This movie set out to do this that it couldn't achieve. I don't think it was the fault of James. Unfortunately, he took a bunch of really shallow wannabe starlets out on a spiritual journey to his father's ranch in Texas. The people he took with them were incapable of setting aside their needs to help a friend do the things he wanted to do. I would actually venture to say this movie is a perfect example of how children who have been neglected by a parent(s) reenact that neglect in adult relationships. The main character, James, brought childish friends to support him in ways they most definitely were unprepared- at least that is how it seemed, but then something changes and your back I the psychological thriller. So, for a 2 AM and "I can't sleep" movie it is not bad and I can't really agree with the waste of time review. Yet, do not expect much.
18 Reviews
You wouldn't live in a town called that.....
FlashCallahan5 May 2015
Warning: Spoilers
In January 1996, Robert Stack and Unsolved Mysteries featured a story on landowner Bert Wall's interactions with the spirits that roamed the Devil's Backbone.
The tale goes that he was quite a bizarre person, and spent a lot of time in solitude.
Nearly twenty years later, Wall passed away, leaving behind tales of an inexplicable terror to those that knew him best.
So his estranged son decides to,do,the right thing after seeing the documentary, and go and seek the truth about his father, and lay him to rest in a ceremony....
It's another found footage movie that starts off particularly well, and very authentic. The makers go down the Blair Witch route of interviewing townsfolk. Some maybe real, some may not be, but what they are definitely full of boring stories, and the camera focuses on the for too long.
What worked with Blair.... was the interviews were extremely short, short enough for you not to think about the myths, short enough to make you uneasy.
These just linger, and by the time they reach the place they are supposed to be going to, the films nearly over, and you couldn't care less about them.
So the son goes about bonkers, there is a phantom car, and just before you can say Scooby Doo!, its all over after a silly attempt and and really misjudged jump scare.
It's as if the jump scare was add to prompt the audience to know that the film is over.
Believe me, you lost my attention way before the ending.
Don't bother...
The tale goes that he was quite a bizarre person, and spent a lot of time in solitude.
Nearly twenty years later, Wall passed away, leaving behind tales of an inexplicable terror to those that knew him best.
So his estranged son decides to,do,the right thing after seeing the documentary, and go and seek the truth about his father, and lay him to rest in a ceremony....
It's another found footage movie that starts off particularly well, and very authentic. The makers go down the Blair Witch route of interviewing townsfolk. Some maybe real, some may not be, but what they are definitely full of boring stories, and the camera focuses on the for too long.
What worked with Blair.... was the interviews were extremely short, short enough for you not to think about the myths, short enough to make you uneasy.
These just linger, and by the time they reach the place they are supposed to be going to, the films nearly over, and you couldn't care less about them.
So the son goes about bonkers, there is a phantom car, and just before you can say Scooby Doo!, its all over after a silly attempt and and really misjudged jump scare.
It's as if the jump scare was add to prompt the audience to know that the film is over.
Believe me, you lost my attention way before the ending.
Don't bother...
Good until the very end.
theghostinyou4215 May 2015
This film started out really slow and a bit boring for me. When they started exploring the house, things started picking up and I really enjoyed it. The landscape really helped a lot, and helped set the mood I feel. I enjoyed the film up until the end. I thought there were a lot of things they threw in and never explained (Was there a point to the Nazi memorabilia?) The very end of the movie was something seen a million times and the effects were not good. I think if they just focused on the story of the woman in white it would've been a lot better.I did like the documentary style of movie that this was. The ending ruined it for me.
Awful
neil-shrubb4 April 2015
Please read this review before watching this movie, and then don't watch this movie. I am saving you precious time, I sat through this, hitting horror rock bottom, so you don't have to. An intriguing beginning never developed into anything other than an absolute waste of time. From the played out format, the complete lack of pace, the running and screaming in the night, the boredom, oh God the boredom ! The arrogance that this was good enough to be made into a movie in the first place, then star in it ! not to mention the waste of resources, time and money of all involved beggars belief. I beg of you Jake Wade Wall, please stop making movies.
