Oct 5, 2012

Review: Grave Encounters - 2011



Grave Encounters
Director: The Vicious Brothers
2011
Horror

A reality show called Grave Encounters is about to record episode 6 of the show. This time they explore an old asylum which is supposed to be haunted. It’s obvious that the crew themselves don’t believe in the haunting for a second as they joke about it the first chance they get and when they’re not shooting essential material for the show. What we get to see it the unedited shoots of raw material of what was to be the last show of Grave Encounters…

This is obviously one of those found footage films that have been quite popular as of late. I don’t know what started the trend but horror wise I think that [Rec] and Paranormal Activity is most of all to “blame” for the boom. I don’t complain though, I feel that most of these films have something in common – a kind of tension! I like tension! That’s the main reason I watch horror flicks and thrillers most of the time. I’m not necessarily into splatter and gore just for the heck of it. I like suspense and these films can often give you that!

This particular film starts out pretty slow with a short presentation of what we are about to see. Some dude which is supposed to be some network guy tell us about the show Grave Encounters and that what we are about to see is the real deal!






The illusion is pretty good! The pace is quite slow to begin with and the team is obviously non believers of paranormal phenomenon. They’re just making the best TV they can do and as soon as they’re recording material for the show they look very serious about what they’re doing. It comes as no big surprise when the place eventually turns out to be hunted. The crew gets what’s coming to them and I can’t feel any pity over any of them. It’s not that they´re unlikable characters, I just don’t identify with them at all.

The chocking imagery it nicely made even if it’s quite sparse. I would have liked it to pick up the pace a bit more when the movie comes to an end. But you also have to keep in mind that the team is inside a mace of hallways and corridors and can’t find their way out. This is perhaps more frightening than the actual haunting of the place. The mental institution complex seems to move around its room, hallways and corridors just to keep them inside the building. It also seems that time works in a totally different manor than it normally should. Minutes seems like hours for the people trapped inside.

As a whole the movie is ok. It’s not terribly frightening and the pace is too slow but I’m still looking forward to the sequel!

6/10

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