Dachra is like gelatin: full of filler that moves a lot but doesn't add any flavor or go anywhere.

This horror movie about a trio of journalism students in their mid-thirties investigating the wrong end of an urban legend suffers from some poor directorial choices where the main plot points do little to scare and the bloated transitions do little to set the tone.

What's left is a group of actors that deliver the goods (Yasmine Dimassi's performance as the lead is especially strong) in a rambling storyline and a twist that lacks a punch due to an ambiguous set-up.

Still, it's certainly a valiant effort. While director Abdelhamid Bouchnak's first film may not deliver much fright, it hopefully will open the door for him and other filmmakers to explore Maghreb folklore for more horror galore.