Tired old reality style shaky cam.
scottar-4984510 April 2015
UGH... Did I really just watch this? Stuck on the couch after surgery and wishing this was just a bad post op dream. Bad actors, especially the girls. The castrated metro males are weaker than kittens.
A good story idea ruined by bad actors and cinematography. The style is over used and unoriginal. Im no production expert but Im a consumer and this is just plain dollar store quality.
The author needs to get with a real professional production company and take this story where it needs to go. story line drifts and some scenes make no sense at all. For example, boar in the trap. So and then what?
The location was good for the story, could of made better use of the landscape. everything was from one prospective only, the speechless camera operator.
A good story idea ruined by bad actors and cinematography. The style is over used and unoriginal. Im no production expert but Im a consumer and this is just plain dollar store quality.
The author needs to get with a real professional production company and take this story where it needs to go. story line drifts and some scenes make no sense at all. For example, boar in the trap. So and then what?
The location was good for the story, could of made better use of the landscape. everything was from one prospective only, the speechless camera operator.
I've seen worse
martoni6420 April 2015
Not many, but I've seen worse. It starts off promising with a son looking for closure after his father's death, bringing a few friends for a simply ceremony. He makes it all into some kind of documentary so this movie is part self documentary (Blair witch project you know) and part real time action.
Now, if the parts hinted at in the documentary part of the film actually got acted on in the real time action part - then it would actually, maybe, and quite possibly have been a decent horror story. But no, that doesn't really happen.
Either because the actors and director doesn't have necessary talent to pull it through, or because the script is bad, or maybe a combination. Yelling in darkness isn't acting, so that doesn't count towards talent. And, unfortunately, that is most that happens in the real life action part of the film. It simply gets hideously boring.
I think it would have been much, much better to concentrate on the documentary, fleshing out the story that way and make a Gothic, Lovecraftian end to it all rather than the poor action it contains. Alas it's much too late for that now ...
Now, if the parts hinted at in the documentary part of the film actually got acted on in the real time action part - then it would actually, maybe, and quite possibly have been a decent horror story. But no, that doesn't really happen.
Either because the actors and director doesn't have necessary talent to pull it through, or because the script is bad, or maybe a combination. Yelling in darkness isn't acting, so that doesn't count towards talent. And, unfortunately, that is most that happens in the real life action part of the film. It simply gets hideously boring.
I think it would have been much, much better to concentrate on the documentary, fleshing out the story that way and make a Gothic, Lovecraftian end to it all rather than the poor action it contains. Alas it's much too late for that now ...
The Worst Film Ever Made
powerrose5 April 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Roger Ebert claimed that Human Centipede was the worst movie ever made, but at least it had a purpose (and plot and acting). No, this is truly, absolutely, the worst movie ever made in the history of all movies.
Don't think I take this condemnation lightly. This "movie" should not even be called a film. It is the movie version of muzak, or Kidz Bop. It's a movie that got made that no one thought was good or intended for anyone to see. I truly think that they hoped to sell this to netflix and some really, really low-level channels, like channel 33 in Guatemala at 3:00am.
Oh, if only this film were bad. There are movies that are so bad, they become campy or cult films. No, this film is the most mediocre waste of film to ever be produced. This film is like a computer algorithm wrote it, and it's got the formula down exactly, but it just slapped in whatever. Or that the film maker made it really fast, like a college kid with a paper due the next day.
It's a bummer, because the base of a good movie is there. I mean, it's about his own father who was on Unsolved Mysteries because his ranch was so haunted! So, even though the beginning is full of this lame guy and his painfully, painfully white privileged, LA friends, for about 20 minutes you have a tiny hope that this thing might be watchable.
First third of the movie: I'm mildly interested because of the true family dynamics so even though the central cast sucks, maybe this will come out to be enjoyable.
