So they say that the film came out in Sundance three years ago but only managed to be released commercially here in the Philippines last year (2009). Not complaining there. And am actually glad that independent films such as these don't come out swamped with big studio funfare.
The story was pretty basic. A couple living in a haunted suburban house. It's only unique quality is it being a "found footage" film. That is, it's supposed to be a "real" videotape found at a later date, depicting some gruesome event that happened in the past. I would say that the tension build-up was pretty good. And although I'm not at the edge of my seat out of fear, at least I was kept interested until the end. But that's where, in my opinion, the movie fell short what with all the tension build-up climaxing on an ending which was lackluster.
Despite the weak finish, I can't help but be drawn, maybe a bit attracted, to films like this. Big applause to the creative mindset of directors who make such films. As well as the painstaking details they go through to make such movies feel real.
According to some readings I've done, the "found footage" genre is apparently a filmmaking style that has been going on for a while now, since the 1940s if I'm not mistaken. The first that I consciously remember watching though was perhaps Blair Witch Project way back in 1999(?). And unlike nowadays where there are so much information proliferating in every media, I only get to know about Blair Witch on the actual day I went to watch it with some friends at the UP Film Center.
It's bad enough that the theater that night was packed with (sweaty) students. But the airconditioning was pretty much nonexistent. And since much of the film's footage, which was shot using a handheld videocam, were jerky, I felt very nauseated halfway through and excused myself out of the place to get a breathe of fresh air and stop myself from feeling like I wanted to throw up.
It was probably a week later that I went to watch the movie at the Alabang Town Center instead. And it was there that I really get to appreciate the film. The AC was running too! But yeah, the film was awesome. Not my type of film to be honest, but the movie's presentation was really unique at the time, and I came to like it. And then after liking it, I came to the realization, "Hey, wait a minute, so are you saying that what happened in that movie was real? Oh my God!". And like I said, there weren't a lot of info about that film back then and I probably spent a whole month worrying if it were true or not. What if the Blair Witch came and found me? I only found out about the truth when I saw the lead actress alive and whole in AXN weeks later. Bummer. Lol.
There's another one that I vaguely remember. It's about a family spending Thanksgiving together only for them to be abducted by aliens one by one. Can't remember the title but again it made me wonder if it's real. Fastforward to a decade later, Discover Channel started showing Lost Tapes, a series of "mockumentaries" about cryptozoology, depicting encounters between humans and legendary creatures. And although it made me wonder again if these tapes were real, I got Google handy to check them out this time.
In time, one gets to know how to check whether a "found footage" movie is indeed just that, a movie. One, the footages always show something important. If it were real, would the cameraman be actually able to know when to start rolling? Two, the camera is always there. Doesn't it ever run out of batteries? Three, even though the actors are already in a state of panic, why on earth are they still shooting? And four, if it's real, why show the film commercially? Why not just send them to the authorities for investigation?
The storylines are fake. But what isn't fake is the amount of dollars the filmmakers make out of them. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. I actually think it's genius! A big kudos to them to the filmmakers. Who says being creative doesn't make big bucks? Not all the time maybe, but hey.
But then again, it's not really the veracity of the footage that matters. Nor the amount of money made. What truly matters is the fulfillment of the moviegoer's appetite for the macabre, the desire to satisfy one's need to experience horror. The appeal of such movies, I suppose, come from being able to implant in the mind of the viewer the question: Is it real? And even though it isn't, somehow, at the back of your head, you still get that nagging feeling that perhaps it may be.
Photo from entertainmentgeekly.com
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