If the director wanted to film girls making out, he should have just done that instead of half baking a forced love story between two characters with no chemistry and no interest in each other.
Reviews
7 Reviews
She Walks the Woods
(2019)
Not a single original idea in the script
18 April 2021
I want to be fair and say that I actually liked the monster design, considering this couldn't have had much of a budget.
Sadly, there is another hour and a half of movie surrounding said monster which I was not as fond of. The cast acts like they're graduating middle school rather than fully grown adults-- good Lord, the way they talk about the female lead almost made me quit in the first ten minutes. There's little attempts at building suspense, other than the stock monster sound effects that were already overused a decade ago.
It's rough, but not in the fun, promising way where you can see the film maker's ideas shining through. The quintessential uninspired found footage movie to be dumped on streaming services and then forgotten about.
Sadly, there is another hour and a half of movie surrounding said monster which I was not as fond of. The cast acts like they're graduating middle school rather than fully grown adults-- good Lord, the way they talk about the female lead almost made me quit in the first ten minutes. There's little attempts at building suspense, other than the stock monster sound effects that were already overused a decade ago.
It's rough, but not in the fun, promising way where you can see the film maker's ideas shining through. The quintessential uninspired found footage movie to be dumped on streaming services and then forgotten about.
Pungo: A Witch's Tale
(2020)
Future So-Bad-It's-Good Staple
6 April 2021
This movie is incredible. The plot is impossible guess, two out of the three main leads are never sure what facial expression they should be making, CGI that would've looked cheap in 2004, and to top it all off with they thought "Pungo" was a scary title. It's a perfect pick for a bad movie night with your friends. I cannot recommend it enough.
Bad Ben
(2016 TV Movie)
Did we see the same movie?
6 April 2021
I don't like to accuse people of buying off reviews. It's petty, childish, and ignores the obvious answer that some people have different taste. There's plenty of movies I love that don't have any ratings above a 3/10!
But I cannot understand what these other reviewers see in this movie. This should easily be considered lowest of the low tiers. I mean no disrespect to the man behind this film, being the director, script writer, and lead actor of a project has to be a taxing effort. On the other hand, it can't be that hard when you're doing nothing but walking around your house for an hour and a half and occasionally pushing your furniture around.
I love found footage; the good, the bad, and the boring. This movie gives you absolutely nothing. It's not scary, there's no characters or plot to hold onto, it's not especially nice looking. I don't get it. Where's the low budget charm everyone is talking about? I watched this movie with 2 friends of mine who are also longtime fans of the genre and they were equally baffled by the overwhelming positive feedback. What am I missing?
I've been making my way through some of Mr. Bach's other films-- for context, if nothing else-- and while they are slowly improving, this one is a hard pass.
But I cannot understand what these other reviewers see in this movie. This should easily be considered lowest of the low tiers. I mean no disrespect to the man behind this film, being the director, script writer, and lead actor of a project has to be a taxing effort. On the other hand, it can't be that hard when you're doing nothing but walking around your house for an hour and a half and occasionally pushing your furniture around.
I love found footage; the good, the bad, and the boring. This movie gives you absolutely nothing. It's not scary, there's no characters or plot to hold onto, it's not especially nice looking. I don't get it. Where's the low budget charm everyone is talking about? I watched this movie with 2 friends of mine who are also longtime fans of the genre and they were equally baffled by the overwhelming positive feedback. What am I missing?
I've been making my way through some of Mr. Bach's other films-- for context, if nothing else-- and while they are slowly improving, this one is a hard pass.
A Second Son
(2012)
An interesting, overlooked film
6 April 2021
Not a movie I would recommend to everyone, but one I enjoyed for the most part.
It's not an outright horror movie, save for one pretty wild scene near the middle, but it's got good a atmosphere. The first act is dedicated mostly to the family dynamic, specifically the tense relationship between Emily and her mother and the more supportive one between her and her brother. It almost felt something like "Exhibit A". Around the halfway point, it takes a big tone shift more towards the Mystery/Thriller side of things, which I'm not sure was the best idea. I feel like it lost some of the "heart", so to speak. Thankfully, the film didn't drag on too long when the more political and religious aspects came in, so it never quite lost me. A few of the line readings can be unconvincing (the doctor and the interview scenes are pretty rough) but overall it felt very well acted. Everyone in the family felt very believable. I'm surprised the main actress doesn't have any other major role credits! It ends pretty abruptly, but it makes sense in the context of the film so I can forgive it. It happens more often than not in found footage features ;P
If you like a family drama with a sprinkle of religious mythology, it might be worth it to check it out. Not perfect, not one of the best FF movie I've seen, but it definitely deserves more than the 20 ratings it currently has.