Second third: This isn't much of a spoiler, because this film has seemingly hundreds of things haunting the ranch including: Cherokees, angry ghost of woman raped to death by Cherokees, Nazis, possessed pigs, dead animals, live animals, blurry things, thudding things, scary blurred face ghost children, ghost pickup trucks, aliens?, ghost rocks (not kidding), ghosts down a hole, goat-killing demons, tire-slashing demons (I will grant that they might be the same as the goat-slashing demons), a tiny baby piano, spiders, maybe the Blair Witch (they go in circles a lot and yell about maps), people going crazy, women screaming on cell phones, kids screaming, and so on. So, the second third is sort of a numbing, deep confusion.
Last third: Playing Candy Crush and wondering how much worse this can get (the ending. There isn't a student film around with a worse ending.)
Don't think I take this condemnation lightly. This "movie" should not even be called a film. It is the movie version of muzak, or Kidz Bop. It's a movie that got made that no one thought was good or intended for anyone to see. I truly think that they hoped to sell this to netflix and some really, really low-level channels, like channel 33 in Guatemala at 3:00am.
Oh, if only this film were bad. There are movies that are so bad, they become campy or cult films. No, this film is the most mediocre waste of film to ever be produced. This film is like a computer algorithm wrote it, and it's got the formula down exactly, but it just slapped in whatever. Or that the film maker made it really fast, like a college kid with a paper due the next day.
It's a bummer, because the base of a good movie is there. I mean, it's about his own father who was on Unsolved Mysteries because his ranch was so haunted! So, even though the beginning is full of this lame guy and his painfully, painfully white privileged, LA friends, for about 20 minutes you have a tiny hope that this thing might be watchable.
First third of the movie: I'm mildly interested because of the true family dynamics so even though the central cast sucks, maybe this will come out to be enjoyable.
Second third: This isn't much of a spoiler, because this film has seemingly hundreds of things haunting the ranch including: Cherokees, angry ghost of woman raped to death by Cherokees, Nazis, possessed pigs, dead animals, live animals, blurry things, thudding things, scary blurred face ghost children, ghost pickup trucks, aliens?, ghost rocks (not kidding), ghosts down a hole, goat-killing demons, tire-slashing demons (I will grant that they might be the same as the goat-slashing demons), a tiny baby piano, spiders, maybe the Blair Witch (they go in circles a lot and yell about maps), people going crazy, women screaming on cell phones, kids screaming, and so on. So, the second third is sort of a numbing, deep confusion.
Last third: Playing Candy Crush and wondering how much worse this can get (the ending. There isn't a student film around with a worse ending.)
A waste of time - shaky-cam headache
rosecalifornia4 April 2015
If you can deal with the shaky-cam nausea, it is still a complete waste of time. There really is no spoiler, it is a documentary of someone trying to build something from nothing. It is so void of any substance that it is even difficult to fill in ten lines - mandatory - to post a review. As another reviewer mentioned, no need to waste your time watching this. Even the lack of planning to drive out to the ranch is laughable. Prepare for bugs, but hunters on a ranch. Also I feel bad for the academics that were interviewed for this documentary. I wonder how they feel after seeing the end result with their academic integrity attached.
Just Good Enough To Earn 6 Stars
Necroambulant12 May 2015
Devil's Backbone Texas is a decent movie for what it is, a fictional documentary building on supposed "real life" paranormal activity in the region. The documentary aspect of the movie could have been more coherent and fluid as the protagonist is investigating his con man father's bizarre death, the claims of supernatural activity surrounding that event, and his goal of spreading his father's ashes on the property...but it works for the purposes of the movie, being amateurs and friends filming the documentary rather than professional documentary filmmakers. It's a slow burn with limited payoff at the end and a few attempted jump scares mingled with some attempts at tense moments during the latter half of the movie...though some of the tension is pulled off fairly well, with some creepy bits and pieces. What truly makes the movie worthwhile is the final couple of minutes with a twist that makes you think one thing followed shortly by another that wraps it all up. If the build up to the conclusion had been a little bit better, the whole movie could have been a pretty great fake documentary, but it stumbles a bit too much coming out of the gate.
