graeme-206-255002 Reviews

The Speak (2011)

WTF...Where Did The Budget Go ?

[3/10 · 2 October 2012]

..oh wait, there it is...in Tom Sizemore's back pocket.

A rather impressive opening ten minutes, quickly fades away leaving a mediocre found footage candidate, and one that will equally as quickly, fade away from the viewer's memory.

Valiant efforts clearly went into developing the characters as they slip and slide through the introductions and scene-setting, however, of the three main protagonists, only one, Paige, shines through the torrent of ad-libs and scripted dialogue. The other two, especially Luis, struggled to get to grips with the basic premise of not only the movie, but also, the genre in which they are filming. Emotions were tortured and unbelievable, giving the viewer very little in the way of empathy, and this continued throughout.

The addition of Tom Sizemore in this movie, is lost on this reviewer. His part was so small and confusing, that it really didn't add anything to the experience, indeed, for someone with a rich history is some top movies, he seemed out of place and uneasy about his part, struggling with the script throughout.

It's the same old clichéd main content as you move into the bulk of the film, and whilst there are movies out there (Grave Encounters) that pull this off with great ease and stunning visuals, The Speak falls into the category of trying hard, but not hitting the mark.

There was/is huge potential with the storyline they put across at the start, however the plot is buried amongst some pointless exchanges between the lesser cast members, so that if you blink, chances are, you've missed it.

It's difficult to not give away spoilers, because The Speak is your run of the mill standard found footage movie ie...movie makes stumble around a disused building, meet some maligned spirit, and all die.

Anthony Pierce makes a good job of trying to include a sense of foreboding, however some major errors in continuity spoil the movie - for instance, when Tom Sizemore's character states very clearly, "I hope you've got torches, cuz there ain't no power in there" - you would rightly expect a nice dark atmosphere, lit by torchlight and the occasional infra red shot, but no, Pierce forgets all about that, and has the building under full power with lights switching off and on at will.

Small things like that, will stick in the mind of the hardened found footage fan, and as a result, spoil the experience.

Another "it could've been so good" movie, let down by not concentrating on what makes these movies successful.

Fear.

Hollow (I) (2011)

Confusing, Unimaginative and Vague

[1/10 · 1 October 2012]

The sooner the writers of Hollow find their plot and storyline, would they be so good as to post them online so that viewers can get closure ? Whilst the film starts off very well, following the tried and tested found footage methodology, character development falls short, and we are left with very little empathy towards the main cast. Undoubtedly some movies get away with this, but in a film that only really has 4 actors, any lack of warmth towards the cast, immediately puts you on edge, struggling to get to grips with their interactions and as a result, the story.

Filming POV like this, it is, granted, difficult at times to pull through protagonist's emotions and demeanours, but to completely overlook this for an entire 90 minutes is borderline criminal. Usually, when main leads get killed off, the viewer will experience some sort of emotion - relief, sadness, guilt or even at times, joy - but towards the end of this film, even though we know they are going to die, their deaths come as a void of nothingness and to coin a phrase, meh.

The viewer has to dig deep to try and work out the sub plots embedded in this, those sub plots are tenuous and flimsy to say the least, and it's more by accident than design, that we get to a relatively acceptable conclusion. If the writers were trying to be clever, then sorry, there's a massive difference between clever and subtle, or more appropriately, stupid and contrived.

The ending, and I'm surmising at this point, was more to do with love rejected, and nonacceptance at the new dynamics of a relationship, leading to suicide, and whilst that subject in itself is not one to be laughed at, the way the writers and director went about putting the message across, is, I'm sorry to say, laughable.

That angle of the story is somewhat clear, however as mentioned previously, the varying sub plots and character interaction detract from what in essence, should have been a very strong, very clear message.

This is not a movie you will enjoy watching, which is a pity, because the premise of it, could have given us a strong film.

3/10

Bigfoot: The Lost Coast Tapes (2012)

The New Benchmark in Found Footage ?

[10/10 · 31 August 2012]

...possibly.

Such is the brilliance of the straight to VOD title, that it's unfortunate many people will either miss it, or, simply because it's a found footage movie, pass it by.

Miss it or Pass on by - either way, you'll be making a huge mistake, because this little gem ticks all the boxes, and leaves you wanting more, much more.

