Enough with the chain sawing & torture & cow heads & horns. Stop making people afraid to go out into the world! People may say that it is just a movie, but this sort of junk seeps into people's minds & makes them fearful. Fearful around others & fearful of different locations. Distance yourself from this junk & start to see the good in the world. Let this muck go. The people in the movie industry making money from these sadistic violent terrifying dross need to lose their incomes & that will happen when humanity rises to a more evolved state, not by sticking their heads in the violence of our human history. Compassion will be the future as we ignore this muck & turn towards productions that are more evolved & really have advanced things to say.