Ghostwatch: The British Blair Witch

A BBC crew investigate a haunted house little do they know the entity wants them there.

So Ghostwatch is something of a legend in the UK it was a found footage film that many people thought was real as it was shown on TV to look as real as possible and that caused a lot of social commotion. It was Blair Witch before Blair Witch.

The film takes the form of a televised ghost hunt, we have a traditional old fashioned BBC presenter leading us through a night that will prove whether ghosts exist or not. However, as the night progresses things start to go awry in a very Late Night With The Devil sort of way.

What works so well about this film is just how real it appears it does genuinely feel like it’s an actual televised ghost encounter. If I had been shown this at the time on live television I would had thought this was real too. There is some elements that might look a little dated by today’s effect standards but on the whole it holds up very well.

I liked the film’s atmosphere and its non-reliance on jump scares, however, for anyone familiar with the Enfield Poltergeist there are a number of familiar elements which might make the film seem a bit obvious, though this is made up for with quite a different ending to how that case went.

Overall, a British horror gem.

4/5

Pros.

It is scary

It seems real

It has a good ending

It makes the most with a limited budget

Cons.

Too many nods to Enfield

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Strange Harvest: The Strangest Day Of A Cops Life

Summary

A serial killer carries out an occult murder spree in California.

I thought this was an incredibly engaging horror film, it took the whole true crime craze and mixed it with found footage to do something new and fresh.

The idea of a evil serial killer is already morbidly fascinating but then mix in that they have occult powers and are trying to bring in an ancient evil God to the world and you have the recipe for a great film. For the most part the film delivers on this and is a strong horror film, particularly the final third.

However, my issue with this film is that some of its sub-plots are either knowingly or unknowingly comedic. You don’t want to laugh but they are so unintentionally funny at times that you cannot help but to. I think that this mismatch hurts the film but isn’t major enough to cause serious issues with it widely.

Overall, a fun mixing of genres but not perfect.

3/5

Pros.

A good mixing of sub-genres

It feels fresh

It has a great ending

Cons.

Pacing problems

Issues with tone

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Beezle: The Witch In The Walls

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A house infested with a witch goes through generations of trauma.

There was a kernel of a good idea here, we don’t get many witch films and less so that try and unorthodox narrative approach, it plays more like an anthology than a linear narrative.

However, in execution we come undone.

I can some up the issues with this film into four key areas, the characterisation, the witch, the scares and the ending. There is a throughline of mediocrity throughout all of these things and that was a disappointment.

So first things first, the initial two segments are fine nothing special but it is clearly the third where things start to get weird. Enter Nova, Victoria Fradkin, a character who’s whole dimension is just that she’s horny and wants a kid. You could argue had this been written by just a man that it was incredibly sexist and reductive but she helped write her own material so she was okay with it. Nova, wants to have sex wearing her partner’s dead mother’s lingerie and is constantly pressuring him for sex to a point where it becomes uncomfortable. Moreover, there are a number of nude or near nude scenes that just feel almost as though Fradkin is showing off for an ego trip, and when you realise her close relationship with the director it all starts to make more sense.

The witch could have been special and unique but instead it is just another demon like figure that behaves in the same way and never really does much of anything. To role scares into this one the film relies heavily on jump scares, did you just see that face? That kind of thing, to which I thought gave it a tacky feeling.

Finally the ending is the ending of so many found footage films after becoming possessed Nova kills her husband and then I guess sits in the snow, or does some random off screen action for it all to continue with a new family. Paranormal Activity did all this decades ago.

Overall, amateurish at best.

1/5

Pros.

It has a good premise

Cons.

It is not scary

It has pacing issues

It is creepy at times

It wastes its villain

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Late Night With The Devil: And You Thought Dr Phil Was Bad

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A late night tv show plays host to the Devil.

This most likely is the best horror of the year, so far but I could see it being the best overall as well. It works on so many levels and each time you watch it there is more to appreciate and sink your teeth into. I watched this several times in cinema because the ending of the film recontextualises the whole thing so it demands a second watch to be able to see all the new little details in it.

The horror mixes over the course of the film with some off beat comedy elements but rather than cancel each other out and not work, hear they come together well to produce both a number of funny moments and also some genuinely chilling scares. The horror here is built through character and atmosphere which is always a treat as it creates more of an enveloping experience and the scares are more powerful as a result.

I think the best praise I can give this film is that it is well written and that makes it a damn sight better than a lot of the horror films releasing these days.

Overall, a must watch for any horror fan.

5/5

Pros

It is funny

It is scary

It is well written and clever

The acting is great

It levels you wanting more

Cons.

None

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Found Footage Dracula

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Dracula finally goes found footage.