Writers O'Cain and Kelsey have crafted together a wonderful little story, that doesn't pretend to be something it's not - and throughout this, they manage to invoke the full range of emotions in their excellent writing. Corey Grant has taken this, and directed something that should, if there was any justice, have been released to a wider theatrical audience, he's a director that can only go on from this and we will see a lot more from.

Trying hard not to put any spoilers in this review, because it needs to be savoured for every single minute, suffice to say, that the characters are what made this movie a complete and utter success.

From the selfishness and arrogance of the lead presenter Sean, to the absolute comedic brilliance of Darryl, whose one liners had me in complete fits of laughter, every single character on the screen does their job above and beyond what's usual in the rapidly stagnating found footage genre. A special mention to Kevin the Sound Dude - absolutely hysterical.

Whilst the opening half of the movie trades between near comedy and seriousness, Grant gets that all out the way and moves into the very dark, and very foreboding second half, where the moods change, and the atmosphere becomes noticeably more threatening. This is not the sort of movie where you need to see what's attacking, the psychological trauma of being in that situation is all to evident.

The ending will leave you wanting more.

Frustratingly wanting lots more.

A complete gem of a masterpiece in the found footage genre -do not let it pass you by.

If Finding Bigfoot was a movie, then The Lost Coast Tapes would be it.

Outstanding.

10/10

Haunted Poland (2011)

Raw, Real and Refreshing

[9/10 · 28 August 2012]

Haunted Poland is a found footage genre film that most people will pass by, pre-judging it simply because it's "found footage"...sometimes, this is justified, because perhaps 8 out 10 of these genre films just don't cut it - they try to do too much, which mostly doesn't work.

Pau Maso has taken the found footage premise and come away with something that is exactly how FF films should be...something that The Last Broadcast and the early pioneers of the genre mastered - producing a low budget film that actually does scare you. Couple that with the little things, like no credits, no phoney FBI warnings etc, and you've got something that to an extent, can be construed as believable.

There's no gore, there's no monster, there's no killer on the loose wearing a ski-mask - what there is though - is a dark, brooding storyline that Maso develops brilliantly throughout, culminating in an ending that can only be described as chilling.

From a well thought out plot, to subtle fast cut scenes - the characters are developed with an expert hand, rapport with them building as the film goes on. There's no forced dialogue, all characters are clearly at ease with each other which shows in their performances.

Haunted Poland is not a movie to go and see if you are expecting blood and guts, this is a psychological and progressive look into what could happen as events overtake normal people going about their everyday lives.

Outstanding addition to the Found Footage sub genre.

9/10

Greystone Park (2012)

Lessons in How to Make a Found Footage Movie

[9/10 · 27 August 2012]

Sean Stone would appear to have inherited his father's talent at making movies, and whilst Sean has a somewhat lower budget than what his father is used to, he still packs a punch when it comes to delivering the end product.

The obvious comparison to movies like Grave Encounters will no doubt abound, however, it should be noted that Greystone Park/Asylum Tapes, or it's original title, Secret Stone, was made during 2009-2010, which predates films like Grave Encounters, Episode 50 and the ilk.

What Greystone does though, is to do it properly - no glitz, no glamour, no comedy - just downright pervasive filmmaking that's designed to get under your skin.

Sean Stone from the outset, once we're beyond the obligatory introduction sequence (including an appearance from his father), makes full use of fast cutting - some of the images that are almost subliminal, really do make your hair stand on end - coupled with very clever lighting techniques, designed, filmed and depicted very very well, leaves the viewer with a real uneasy feeling for pretty much the entire movie.

Stone wisely chooses to film in real light as opposed to the "usual" green filtering, and this method is perfectly suited to the film's dark premise, to "go green" would place this film squarely into the middle of road production that really drags the sub genre down.

The tension builds exponentially throughout the latter half of the film, not pausing long enough to give the viewer time to contemplate what's gone before, before slapping them in the face with another montage of fast cut scenes and dark shadows, before culminating in an ending that makes you think. Really makes you think.

Viewers are now jaded to the found footage genre, with each new release already scored down purely on the basis that it is a found footage movie, so it's refreshing to see a director come along and produce a high quality movie, packed with exceptional scares and in your face chills.

Look beyond the fact that this is a found footage movie and let go- this is one movie that comes very very close to being a genre defining production.

9/10

Airborne (II) (2013)

How to Make Asylum Movies Look Good

[1/10 · 30 July 2012]

Black & Blue productions usually produce some decent titles, however, this must have been contrived from an office party, or worse, for a bet.

