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This is definitely a gem of a film that deserves to be seen; aside from its clever and original presentation, the performances are quite effective, the degraded VHS effects believable, and the humor dark and quirky. Of course, while the found-footage VHS aesthetic enhances the creepiness of the film, it's the refreshing manner with which it's presented that makes this production rise above its far more derivative and clichéd counterparts of the found-footage genre.
I didn't really find the commercials distracting, as other reviewers have commented. I actually thought, in addition to their obvious role of conveying a tongue-in-cheek & satirical sense of humor and wit for entertainment purposes, they also enhanced the "realistic" attributes of the work in service of its found-footage, "abandoned 80s broadcast" nature.
My main complaint was the ending. The film had initially done such a superb job building up anticipation and suspense that when we are finally shown what's behind all the smoke and mirrors, it's sort a letdown. Instead of ending with even a slight, creepy aura of ambiguity - leaving viewers with perhaps an unnerving "fear of the unknown" - we see that the supposed "supernatural" forces at work were actually the depraved workings of a bunch of crazies, who we eventually see violently (though briefly) torture the news crew at the end of the film. All that brilliant setup for this? To me, it was a shame that the movie had to settle on such an absolute and banal conclusion to what could have been far more effective if it were more vague and restrained.
However, the disappointing ending for me does not detract from the rest of the smartly-crafted and creative efforts poured into the rest of the film. The rest of the film was far superior to its brief ending shot. Highly recommended for those who appreciate these independent and obscure oddballs of cinema.
score 8/10
thelectrichair101 26 August 2017
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3789498/ |
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28-2-2021 11:13:10