dictated but not read
aprilarbogast23 May 2015
Warning: Spoilers
OK.....so im going to start out by saying i love scary movies(have watched the old 'the thing' about a hundred times).....can even somewhat enjoy some of the hand-held cam versions. i was really looking forward to seeing this sorry excuse for a movie/docu. watched his dad on unsolved mysteries many moons ago and have even looked up info on the area as well. and granted, didn't get a boatload of high reviews, but thought maybe it was just the people who put their noses up to anything paranormal. that was NOT the case. started out fairly interesting, even suckered my old man into stretching out and watching it w/me. needless to say, he is NOT pleased w/me right now and im even less pleased. it is supposed to do w/an actual journey the son took to spread his dads ashes and friends helping to give moral support and document it. yet, for whatever reason, the part that is supposed to be the journey, is reenacted w/occasional snippets w/the guy and his sisters(actually the son and daughters). why? doesn't make sense? you are absolutely correct.....doesn't make sense. it took a serious nose dive about 15-20 minutes in and continued to get worse from there. so,so bad. there went 127 minutes of my life i will NEVER get back. and i usually don't leave movie reviews....feel its more a thing of personal tastes and whatnot.......do NOT watch this......terrible terrible severely disappointing and terrible!!!! did i mention,terrible?
Thoroughly Enjoyable
Shelpa18 March 2016
I watch a LOT of movies and really enjoy found footage. I think it is a genre that you either love or hate. I believe the bad reviews that these types of movies receive are due to people who do not have an affection for the genre watching and then reviewing them. These types of movies are usually filmed on a budget by inexperienced actors and film makers so why people watching them expect to see superb effects, acting, editing etc is something that I have never understood.
If you enjoy found footage then I think that you would consider this an above average found footage film.
The acting was great and the build up of suspense while laying out the background and story was fantastic. It is one of the most convincing 'mockumentry' type movies I have seen. I also did some googling after watching this movie and it is very obvious that a lot of effort went into research and into ensuring that the film had a realistic vibe.
Despite what some reviewers are saying I thought the ending was very satisfying and unexpected. I found myself smiling and then shocked at what was happening.
If you are a found footage lover, then give it a go, I guarantee you will enjoy it.
If you enjoy found footage then I think that you would consider this an above average found footage film.
The acting was great and the build up of suspense while laying out the background and story was fantastic. It is one of the most convincing 'mockumentry' type movies I have seen. I also did some googling after watching this movie and it is very obvious that a lot of effort went into research and into ensuring that the film had a realistic vibe.
Despite what some reviewers are saying I thought the ending was very satisfying and unexpected. I found myself smiling and then shocked at what was happening.
If you are a found footage lover, then give it a go, I guarantee you will enjoy it.
Mockumentary Horror Done Well
kgreene1023 May 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Full disclosure, I am a sucker for the Found Footage/Mockumentary genre that has become increasingly popular with lower budget film makers. Either you love the genre or you hate it...and that should be a big factor in your decision to watch.
Devil's Backbone, Texas is almost like two films in one. It begins with a narrative of a man returning to his father's home in Texas. This is our semi-fictive story. However, it completes this documentary feeling with experts talking about the history of the Devil's Backbone as well as color interviews on the filmmaker's father. This first half set's up the events of the second half, the true mockumentary/found footage. As the film-maker and his crew of friends arrive at his family's ranch, they begin to have some strange encounters.
At this point, once's suspension of disbelief begins to kick in and we realize this most likely a film, not true to life. Leading up to the second half, we experience a better interesting documentary...one I actually enjoyed. The added benefit of the "real encounters" made the story better, in my mind.
I won't belabor the plot, but it has some spooky events and the ending is not totally satisfying (what found footage ending is?)...but it has some originality and some strong moments. For me, I really enjoyed the blending of the informative with the narrative to create a stronger sense of realism. By presenting the audience with a build up of fact- based story telling and then showing them the found footage style horror, it creates a movie that is harder to dismiss as fake. This is similar to Paranormal Activity's lack of credits...it unbalance's the viewer.