They crammed so many genres and parodied movies into this one 90minute film, that the viewer is left struggling to keep up, horror/drama/thriller/chiller/psychological/children's/war - they're all there, presumably trying to satisfy anyone who foolishly puts this into their DVD player.

The reasonably well known British actors ham it up wonderfully, all their RADA training paying dividends as they munch their way through the abysmal script - clearly ad-libbing the bits they felt warranted more cheese. Set design and the FX are right out of Airport 75, and the cinematographer always seemed to be 5 seconds behind the action - which doesn't bode well for the viewer trying to keep up.

I'm still left, even now, trying to work out exactly what the plot was - was it a virus, was it a ghost, was it a poor attempt to copy Quarantine 2, or, was it a cast off from Dickinson's Real Deal coming back to get revenge ? I've no idea, but whatever it was, clearly didn't work.

Black & Blue should stick to pwopah notty nuttah stories wif Danny Dyer - at least then, you know what you're getting.

Sorry - but save your braincells.

1/10

The Squad (2011)

Quality Colombian Product

[8/10 · 19 June 2012]

Having waited for this release an eternity, I was desperately clinging onto the slim chance that it may have been a worthwhile wait, especially given that in most cases, the wait is better than the end product.

Not in this case however.

El Paramo (The Squad) is a highly polished, very well produced, dark thriller from a country who in my experience aren't noted for successful movie exports.

It puts many mega budget blockbusters to shame, filmed with such care and attention, that from the first scene until the last, I was hooked.

No hammy acting or poor scripting dialogue in this - everything was way above and beyond anything I've seen for a long time, and belies the country of origin and also the relatively smallish budget. All actors delivered their lines with ease, their emotions throughout heightening the tension that the writer and director were aiming for, and the locations used were suitably spooky and dark.

It's a difficult movie to classify - some will say horror, others thriller - to me this was more a psychological thriller more than anything else - a lot of unseen tension based on unseen forces.

Going down that route is a very difficult skill to master as a writer and a director - keeping the audience glued to the screen whilst not showing anything of horror is a talent that abounds in the movie - to successfully manage to portray a story of the breakdown of a regimented society in a short space of time,whilst running with an underlying hint of the paranormal worked perfectly.

It's a shame this won't get the release it deserves, however, I'd really like to see more from the writers and director as they've got a supreme talent that deserves more recognition.

Top notch 8/10

Alien Origin (2012 Video)

The Lunatics Are Taking Over the Asylum

[1/10 · 12 June 2012]

Or, to be perfectly honest, they are running the film industry.

Actually, that's a typo - it's not running, it's ruining.

Another Asylum lunatic fringe production that adds nothing to any genre - it tries to be found footage, but misses the point, it tries to be horror, but misses the point, it tries to be scifi, but misses the point..indeed the only point it manages to successfully achieve and surpass, is the point when you realise that that's another 90minutes of your life that the Asylum have stolen from you.

And that's depressing.

I'm curious as to what future blockbuster they were trying to mimic - I sincerely hope it wasn't Prometheus, because if it was, the fail factor is off the chart - it's like they read a précis of the prequel to Alien, and tried to pre-empt what Ridley Scott was going to make. And failed with such catastrophic ease, that it's actually criminal to try and market this movie to the general public.

If it wasn't Prometheus, then I'm left with the only other option, and that being that it was an Asylum original movie. And that's wrong on so many levels.

The story itself was all over the place, I can't even begin to try and explain the mess the writer came up with. First they were doing an exercise in the jungle, then they were chasing "unknowns", then they were rescuing archaeologists (which, when you see the cut away scenes, will make you cringe), then were finding alien spacecraft in the middle of the said jungle whilst expressing not one bit of amazement at the discovery...

Casting selections looks to have been made with blindfold at the end of a drunken night out with the boys, whilst they were decent enough actors, the mish mash ethnicity just didn't work coupled to the abysmal script and director-less production - all added together to leave us with a dogs dinner of a movie.

Still, the fireworks throughout the tail end of the film were pretty.

Oh wait a minute....I just realised....it's a true story, and really happened...and they're all still missing...

Ah well - that's okay then.

In short - watch this movie at your own risk - a little piece of you may wither up and float away if you do.....

1/10

388 Arletta Avenue (2011)

Psychological Warfare.

[8/10 · 16 May 2012]

Finally, a film in the sub genre that actually works. I want to call this a found footage, however, it's not really, and maybe that's exactly why it works so well - there is no pretense that these events are "real", there are no ridiculous "shaky cam" moments that give you motion sickness.

