Exists (2014)

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

For audiences that didn’t appreciate the year’s more subtle anti-found footage film “Willow Creek,” director Eduardo Sanchez offers a more action packed and frightening alternative involving the mythical monster. “Exists” is a creepy and vicious found footage horror film with a surprising amount of heart and depth to it, to boot. Surprisingly, director Sanchez works around the found footage gimmick, supplying a score and editing that make the film neater and less like actually found footage. This may irk hardcore enthusiasts of the sub-genre, but it’s a welcome change of pace from the typical format. Especially since Sanchez runs the risks of repeating the same beats from “Blair Witch.”

Continue reading →

Frankenstein’s Army (2013)

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

I’ve never gone in to a movie wanting to love it so much and come out of it feeling so utterly disappointed. Except maybe “Cabin Fever.” In either case, I wanted to love “Frankenstein’s Army” if only for its interesting tale of a Russian squad going in to battle and finding a madman scientist using soldiers to form his own army of decrepit freaks. Normally I’m a big fan of the found footage sub-genre as well, but once I realized “Frankenstein’s Army” was found footage, it threw me out of the narrative almost immediately. I can see the found footage formula working in the age of digital camera, and digital camcorders, and cell phone videos. I can even see it working in the nineties with VHS camcorders, but to have us believe there’s a found footage movie set during World War II is immensely absurd, and just downright desperate.

Continue reading →

Grave Encounters (2011)

Posted on October 22, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

I admit that The Vicious Brothers don’t exactly tap in to a part of the found footage genre that hasn’t been done before. Even before found footage became a popular filming format, the premise of con men looking for something supernatural that get more than they bargained for has been done. In fact one of the best “Tales from the Crypt” episodes tapped this premise. That said, while I did recognize the proceedings, “Grave Encounters” is still a lot of fun, if only for the haunted house spooks and bleak ending that ensue. One of the more amusing pop culture devices has been the satire of ghost hunting shows, and “Grave Encounters” brings it in spades.

Continue reading →

Eyes in the Dark (2010)

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

Say what you want about the found footage sub-genre, but director Bjorn Anderson smartly takes from “Cloverfield” and builds an intriguing gimmick. Naming his movie “Eyes in the Dark” leads the audience in to a very tightly wound and spooky found footage horror film where a group of hapless individuals wander in to the Cascades and are stalked and hunted by glowing red eyes in the dark. Part of the fun is finding out what the red glowing eyes are, and the mystery of the unknown is a valuable tool that director Anderson implements for his audience.

Continue reading →

The Devil Incarnate (2013)

Posted on October 8, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

Gustavo Cooper skids the surface of a gimmick with “The Devil Incarnate” jumping from found footage, to pseudo-mockumentary, to classic narrative, and meta-horror erratically. And to the point where it becomes incredibly frustrating. “The Devil’s Incarnate” jumps between formats so much that it seems to try to unfold its narrative through these various formats to really emphasize the true horror of the scenario. And while you think that’d lead in to a very innovative and creepy horror film, it’s really just half baked and utterly mediocre when all is said and done. I can understand why people are sick of found footage movies, but what I’m sicker of these days are retreads of “Rosemary’s Baby.” And at least that story had something to say.

Continue reading →

Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County (1998)

Posted on October 3, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

For an early specimen of the found footage sub-genre, “Alien Abduction” is surprisingly solid. It’s cheaply made, confined to one setting, and the acting is dodgy, but its execution is creepy and many moments reflect what would become common imagery in future found footage movies like “Blair Witch” and “Cloverfield.” Back before the internet, viral videos trickled in to underground collectors’ circles and even networks that sought out to convince audiences of their realism. “Alien Abduction” is a film desperately trying to convince audiences it’s a real document, and back in 1998, you’d believe it was a groundbreaking chronicle of a family facing aliens.

Continue reading →

Cannibal Holocaust (1980) [3 Disc Blu-Ray/CD Combo]

Posted on June 26, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

What is it about Ruggero Deodato’s vicious masterpiece that continues to elude horror fans and film enthusiasts to this day? Surely, it’s a shocking film with immense gore, but “Cannibal Holocaust” is about so much more than splatter and bloodshed. It still holds a volatile resonance in a day and age where the world is obsessed with voyeurism. “Cannibal Holocaust” is still such an enormous master work from Ruggero Deodato whose own film has pretty much guaranteed to outlive its creator. As well, it’s inadvertently posed as the template for all of the found footage films currently storming the box office. It’s a film about the media exploiting and demoralizing a primitive culture for the purposes of entertainment. It’s a film about entitled young Americans intruding on a foreign soil to manipulate their civilization. It’s also movie about how humanity is often a destructive and vicious force of evil consuming one another for nefarious purposes without conscience.

Continue reading →