I won't say this is an original idea, I have seen it done before. However, I am always pulled in by it and it is a very strong story telling technique.
Anyways, I think the movie is a good addition to the found footage genre, it is well put together and, while not ground breaking, still an interesting movie.
Devil's Backbone, Texas is almost like two films in one. It begins with a narrative of a man returning to his father's home in Texas. This is our semi-fictive story. However, it completes this documentary feeling with experts talking about the history of the Devil's Backbone as well as color interviews on the filmmaker's father. This first half set's up the events of the second half, the true mockumentary/found footage. As the film-maker and his crew of friends arrive at his family's ranch, they begin to have some strange encounters.
At this point, once's suspension of disbelief begins to kick in and we realize this most likely a film, not true to life. Leading up to the second half, we experience a better interesting documentary...one I actually enjoyed. The added benefit of the "real encounters" made the story better, in my mind.
I won't belabor the plot, but it has some spooky events and the ending is not totally satisfying (what found footage ending is?)...but it has some originality and some strong moments. For me, I really enjoyed the blending of the informative with the narrative to create a stronger sense of realism. By presenting the audience with a build up of fact- based story telling and then showing them the found footage style horror, it creates a movie that is harder to dismiss as fake. This is similar to Paranormal Activity's lack of credits...it unbalance's the viewer.
I won't say this is an original idea, I have seen it done before. However, I am always pulled in by it and it is a very strong story telling technique.
Anyways, I think the movie is a good addition to the found footage genre, it is well put together and, while not ground breaking, still an interesting movie.
Texas Devil's Cure for Insomnia
tmccull5218 March 2020
Warning: Spoilers
People who suffer from insomnia, rejoice! Relief is at hand! This may very arguably be the most boring horror movie that I've ever seen. Nothing even remotely suspenseful or frightening happens until literally the last two minutes of the movie.
The film plays more like a travelogue for anyone that might might be interested in visiting this section of Texas. The main n thrust of the film centers around a man who becomes estranged from his family, and buys huge tracts of land near a geographic landmark called the Devil's Backbone. A great deal of the movie consists of interviews with the land owner's friends and family. Some opine that he's a great guy and a paragon of philanthropism, others suggest that he was shady, and not such a swell fella, after all. His children belong to the latter group.
The land owner dies, and his widow requests that his ashes be spread over a certain section of the property. The youngest child, Jake, decides to comply with the request, and he wants to combine this with a video-documentation of the ritual. He also plans to investigate, and see if the property is as haunted by ghosts, spirits, and demons as his late father had suggested. To commemorate this auspicious occasion, Jake invites his three besties along.
We get more flashbacks and interviews sprinkled in with "current" events in the movie. About three quarters of the way into the film, we're still waiting for something supernatural or scary to happen.
When mysterious or frightening events do occur, we come to find out that these events were all part of an extravagant, complicated practical joke played by Jake uopn his friends. Ha. Ha. Ha. Oh, Jake. You impish prankster. Jake is both mystified and disappointed that his friends aren't at all amused by the prank, which he intended as a tribute to his dearly departed father. Then, in literally the very last few seconds of the movie, Jake and his accomplice are snatched up into the night by some unseen force. We get a single glimpse of a hideous, pallid female face, and roll credits; the movie ends. You literally have to sit through 99.9% of this movie before anything "scary" actually happens, and when it does, it really isn't all that scary.
I gave this film two stars instead of one, because it contained original footage Friday m the first "Unsolved Mysteries" television series, hosted by Robert Stack. I used to love that show. If not for the inclusion of that footage, I would have struggled to give this movie a single star, at all.