...I am, however, dropping a star for the scene of the underage girl in her underwear. Seriously, dude? C'mon.
It's not an outright horror movie, save for one pretty wild scene near the middle, but it's got good a atmosphere. The first act is dedicated mostly to the family dynamic, specifically the tense relationship between Emily and her mother and the more supportive one between her and her brother. It almost felt something like "Exhibit A". Around the halfway point, it takes a big tone shift more towards the Mystery/Thriller side of things, which I'm not sure was the best idea. I feel like it lost some of the "heart", so to speak. Thankfully, the film didn't drag on too long when the more political and religious aspects came in, so it never quite lost me. A few of the line readings can be unconvincing (the doctor and the interview scenes are pretty rough) but overall it felt very well acted. Everyone in the family felt very believable. I'm surprised the main actress doesn't have any other major role credits! It ends pretty abruptly, but it makes sense in the context of the film so I can forgive it. It happens more often than not in found footage features ;P
If you like a family drama with a sprinkle of religious mythology, it might be worth it to check it out. Not perfect, not one of the best FF movie I've seen, but it definitely deserves more than the 20 ratings it currently has.
...I am, however, dropping a star for the scene of the underage girl in her underwear. Seriously, dude? C'mon.
The Ghost in the Darkness
(2019)
Almost incoherent.
11 May 2020
Short review for people deciding if they want to check this movie out: I'd skip it. The highs don't feel good enough to cover the lows.
I was very tempted to make my review just say "what" and leave it at that, but that wouldn't be fair to the people who put legitimate effort into this. So, I'm going to try and articulate my thoughts.
I actually enjoyed the first half of the movie quite a bit! It's very rough and unfocused, and some of the serious dialogue comes off so awkward that it's pretty funny instead, but there's enjoyment to be found in that too. It reminded me a lot of those Youtube horror webseries that were all the rage back in 2012, especially with the acting. The racism plot comes in very hamfistedly and the video tape in the woods is mostly forgotten about. Like I said, very rough, but it shows potential from the film makers. A movie that might not be great from a critical lens, but it would be fun to watch with friends.
And then halfway through it strangely breaks the found footage format and becomes a more traditional slasher. It goes back to the handheld cameras later, which just makes the break even more confusing. It would have been easy to justify why the cameras were still rolling, and it really took me out of it.
Without giving too much away, the ending seems to come out of nowhere and without explaining anything. Pretty disappointing.
Now, despite saying all this, I still think this shows potential in the writer/director. The worst thing a movie can do is give me nothing to talk about, and I have a lot to say about this! Give it time to refine their craft and I think they could start making some genuinely good films. Hopefully, I can come back in a few years and gush about how much everyone has improved since now.
I was very tempted to make my review just say "what" and leave it at that, but that wouldn't be fair to the people who put legitimate effort into this. So, I'm going to try and articulate my thoughts.
I actually enjoyed the first half of the movie quite a bit! It's very rough and unfocused, and some of the serious dialogue comes off so awkward that it's pretty funny instead, but there's enjoyment to be found in that too. It reminded me a lot of those Youtube horror webseries that were all the rage back in 2012, especially with the acting. The racism plot comes in very hamfistedly and the video tape in the woods is mostly forgotten about. Like I said, very rough, but it shows potential from the film makers. A movie that might not be great from a critical lens, but it would be fun to watch with friends.
And then halfway through it strangely breaks the found footage format and becomes a more traditional slasher. It goes back to the handheld cameras later, which just makes the break even more confusing. It would have been easy to justify why the cameras were still rolling, and it really took me out of it.
Without giving too much away, the ending seems to come out of nowhere and without explaining anything. Pretty disappointing.
Now, despite saying all this, I still think this shows potential in the writer/director. The worst thing a movie can do is give me nothing to talk about, and I have a lot to say about this! Give it time to refine their craft and I think they could start making some genuinely good films. Hopefully, I can come back in a few years and gush about how much everyone has improved since now.
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