A woman once abandoned as an orphan leads a documentary film crew into Amish country to record her first encounter with blood relatives, but their welcome disguises a chilling fate ...
Contrived 1st person POV folk horror that barely connects with the concept of the origin story. Sustained on a thin gruel of jump scares, it switches to execution mode with a high degree of implausibility as the characters find themselves in underground territory reminiscent of As Above So Below. And the climax is stretched out in an excessive run time.
Nothing organic about the forced scenario, and light years away from the emotional impact of the first few movies, where we got to eaves-drop on a relationship into which a deadly past steadily crept its way.
In similar style to the later episodes of this franchise, the found footage conceit is betrayed by obvious dramatic edits and touches of music that take the viewer out of the moment. And some heavy CGI - a literal-minded loss of confidence in the power of suggestion. The pacing is OK, but not choppy enough to distract from plot holes.
Four stars for competent acting, and for unusual lighting in scenes involving candles and lamps, plus a few overhead drone shots of the forest. Also a few aspects of the cult's lifestyle are interesting, particularly at the dinner table.
Contrived 1st person POV folk horror that barely connects with the concept of the origin story. Sustained on a thin gruel of jump scares, it switches to execution mode with a high degree of implausibility as the characters find themselves in underground territory reminiscent of As Above So Below. And the climax is stretched out in an excessive run time.
Nothing organic about the forced scenario, and light years away from the emotional impact of the first few movies, where we got to eaves-drop on a relationship into which a deadly past steadily crept its way.
In similar style to the later episodes of this franchise, the found footage conceit is betrayed by obvious dramatic edits and touches of music that take the viewer out of the moment. And some heavy CGI - a literal-minded loss of confidence in the power of suggestion. The pacing is OK, but not choppy enough to distract from plot holes.
Four stars for competent acting, and for unusual lighting in scenes involving candles and lamps, plus a few overhead drone shots of the forest. Also a few aspects of the cult's lifestyle are interesting, particularly at the dinner table.