The film plays more like a travelogue for anyone that might might be interested in visiting this section of Texas. The main n thrust of the film centers around a man who becomes estranged from his family, and buys huge tracts of land near a geographic landmark called the Devil's Backbone. A great deal of the movie consists of interviews with the land owner's friends and family. Some opine that he's a great guy and a paragon of philanthropism, others suggest that he was shady, and not such a swell fella, after all. His children belong to the latter group.
The land owner dies, and his widow requests that his ashes be spread over a certain section of the property. The youngest child, Jake, decides to comply with the request, and he wants to combine this with a video-documentation of the ritual. He also plans to investigate, and see if the property is as haunted by ghosts, spirits, and demons as his late father had suggested. To commemorate this auspicious occasion, Jake invites his three besties along.
We get more flashbacks and interviews sprinkled in with "current" events in the movie. About three quarters of the way into the film, we're still waiting for something supernatural or scary to happen.
When mysterious or frightening events do occur, we come to find out that these events were all part of an extravagant, complicated practical joke played by Jake uopn his friends. Ha. Ha. Ha. Oh, Jake. You impish prankster. Jake is both mystified and disappointed that his friends aren't at all amused by the prank, which he intended as a tribute to his dearly departed father. Then, in literally the very last few seconds of the movie, Jake and his accomplice are snatched up into the night by some unseen force. We get a single glimpse of a hideous, pallid female face, and roll credits; the movie ends. You literally have to sit through 99.9% of this movie before anything "scary" actually happens, and when it does, it really isn't all that scary.
I gave this film two stars instead of one, because it contained original footage Friday m the first "Unsolved Mysteries" television series, hosted by Robert Stack. I used to love that show. If not for the inclusion of that footage, I would have struggled to give this movie a single star, at all.
Original Found Footage Film
norman-dostal7 May 2015
Warning: Spoilers
I watched this last night and was pleasantly surprised.The overall concept of the film works. It takes an overused genre and adds a unique, compelling spin. The director/writer/star's father is the subject of the first half of the film (done documentary style) and interweaves a current ghost story into the works. The film's first half works REALLY well-it is interesting and the subjects (the real family) are good in the interviews. The film isn't quite as successful with the ghost story second half, but this transition from non fiction to fiction would be tough for anyone to accomplish. It is clear the auteur is expressing real emotion on camera and it works. Overall, a good spin on a genre that needs creative injections such as this.
Texas History
voguecleaners1 April 2015
Warning: Spoilers
I'm may be a little biased with my review. So, real Texan here. It was an excellent surprise to see Jack Glover's appearance in the movie. I haven't been a fan of bouncing camera Blair Witch Project/Cloverfield style of filming taking over so many new horror movies! I'm glad I gave this one a chance. The manual camera style isn't over the top, and it actually works well with the plot. I think it's time to take a weekend trip to The Devil's Backbone. I know I'll never forget my times with Jack Glover as a child. The fact that he was portraying himself went a long ways with me. I've looked up some of the other stories/events the movie references, and it's obvious there was a lot of research that went into the story.
Promising, But Didn't Live Up To Its Potential.
bighungryboi4 February 2016
Warning: Spoilers
For the "found footage" genre, this film certainly stands out. Not just because of its documentary style elements, but also because its actually interesting. For a while. In the very beginning, the documentary card is played heavily, and is done very well, but things begin to go down hill when the group gets to the ranch. While it may be kind of cliché, what happens from the time the group gets to the ranch until Jake goes missing is pretty well written but could have been executed better, however the real problem is with the very ending of the film. All the supernatural buildup that the film did a really good job of putting together is thrown out the window in favor of it all being a prank, and then in a sudden twist the characters are killed by some unseen entity. I think a cliché ending of "guy goes crazy" was trying to be avoided, the only problem is, they had a really good "guy goes crazy" put together. I think if some other way was found to communicate the presence of the supernatural and show that Bert Wall was right the film definitely would have went above and beyond. All and all its put together well and is a fresh take on the found film genre, but definitely didn't hit as hard as it could have
Interesting new take on mock-documentary
sclvr10 June 2015
Warning: Spoilers
I stumbled on this one in the Netflix New Release section. Never heard of it, but it sounded interesting. This was one of the better horror films I've seen in a while. It starts out as a very realistic documentary, based on a real episode of Unsolved Mysteries from the mid 90s. It goes sideways from there in a delicious way. Great locations, good enough acting, good music, and great character actors in the documentary parts, especially the sisters. Well done. There's also a couple of good twists at the end. It's somewhat similar to the first Blair Witch movie. I liked it more. The scenes in the fathers dilapidated house were creepy, too. The end sequence where the main character is playing the toy piano was effective, giving me a good case of goosebumps.
