Reviews: A Few Favorite Found Footage Films

Found footage has grown into one of the one of the most popular Sub-genre used by filmmakers of horror in the last ten years. While its beginnings can be traced back to the 1980's it really didn't get its footing till 1999's 'Blair Witch Project' took the world by storm with its clever marketing and campaign that made over half the people that went to see it think it was a real film. 

Personal i'm not really a fan of most found footage out there, but there are some clever movies that i like that have used the format in smart ways that make the movies enjoyable. here are a few of my favorite.

 Troll Hunter
Dir. Andre Ovredal

Troll Hunter is a fantastic watch because of its size and scope. Three university students fallow Hans, a man that hunts trolls for a secret government organization. First of, this does not feel like a found footage film, it feels like a movie. I know that sounds dumb, but if you got to see this film in theaters you would not feel like you just paid $15.00 to watch some jerk holding a camera as he films a love story while a giant monster destroys New York (i'll talk more about cloverfield when i talk about found footage films i hate). You would feel like you just watch a movie that someone put a lot of the heart and soul into.
Watching Hans get ready to do battle with some of the trolls is awesome, the homemade Armour looks great and his truck with all the lights really shows that they wonted to keep some of the beliefs surrounding trolls in the Netherlands a fact more then just superstition.
The special effects are nice, its low budget and that shows on some of the trolls which kind of removes the believably part of the film, but its fun and they still feel very large.

The Poughkeepsie Tapes
Dir. John Erick Dowdle

When people tell me they don't get frightened from horror movies anymore, i asked them if they've seen 'Poughkeepsie Tapes' which most haven't seeing how it has never really been officially released except for a short video on demand run. So then i tell them to watch it... and they never speak to me again.
The Poughkeepsie Tapes is almost to real. Done more like a A&E crime documentary, it fallows the investigators who found over 800 videos of the "Water Street Butcher" capturing, torturing, killing, and mutilating his victims. Not only does the movie focus on the crimes but the toll watching these movie took on the officers involved.
Like the 'Blair Witch Project' this movie seems to real for some people but not because of clever marketing. More it has to do with the fact that it never got any kind of release. now more of a movie you hear about then have to track down on the internet tell your friends about then they track it down and so on. This movie is shocking, brutal, and powerful like so few other movies. It leaves you depressed and angry and more then a little afraid.

[Rec]
Dir. Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza

Very few movies turn out this intense, Trapped in a apartment building with these fast, demon possessed, zombie like creatures, locked in with nowhere to run or hide. Crazy shit.
The movie revolves around a young television reported and her camera man, who are filming a late night show at the local fire station when they get to do a ride along to what sounds like a routine call. they get to a apartment building and go to check on a elderly lady the other tenants are worried about and get attacked, then shit goes to hell.
[Rec] may be my favorite found footage film ever. The camera work is solid, the possessed are awesome looking especially the creepy girl at the end. its fast passed and cramped which makes for some really frighting scenes, and the acting is good, although i have a hard time gauging actors that speck a different language then me, but i believe them to be frighten when they we supposed to be, and that's enough.

Reviews: Odds and Ends

Apollo 18

Dir - Gonzalo Lopez

I can never help but think it must be hard to make a horror movie set in space and not have it written of as a Sci-fi movie, not that there's anything wrong with science fiction. Just you need a little more disbelief in order for it to work. Alien is a great example, its got great scares and atmosphere but its set in a time and place that doesn't exist to me so i wright it of as Sci-fi more then horror.

That being said i have to applaud the makers of Apollo 18 did a great job of setting the time and place, The "found footage" seems like it may have come from the 70's as well as the spaceship itself resembles the cramped cone shaped pods we're accustomed to see astronauts in. the acting is good and set design is outstanding. Its still not a great movie but what "found footage" movie is.

My big complaint about the films...[SPOILERS AHEAD] and its even brought up in the film, is that one astronaut tell the other that they're not going to leave them there, because they need the footage that they've been recording and we've been watching. Which make since seeing how were watching the footage but wait... no one comes both astronauts die and were to believe that another secret mission must have happened, or the spider rock fucking aliens took it down to us.

3 failed missions to the moon out of 5.

Necromentia

Dir. Pearry Reginald Teo

Wow. What a messed up movie. Now i had heard a lot of hype going into this film, some were saying it was such a great horror film that blah blah blah and others were comparing it to hellraiser movies saying that it would be a great sequel (Which i totally agree with after watching it.) but a lot of good hype usually leads me one of two ways when i watch the movie.

1. i already hate it cause you've made such a big deal out of it that if its anything other then cinematic gold then its crap.

2. there can be no way that this movie as is good as people say it is and it if it turns out to be shit then i'm giving up on horror and just watching Adam Sandler movies from now on.

It turns out this movie is quite good, in fact i'd say most of the hype was founded. there cool characters, none of who you'll really like but there still cool, and some really messed up imagery. most off all it a great little story about love, revenge and what some people are willing to do to get back what they have lost.

4 pig heads out of 5

Straw Dogs

Dir. Rod Lurie

before anyone of you give me shit about Straw Dogs not being horror, i tell you one thing... Go fuck yourself. Some people may call this a Thriller some may call it a drama, but really does this movie not have everything that our classic revenge horror films have. Don't get me wrong in no way am i saying this because i think this movie was great (it was alright) its just that sometimes we have to let some movies fall into categories we don't agree with.

anyways this is a remake of a classic cult film and it doesn't do that bad as far as remakes go, solid acting and great back and forth banter between rich boy cyclops and Eric the Vampire. Cyclops also does a great job fighting of the rape-y rednecks, and killing the fuck out of them.

3.5 Bear traps to the head out of 5.