Instead, Randall Cole gives us a solid bit of film-making, taking the POV genre to a new level with a well thought out storyline, excellent character development, and solid direction.

It's a story that could easily play out in real life, and Cole seamlessly takes us through the gradual break down of a relationship, one that he hints deliciously that has some deeper, darker demons in the past, but one we don't fully(or indeed need) get to see. The psychological turmoil faced by "James", brilliantly played by Nick Stahl, gets more over-powering as Cole takes on his journey into hell, culminating in a shocking ending that will leave you wanting more.

There's a definite feel of "The Poughkeepsie Tapes" about 388 Arletta Avenue, but this is a good thing, because whilst the Tapes has been around for several years, it's still somewhat unheard of and still a groundbreaking movie for what the story contains - 388 Arletta takes the premise and brings it right into your living room.

388 Arletta Avenue - unrelenting, unremitting. Unmissable.

8/10

Apartment 143 (2011)

Found Footage Gold

[8/10 · 30 April 2012]

I've watched most found footage films out there, and if I'm honest I went into this blinkered and expecting the worse, given most suffer from the usual poor storyline, poor acting or poor directing.

Emergo however, caught me by surprise and I found myself sucked in straight from the outset and immediately realised that this found footage movie, IS something special.

It's a shame that talented directors and writers will get tarnished by the poor efforts that dominate this genre, but quality always rises, and I'm glad that Torrens stuck to his guns and made this the way he did - without going into spoilers - his direction and filming style is what made this film what it is, believable. Well, to a point. Taking aside the more obvious parts of it to one side, the rest of the movie sits together into an brilliant first person camera, and if you don't jump at the various suspenseful parts...

Torrens varies different techniques, from hand held to locked off cameras - the quality of each camera technique brilliantly pulled off - they all sit well together and add to the dark and overpowering feeling of the storyline.

Character development in this genre is the biggest bugbear of mine - it's either crammed into a poor introduction leaving you to fight with them for the remainder of the film, or, the development doesn't exist - with Emergo however, whilst the development is done throughout the film, it's done in such a way that it mimics how you would do it in real life - it's not rushed, it's REAL.

Maybe that's the key here.

Taking aside the more out of the ordinary aspects, the movie actually plays out as it would have done were it a real life situation and a family is being terrorised by something unseen. Scientists, investigators and doctors coming together to meet a family at the end of their tether, the haunted looks of each family member a testament to what is happening in their home.

Torrens pulls this all off brilliantly, and whilst the ending is maybe a little bit twee, I'm sure we've not seen the last of Emergo, and I sincerely hope Torrens goes on from strength to strength.

My advice is to not miss this movie - it's one of the best Found Footage movies out there.

8/10

Outpost: Black Sun (2012)

A Worthy Successor

[9/10 · 29 April 2012]

It's not often that sequels come along and surpass their predecessor, indeed, most are made to capitalise financially on the original, however with Outpost: Black Sun, love, care and attention has been lavished on the story, characters and direction, that it completely surpasses the original and moves the story brilliantly onwards.

Steve Barker and Rae Brunton have shown, that when given a larger budget, they can pull off a film that belies it's homely independent origins, indeed, the end result is worthy of a much higher budgeted blockbuster - had they been given a similar sized budget as that of movies like Iron Sky, then they would be staring at a global success. It's a shame, that movies like this, are destined for a straight to video release, because, they are more than able to hold their own in the box office with a wide release. Barker especially demonstrates his ability to maximise fully the limited budget and constraints to produce a film that has exceptionally high production values and sets that are simply breathtaking. When you take into account the filming locations, it's especially more impressive as instead of seeing a suburb of Glasgow, Barker places you brilliantly into the landscape of Europe. Production values like this, and talent such as this, are extremely rare in this genre.

The movie itself is a progression from the first Outpost, as Brunton and Barker take us forward in time slightly with the Nazis storming across the countryside, the zombies again showing their power and ability to destroy everything in their path, be that men, women or indeed, children.

The back story fits brilliantly - Barker and Brunton both managing to not fall into the trap of writing a sequel that doesn't sit with the original..my best test of this, is to watch both back to back - and in this case, the story flows through from one film to the next. They develop their characters with great skill and all actors perform perfectly in their roles. The casting of each part is perfect - but the stand out role for me, is Ali Craig in the role of Hall - his one liners at times are sheer comedic gold.