I have been excited to see this film for a while now, and now that I have I can say it lived up to my expectations. It was both what you would imagine it to be, a found footage film about Dracula but also so much more, I liked that this film was not afraid to do something different with the classic tale and mix things up, I thought the originality was both novel and refreshing.

I thought this film did a lot with its premise and filming methods and managed to be both entertaining and tense throughout. Just when I think the found footage sub-genre has started to dry up for good, something like this comes along and renews my faith in it.

My one critique of the film would be that it felt quite rushed. By that I mean the film could have been strengthened by adding ten or twenty minutes to the runtime as it would have allowed the film to come into its own just that bit more.

Overall, a very novel film that brings you a fresh take on a well-worn story.

Pros.

The originality

Making the most of the format

The performances

Entertaining and tense throughout

Cons.

The pacing had some issues, it could have done with being a bit longer

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Paranormal Activity Next Of Kin: Break On Through To The Otherside

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A young woman, played by Emily Bader, tries to find out more about her biological mother as such she travels to the Amish community she grew up in, bringing a film crew along for the ride because why not? However, once there things start to turn sinister.

Okay so this film won’t win any prizes for originality, but that is not to say that this film is bad quite the contrary. I will admit I soured on the Paranormal Activity franchise after the ending of Ghost Dimension all that build up and for what? Then the initial trailers for this didn’t look great, and I was worried that this film was going to taint the series reputation even further, but if anything it resurrects it.

This film isn’t quite sure whether it wants to be a sequel to the other films or a straight up reboot of the series, as such it goes in both directions there is no direct reference to the previous films either in terms of events or characters, however there is enough free space narratively that they could connect it up if they wanted to.

What I think is the best thing about this film is that it does the opposite of Ghost Dimension and actually delivers on the pay off of the film. The film ends with, spoilers here, a demon coming up to earth to begin a reign of terror, with seemingly no one able to stop it as it can jump from body to body. Not only did I think this was a terrific ending in terms of everything the film had been building to, but I also thought this was magnificent in what it sets up for the series, what’s next? The possibilities seem endless and that has me excited.

Overall, I would say this film is easily up there as one of the best of the franchise and you should check it out if you like all things spooky.

Pros.

The pay off

The set up for the future

A few good scares

Not being too lore heavy
Cons.

The characters are all fairly meh

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Temple: A Camera So Powerful It Can Record People Having Sex Through Walls

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Three friends go to Japan in search of a supposedly haunted temple, once they find this temple things quickly start to go wrong. It is a very familiar premise.

This idea has been done to death, a group of people seek out x building usually because its rumoured to be haunted, then it is, and things go bad. At this point it is just lazy storytelling, the writers for these films could try and at least come up with some new reasons why these characters want to explore haunted buildings, but no.

Moreover, this film also trots out the dead all along little kid cliché. There is a little child guide in this film who turns out to be either not real or a ghost depending on your interpretation, of course the job of this kid is to lure the young folk out to the temple, what a shock. I think the use of this cliché just shows how bland and by the numbers this film is, clearly the writer of the film didn’t want to give it anything resembling a personality and just wanted to stick to shlock and it shows.

That said I would not say this is a terrible film, the creature design is good and there are a fair few good scares once they get to the temple, there is some promise there sadly it is just never developed in any way.

Overall, though it has a few interesting ideas for the most part this film is just things you have seen before.

Pros.

A few good scares

The creature design

The Japanese flavour to the horror

Cons.

It is riddled with cliches

The writing is awful

Not a single one of the characters is likeable

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V/H/S 94: Maybe These Tapes Were Better Returned

1/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Another batch of V/H/S tapes are found.

I was a fan of the first two V/H/S films but honestly they have really lost there way. This film reminded me a lot of some of the worst aspects of Ti West’s films, though he was not involved, schlocky and over the line for the sake of being over the line. Many of the segments in this anthology are honestly unpleasant to watch, and that is saying something considering I am a big fan of the genre and not much bothers me anymore. It almost seems like they are going out of there way to one up each other on who can be the most depressing and needlessly excessive.

On top of that none of the segments are even particularly good. The best of a bad bunch would be ‘Storm Drain’ by Chloe Okuno, as this was the only one I found myself enjoying: moreover I liked the concept of ‘Rat-Man’. I would say the weakest is ‘The Empty Wake’ by Simon Barrett, a regular contributor, as it is simply dull.

In terms of pacing this film is also troublesome. Some of the segments feel double their length and are honestly hard to get through whilst others feel rushed and not done justice, it is a strange mix but wrong on both fronts.

Overall, maybe don’t give this a sequel.

Pros.

