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Reviews
Horror in the High Desert 2: Minerva (2023)
Some absolutely genuine scary moments
Wonderfully unique scary moments from a found footage movie, which is hard to come by these days. The movie does an absolutely masterful job of the show burn and makes us genuinely afraid of the dark. The acting and editing is so believable, you could honestly trick folks into believing it's a documentary. The only thing is the lack of an ending, just really left us hanging there with little to no conclusion. Not even a cliff hanger; just lost the plot entirely. I assume the last clip is to lead into the next film, but feels like they ran out of budget, or time, or something and had to wrap up quickly. Poor way to treat the audience after all that effort.
Blue Hour: The Disappearance of Nick Brandreth (2023)
The key to found footage is believability
And unfortunately this just doesn't have it. Really unique premise, but the acting just kills it. Poor acting is an absolute death sentence for found footage as it just rips us out of the story. You don't need the best actors, as proven by many found footage movies, but just natural dialogue. This you could absolutely tell was reading from a script. Really great use of vintage footage, fun edits and overall concept. Was really hoping to like it, but 30 min in just lost me and wasn't picking up the pace fast enough. More discerning editing and better actors would highly enhance the movie to the next level.
The Unbinding (2023)
One of the best paranormal documentaries in years
A paranormal documentary with heart. The spooks are there, for sure, but if you're looking for something more than a few scares and wanting a deeper dive into the unknown, I cannot recommend this film highly enough. The production level, storytelling, etc, everything is on point and left nothing to be desired. Often times, other paranormal documentaries can inflate circumstances or even the truth, the Planet Weird team doesn't need to make up any story, they simply present their true experiences without editorializing, such a refreshing film in the midst of a over saturated field. The Hellier team has done it again, can't wait to follow their future journeys.
The Outwaters (2022)
One of the most frustrating found footage films I've seen to date
I'm a total found footage nerd. There are films that I've been frustrated by, but this one takes the cake. Blue balls would probably be the best term for it. If anything, it did a masterful job at being incredibly incoherent throughout. It's impossible to be scared with no context, and for this film, there was none. I feel like the directors thought of a lot of great, horrifying shots, but without a good story it means nothing. It's like a book someone has read but they won't fill you in on the plot. There were SO many moments I just wanted to see wtf was happening! The most frustrating part was the single point of light became almost unwatchable. So many moments I looked and went "how much longer is this?" The randomness I just...wow. Completely nonsensical. I was left rolling my eyes and going "what the f are we doing?" and "ok I guess that's happening now" bookended with another eye tool. As an avid fan of this genre im begging y'all - DO BETTER. TLDR: Stream or skip? Skip.
Hellier (2019)
This investigation is a game changer.
What an incredible dive into the unknown. If you're looking for a horror movie, or some sort of found footage film with a ending in a bow, this isn't for you. If you are willing to go onto the journey, expand and challenge your ideas of what reality has to offer, enjoy.