(2007) **1/2
Katie and Micah live in a suburban home that is being disturbed by a demonic presence.
What the hell is all the hype about? I have to wonder, did I see a different movie than all these people issuing stellar reviews? There were 6 of us in a group that went to this film and not one of us left there with the heebie jeebies, not one of us! Tony fell asleep twice during the film, I had to jostle him to wake him up. Maybe the people who reviewed it so well were just too ashamed to admit that they had been sucked into the hype and had paid good money to see this snooze fest. Well I'm not too ashamed to admit it, I want my damn money back!
The major problem with most found footage films is that it takes awhile to get to the good stuff and getting there is pretty boring. This film is no different, tons of character build up then a little scary stuff, then tons more character build up and so on. The characters aren't really likeable, Katie is whiny and Micah is an idiot. The parapsychologist they briefly bring in is virtually devoid of personality. The pay off isn't all that great either, they keep comparing this to “The Blair Witch Project” which I believe was much scarier. The build up in Blair Witch showed the people becoming more and more panicked and disjointed as the film wore on, adding to the tension. In this there are too many scenes of the couple bickering and doing stupid shit in between the brief scary sequences so any atmosphere is quickly dispelled. Perhaps I'm just too jaded from all the years of pounding horror. I just don't think so though, I've had plenty of films that have stayed with me long after the credits rolled by giving me the creeps and some even nightmares. Not so in this case. Take out all the character building crap and they'd have a pretty darn scary 20 minute short, now that I would pay to see.
8 comments:
thanks for clueing us in, catfreeek! mr. ac and i were thinking about going to see this one; now we will save our $.
It just didn't do it for us AC, maybe you guys will like it better.
"Katie is whiny and Micah is an idiot." That was all I needed to know about this movie. Pass!
I'm not sure why but I find this news somewhat satisfying. Take that, you whiny idiots!
This was filmed at a house in San Diego, and subsequently, has been in the newspaper and on the local news EVERY day. Yours isn't the only bad review though - everyone I've talked to has thought it was just so-so. The story behind the fact that it was made for only $15,000 is too good for the media to pass up.
The 6 of us that went are sorry that we helped their profitability. It was like paying $65 for a Tyson fight on pay-per-view and having it over in 3 seconds. Shameful hype.
This appears to be a polarizing film. I've read a lot of very positive reviews as well as a number of negative ones similar to your own. It really speaks to the subjectivity of horror. Of course this means I will have to check it out.
JPX if you can get through the boring intro I'll be stunned. Much like Quarantine & Blair Witch the boredom in the beginning is nearly unwatchable. Problem here is that when it picks up it's not steady, it keeps going back to boredom. I look forward to your take on it.
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