The Storm Drain was interesting

Cons.

Edgy for the sake of it

Hard to watch

Depressing

Pacing issues galore

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Paranormal Activity: Antagonizing Demons, Smart Move

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A young couple is plagued by strange goings on so decide to record everything that is happening for reasons.

I remember when I was young and I first watched this I was terrified. A friend had convinced me that it was all real and it really messed me up for a few nights after watching. Now years later I know it is not real but I still find this film scary. I know a lot of the people don’t like the franchise for what it would later become and the litany of clones it spawned, but I think this film plays with expectations and builds tensions in such a superb way.

As the film progress and Micah, Micah Sloat, becomes more and more annoying the tension really does amp up and you start to believe it and really empathises with the couple. Obviously the film uses jump scares in its horror but I think it does it better than later films not just in the series but in the genre as they enhance the atmosphere of fear rathe than acting as a standin.

The film has so much promise and so much mystery, sadly they would ruin that as the series progressed, but this film has a fantastic mythology to it.

My main complaint with this film would be that it has a very slow start, made worse by the use of shaky cam and the whole home video aspect.

Overall, an enjoyable film with a few issues.

Pros.

A strong mythology

A nice tense atmosphere

The ending

A few good scares

Cons.

Pacing issues

Micah is an awful character and is super toxic

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Interview With Hunter Farris: Writer, Director, Producer and Actor For Cursed Camera

Written by Luke

Hey Everyone! I recently had the chance to sit down and chat to Hunter Farris about his new horror shot Cursed Camera, which is a delightful play on the found footage demonic possession genre, with the camera itself being possessed by a demon and killing anyone who goes off screen. We chat about, curses, found footage horror and Martin Scorsese’s quotes on cinema. I hope you enjoy.

Q: If you had to sum your film up in one word what would it be?

A: Experimental.

Q: Who is your filmmaking inspiration?

A: Todd Strauss-Schulson. I love how he used movies about movies to explore deep, universal themes.

Q: Do you have any funny on set stories?

A: I forgot to write the last scene until almost the last day of shooting. It wasn’t even in the outline; it was just an afterthought. But because of that, our cinematographer/editor was unable to plan the shot properly. So he solved the problem by taking a single screenshot and focusing on that with everything in voice-over.

Q: If you could travel back in time to when you were first starting in filmmaking out what would you say to your younger self?

A: First starting out in filmmaking. Slash your budget down to nothing. Then work with what you get. First starting out on this video? Everything will work out just fine. There were a few issues with production that caused me a lot of stress in the moment (like recasting someone on the day of filming), but none of them ultimately affected the finished product.

Q: What would you do if you were caught on the cursed camera?

A: Oh gosh… The whole point of a horror movie is that you can’t win. I mean, sure, I could try to outsmart it by following the rules and staying onscreen… until the rules change, and the camera starts randomly turning off and on. So I guess the best thing to do is turn the camera toward the wall and report the camera to the rental house so they can take care of it.

Q: What was your catalyst for making this film?

A: Honestly? I just wanted to make something that could go to a festival, without spending a dime on production. A found footage movie seemed like the most narratively interesting excuse for no budget and killing off characters was an easy way to make sure people only had to show up for a few hours of filming. So when I asked how they could die without spending money on makeup, effect, props, or costumes, I remembered Martin Scorsese’s quote (“cinema is the art of what’s in the frame and what’s not in the frame”) and decided to play around with the relationship between the character and the camera.

Q: Are there any particular films you are homaging, referencing, or spoofing with curse camera?

A: I’m gonna be honest, I haven’t watched a single found footage movie or possession movie yet, and pre-production went so fast that I didn’t have time to research. So I didn’t want to comment on any movies I hadn’t seen, so I was more commenting on the very idea of a camera. Not many movies make the camera diegetic, and I wanted to make the camera as diegetic as possible to play around with the idea of the interaction between character and camera.

Q: What is your favourite possession film?

A: I wish I could give you a good answer, but I don’t think I’ve seen any possession movies yet. I look forward to watching a lot of possession movies.

Q: How would you describe the state of modern horror?

A: It seems to me that modern horror is splitting into 2 camps: One wants to use horror as a vehicle to explore a theme, and the other wants to use horror as a vehicle to have fun with fear. And I think those are equally valid camps.

Q: If you ever won an Oscar or other award who would you thank in your acceptance speech?

A: I’m always deeply grateful to *every* member of the cast and crew. If I can, I always like to express gratitude to each one by name. And I’d definitely be thanking the people who financially support me while I’m chasing my dreams of filmmaking.

If you want to check out Cursed Camera you can find it on Youtube, and as always there is a review of the short up on my site now!