Once the end of the movie comes, Barker sets us up perfectly for the third installment, Outpost: Rise of the Spetsnaz, which is currently filming this time with Kieran Parker in the director's chair, and I for one, cannot wait to see the last part of this wonderfully brilliant independent horror trilogy.

Don't let this slip you by - if you've seen the first Outpost, you won't be disappointed.

9/10

Cassadaga (2011)

Indie Diamond

[7/10 · 17 April 2012]

Every once in a while, a low key movie comes along and makes you realise that there are writers and directors out there who enjoy making films, and more importantly, make them right.

Cassadaga is one of those.

Anthony DiBlasi works his magic over Bruce Wood's excellent story,. much in the same vein as Dread, but here, he manages to keep the suspense going right until the end. It's easy in this genre, to fall into the trap of letting the horror and gore overtake a great story, and in Cassadaga, the temptation to branch off to this must have be huge, however DiBlasi sticks to his guns, and directs us through the prickly path of the story mixing romance, horror, tension and chills in equal amounts to leave the viewer completely satisfied.

The casting of Kelen Coleman is a perfect - it's not often you watch a movie and instantly click with the lead actors, but Kelen's personality shines through from the start and the empathy immediately connects viewer and actor.

I don't like reviewing movies and putting spoilers in, and I'm not about to start now, suffice to say, that the suspense is carried through the entire film, and done brilliantly, and whilst the ending may not be as big a surprise as you may expect, it's delivered perfectly, closing off a superb chiller.

If you come across this little gem, don't pass it by, as you'll be missing out on an excellent film - grab it with both hands, sit back and let yourself go - you won't be disappointed.

7/10

The Corridor (I) (2010)

High Quality Indie Chiller

[8/10 · 3 April 2012]

The formula has been used before. However, the formula when used properly, yields little gems once in a while, and this little gem shines through in a sea of mediocrity in the thriller/horror genre.

Evan Kelly has taken Josh Macdonald's story and given us a brilliant insight into the world of perceived mental illness, and whilst the reality isn't always this graphic, at times, the illness affects everyone, and with very differing results.

Kelly crafts the story so carefully through the beginning of the film, that you are sucked in almost immediately, emotions struggling as you don't want to feel empathy with the lead actor (Stephen Chambers) but are forced to with the clever storyline and great delivery of the scenes. Your "Did he, Didn't he" dilemmas fade away as the atmosphere deepens, darkens and deteriorates until you find yourself willing Tyler on.

Such is the skill of Kelly - from one emotion to another, with no effort involved - it just happens - and to be perfectly honest, it takes your breath away. The use of suggestive horror and gore is paramount in making a film a success, and here, whilst the results are shown, we're left to our imaginations as to how it happened.

It's a difficult film to put into words without giving anything away, suffice to say, this is one film that shouldn't be missed.

Evan Kelly has a very bright future in the genre if he can give us films like this, and I look forward to seeing his next work.

A solid 8/10

The Divide (2011)

Past, Present or Future - Why The Divide Could Have Been Any of Them

[8/10 · 27 March 2012]

The opening scenes leaves the viewer in no doubt - there's nothing left outside except radiation and death. What surprised me was that more people didn't realise there was a huge underground bunker in their building, and thus, avail themselves of it.

Portraying a movie with such a deep seated meaning, as, the decay of everything you've ever known, is always a challenge. Some directors venture into this risky area and end up being swallowed by mediocrity, or worse, fail miserably and leave an end product that's wholly not believable.

The Divide skirts with the latter of the those, however is skillfully brought back to the vestiges of a must watch apocalyptic movie. I question though, the necessity to use a nuclear attack as a back drop - the film would equally have worked in it's own right, were the survivors simply caught in the bunker unnoticed. Indeed, had they gone down this route, then they would have had an instant cult classic - in much the same way Lord of the Flies is.

There are a few scenes, because of the unnecessary nuclear remnants, that just don't work, and worse, are not fully explained - whilst they don't detract from overall story, they don't really add to it either. A far more powerful message could have been put over, in a far more simple environment.

Characters are extremely well casted, each actor chosen presumably for their acting skills as opposed to the "teeth and chiseled jaw" look, and this shows through in the development from normal everyday people, to insane disease ridden madmen that we see near the end. Biehn excels in this movie, however both Milo Ventimiglia and Lauren German are outstanding, the former surprising me somewhat as his Heroes character never really gelled for me.