There should be a special film genre called "boredom cinema".
fedor824 July 2018
Warning: Spoilers
One of those low-budget mockumentary stinkers that have a very thin story (or in this case no story), just a bunch of annoying actors saying essentially the same thing over and over, implying that some weird danger is afoot. And they keep promising this danger, and promising and promising it to the increasingly restless viewers, but it never materializes - until the very last scene: but at that point it's a wrap-up, folks! You got nothing! Now go back to your real horror films, folks. In that sense, not much different from "Monster A Go-Go" actually.
The first hour is incredibly boring. All we get is the backstory of some dullard who may or may not have seen supernatural things, brought to us by actors that somehow manage to be quite annoying, and this goes basically for the male cast. They serve us the most boring details, over and over. An "expedition" made up of some of these amateur goons goes to his ranch, and they just wonder around aimlessly while doing their corny little camcorder improv shtick. OK, at least they're not teens, but they might as well be, intellectually.
After the first hour things pick up - ever so slightly, almost unnoticeably. The characters bicker and they seem scared - while the viewer waits impatiently for something horror-like to happen. Or at least some proper hints and clues as to what the hell they're supposed to find there: a cult? Indian sacrifice? What? Nope, we get no info at all. You, the viewer, are low in the pecking order and not much of a priority for the amateurs who make these kinds of turkeys.
And then the two idiotic plot-twists. It was all fake! Tuh-duh! The twerp set the whole thing up. Seconds after he reveals this stupid and quite illogical surprise, the group gets attacked by the real forces of evil and that's it. No explanation, not even an inkling of a hint of a clue. Like a Bugs Bunny cartoon, minus the ingenuity.
So if your idea of scary entertainment is watching boots hung on trees, or bad actors pretending they're frightened despite nothing much happening around them, this might be a film for you. Have fun with this dross, because these film-makers are in need of fans. Any fans. Clueless newbie horror fans and anyone else who finds boring things interesting.
The first hour is incredibly boring. All we get is the backstory of some dullard who may or may not have seen supernatural things, brought to us by actors that somehow manage to be quite annoying, and this goes basically for the male cast. They serve us the most boring details, over and over. An "expedition" made up of some of these amateur goons goes to his ranch, and they just wonder around aimlessly while doing their corny little camcorder improv shtick. OK, at least they're not teens, but they might as well be, intellectually.
After the first hour things pick up - ever so slightly, almost unnoticeably. The characters bicker and they seem scared - while the viewer waits impatiently for something horror-like to happen. Or at least some proper hints and clues as to what the hell they're supposed to find there: a cult? Indian sacrifice? What? Nope, we get no info at all. You, the viewer, are low in the pecking order and not much of a priority for the amateurs who make these kinds of turkeys.
And then the two idiotic plot-twists. It was all fake! Tuh-duh! The twerp set the whole thing up. Seconds after he reveals this stupid and quite illogical surprise, the group gets attacked by the real forces of evil and that's it. No explanation, not even an inkling of a hint of a clue. Like a Bugs Bunny cartoon, minus the ingenuity.
So if your idea of scary entertainment is watching boots hung on trees, or bad actors pretending they're frightened despite nothing much happening around them, this might be a film for you. Have fun with this dross, because these film-makers are in need of fans. Any fans. Clueless newbie horror fans and anyone else who finds boring things interesting.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