This is an excellent portrayal of the degradation of human society, ignoring the unnecessary backdrop, is very likely to be how we would revert back to our more base instincts in the face of severe hardship and confinement.

A modern day Lord of the Flies - unmissable.

8/10

The Ridges (2011)

A Lesson in Why IMDb Scores Can Be Misleading

[1/10 · 25 March 2012]

The lead up to actually watching this, left me giddy in anticipation - a score of 6+ on IMDb surely meant that this movie was going to "do it" for me in my quest to find the best Found Footage genre film.

Reality struck however, less than one minute into it - though the prerequisite for a first person movie are all there - shaky cam, dodgy cut aways, even dodgier fade outs - all check check check. The problem was though, that the actors who clearly improvised their way through the entire shoot, just didn't seem to want to make their minds up whether they were ad libbing, or, reading their script.

Chopping and changing as such, means the movie is very disjointed, and very uncomfortable to watch - it's easy to see the takes where the director (Landers) was actually holding the camera, and which were left to the cast to film.

As the story revolves around the alleged haunting in an insane asylum (The Ridges) - it would have been better to film more at that location, instead of limiting it to the short sequences and then filling the rest of the movie out with shots that appear to have been filmed in a local furniture store.

Again, as is the want with this genre - a movie with lots of potential, is let down badly by the direction and cast - had they spent more time on the story, then the quick fills and rapid story lines would not have been necessary - for a great example of how to make this kind of film work - look at Grave Encounters.

Don't be fooled by the high IMDb score - this movie will leave you disappointed and quite frankly, embarrassed.

Avoid.

1/10

Undying Love (2011)

Even Icelandic Zombies Want to Eat You

[9/10 · 28 February 2012]

Quite simply, this Icelandic zombie short, stole the show at Glasgow's FrightFest.

As an unannounced addition before we were subjected to Tape 407, and an English title of "Undying Love", I was left bemused, wondering why it was being shown at the Festival.

The opening presented us with the idea that we were watching a homeless person as he struggled to survive in an extremely run down part of a nameless large city. As he readies himself for venturing outside, the questions begin - why is he putting on protective pads and a helmet ? The director/writer brilliantly puts the audience on edge at this point, quite how he managed to cram so much into what on screen was about 3 minutes, I'll never know, however it's delivered perfectly and extremely professionally.

The audience knows that the man has lost his true love, and is now alone in the world, however it's not until he ventures outside that we realise the world (or at least his world) has descended into zombie anarchy. Usually, running zombies put me off, however, in this short, they are perfect - leaving me in no doubt as to the fragility of humanity in a world overrun by the hungry undead.

Without giving anything else away, as to do so, would spoil the climactic and powerful ending, but suffice to say that it left me wanting more.

Much more.

An absolute gem of a short, don't miss this if it ever comes calling to a festival/website near you.

9/10

Area 407 (2012)

Oh Dear

[3/10 · 28 February 2012]

Attending this year's FrightFest with high hopes and much anticipation over Tape 407, from the first opening dialogue with the lead actress, my ear drums screamed in agony.

The voice grated. And grated the entire movie.

To cap it all off, the dialogue was clearly ad libbed throughout - the actors working from a storyboard for each scene, sometimes they pulled it off, mostly though, they didn't, and the audience is left cringing at some unintentionally hilarious lines.

If you can get over the tortuous scripting and delivery, the movie itself is actually quite high quality. Great cameras give us a crystal clear view of the action, and the sound (aside from the grating voice) is loud and breathtaking.

The director managed to capture brilliantly the crash scene, with the bass in the sound and the violent action on screen, he portrayed this with great skill and ease leaving us in no doubt what was happening.

It's a pity that this wasn't carried on post crash however.

From this point on, the credibility of the actors and movie, slips away, like memories over time. Which is a shame, because he almost, almost had a brilliant addition to the found footage genre. Poor scripting and at times, embarrassing dialogue, spoiled what had preceded it.

As we hear distant roars, growls and screams, hope builds, but, in a key scene in a disused shed, when we finally observe the source of the noise, all (and I mean all) credibility for the movie evaporates.

Dinosaurs.

I mean, had it been aliens, or indeed ghosts, then this movie would have probably made it and been decent, however, the moment we see the sub par CGI on screen, it becomes hilarious. Maybe it would have been better to leave such things to our imagination, or employed techniques used in movies like The Last Broadcast - where we don't really know what is killing people.

As the murderous creatures devour their way through the cast, we're left with the two lead actress' running for their lives, eventually bursting out into bright sunshine only to find out exactly where they have been all night....I'll leave the rest for you to find out, if you really want to.

In summary, a reasonable beginning spoiled massively by a ridiculous storyline - this movie won't add anything to the Found Footage genre unfortunately.

3/10

Evidence (III) (2012)

Well Made Candidate in the Found Footage Genre

[8/10 · 25 February 2012]

There's no arguing that this film is well made with a tight script and good direction, however, as is the way with most found footage genre films, is that they really have to have a "believable" concept and storyline, leastways, the storyline has to be one that doesn't come across as instantly ridiculous.

Evidence nearly gets there, but again, the action packed last 60 minutes are just too cluttered with too much going on and too many questions left unanswered.

The worst part of the found footage genre, are the opening character development scenes - they are either hopelessly painful, or, as is the case in Evidence, seamless and pain free with some good dialogue. Far too many of this genre, fall into the trap of not scripting properly, or, leaving the cast to their own devices and letting them ad lib their way through the scenes. Evidence presents a believable introduction and leaves the viewer at ease quite quickly with the characters and their reasons for the documentary.

As mentioned the last 60 minutes have to understandably pack a lot in, trying to provide explanations whilst still delivering the "money shot" - Evidence gets there, just, with some questions still left hanging.

It's advisable to watch through the credits, as the story continues throughout, why this couldn't be built into the main story, you're left to wonder yourself.

A decent Found Footage film - and it should appeal to most who enjoy the sub genre, just don't go into it with too many high hopes.

6/10

Crawl (2011)

Very Impressive Suspense Thriller

[8/10 · 25 February 2012]

I attended a screening of this impressive movie last night at FrightFest in Glasgow, also in attendance were the China Brothers.

After reading some critic reviews of the movie where it was described as a "slow burner" etc I prepared myself for 60 minutes of tortuous nothingness followed by 30 minutes of manic catching up before ending in a bang.

Crawl was not a slow burner. Crawl is a brilliantly crafted work of suspense, tension and horror. From the very beginnings, the China Brothers mould their characters in front of you, building them into solid centerpieces of their film - without giving too much away - the casting of the three main actors in this is perfect, and, given they only had a very limited script to work with, they deliver the tense and suspenseful scenes with powerful ease.

Location, actors, storyline, delivery and end product are all perfect, and I look forward to Brothers' future work with great anticipation, as they lavish such care and attention on their work, that they deserve a far wider release with Crawl and future films.

Don't miss this if it visits a cinema near you - you won't be disappointed.

Family Demons (2009)

Hard Hitting Horror with a Deep Seated Message

[6/10 · 18 November 2011]

Don't let this title slip under your radar, by far and away one of the most impressive low budget movies to come my way this year.

Filmed to give a dark, foreboding atmosphere throughout, this movie will grab you by the throat and not let up until you get to the climatic ending.

The relationships the director portrays throughout, are well developed and leave you in no doubt as to what the message is she's trying to put across.

Very very impressive with a very dark subject matter, that whilst the horror elements adds to the feeling, the actual message contained in it, is far more frightening.

Don't Miss This.

Eyes in the Dark (2010)

Raw, Micro Budget Horror that Delivers

[7/10 · 18 November 2011]

EITD won't be to everyone's taste, however,the extremely raw feel to the movie actually worked in a sub genre that's rapidly becoming tired and predictable.

Micro Budget movies are all the rage these days, the success though, is in the story, characters and effects that can be squeezed into the very limited finances. Most attempts fail, and fail badly, however there are occasions, such as with EITD, that what the filmmakers are trying to achieve, shines through with a production that vastly overshadows the lack of money.

Eyes in the Dark is a throwback to the mid to late 90's when films like McPherson Tapes and dare I say it, Blair Witch Project came out to shock the audiences, and above all, left people talking about them long after they had finished. Whilst EITD has content that clearly precludes the possibility of it being real, the lead up, character building and overall atmosphere all combine to make the subject matter work.

This is one of those movies, where you will either hate it, or, love it - providing you can suspend belief and do not watch it expecting to question whether it's real or not, you'll enjoy every minute.

A couple of minor criticisms are that the obligatory FBI warnings don't really add to the movie, and a couple of hammy acting scenes, however those aside, this is a very capable and stand out addition to the Found Footage genre.