'THE UPPER FOOTAGE' (Screener Review)

MILD SPOILERS THROUGHOUT 

RATED- Unrated
RUN TIME- 90 Mins
WRITER(S)- Uncredited
STARRING- Uncredited
DIRECTOR- Justin Cole



Synopsis taken from IMDb
'THE UPPER FOOTAGE' is the first film experience of its kind. The film is an edited version of 393 minutes of recovered footage documenting a young girl's tragic overdose death and subsequent cover up by a group of affluent socialites. What started as a blackmail plot played out over YouTube, became Hollywood's biggest drug scandal, turned into a heavily controversial film property that was rumored to be held by some of the biggest names in Hollywood. Now, after playing itself out in the media for 3 years it is finally making its way to the public. 

First of all, I have to mention that I cannot believe that I saw someone online say that this is "One of the greatest movies I've ever seen". I don't know, maybe some people like myself just have higher standards in terms of what constitutes as a great movie. That quote is even more ludicrous than the actual movie.

Boredom is all you'll be AFFLICTED with

MILD SPOILERS THROUGHOUT

RATED- R
RUN TIME- 85 Mins
WRITER(S)- Derek Lee and Clif Prowse
STARRING- Clif Prowse, Derek Lee, and Michael Gill
DIRECTOR- Derek Lee and Clif Prowse 



Synopsis taken from IMDb
Two best friends see their trip of a lifetime take a dark turn when one of them is struck by a mysterious affliction. Now, in a foreign land, they race to uncover the source before it consumes him completely.




The first things that came to my mind when I was watching "Afflicted" was how it's yet another found footage film. I understand these types of movies are hot in the filmmaker community, if not just for the financial benefit of them not costing much to make, but this trend needs to die off already. Or at least tone it down. Found footage features are getting to the point of zombie flicks now, with how many terrible genre installments there are yearly. I think that as of now, unless it's done by a well known director who I support, I'm staying away from this sub-genre. It offers nothing new, and has been used to death.

We meet Derek (Derek Lee) and Clif (Clif Prowse), and we find out that Derek has AVM. Basically he has a tangle of blood vessels in his brain, and his time in this life may be limited. If there's an accident, and he hurts his head, that's all she wrote. So, rather than bask in his own self-pity and misery, Derek decides that he and his best friend since childhood, Clif, should tour the world. Of course, they have to film the entire experience for a live travel blog that they title "Ends of the Earth". Clif, wants to spend the time with his buddy before it's too late, he may not get another opportunity like this again in Derek's lifetime.
I appreciate the character's chemistry and history, and you can tell that they're bond is real. Both seeing their interactions on screen, and the photos of them as children, it's easy to see that the friendship is legitimate.

After meeting up with some friends who are in a band, Derek takes a girl back to he and Clif's hotel room. When Clif arrives later, he finds an unconscious Derek who's also wounded on his face, and has a nasty gash on his left bicep. After refusing to see a doctor and get his head and wounds checked out, Derek starts acting strange, and he throws up a lot in a restaurant, causing a scene. And his face and hands start burning, turning red and covered in welts. After constant refusal to see a doctor, his 'affliction' worsens, and the film goes in a different direction than I expected.

Aside from feeling and looking ill, Derek realizes that he has the ability to now punch through rock walls, and break rocks in half. He can also run over 160 miles per hour on foot, and he can leap unnaturally high. Clif, is not okay with all of this, but doesn't want to force his friend to stay in a hospital. If you ask me, Clif should have manned up and made Derek see a doctor, instead of catering to his feelings. After a confrontation in the street with random guys, Clif posts the video online. He then reads the comments left by viewers, and a small detail is brought to his attention: Derek licks blood off of his hand after a confrontation.

I think anyone watching can figure out where this is going once that little incident happens. And being honest and blunt, the characters are idiots. I understand not wanting to make your trip miserable, but at what point do you break down, put your selfish reasons aside, and get examined by a doctor. Not doing so only results in a worse aftermath, and both of them get what they deserve for beings so soft and stubborn. Rather than insist on Derek seeing help, Clif aids him in killing a pig for the blood. Then Clif whines and complains that he's traumatized from the animals savage death.
Like I said, idiocy. It's really hard to like characters in a movie when they're doing ridiculously dumb things.

And things turn messy real quick because neither Derek nor Clif know how to clean up after themselves, and leave a trail of chaos behind them. There's one part that is surprising and got a reaction out of me, and that's when we see Derek in his semi-animalistic state from starvation. As it turns out, human blood is required to survive, animal blood won't do the trick. Derek remains unconscious for 11 hours. After complications involving Clif offering up his blood, Derek is solo the duration of the film, which leads up to the best scene in the movie; Derek's suicide attempt.

When Derek goes in the sun, we see some pretty well-rounded makeup effects for burns. And once he's on the run from the police, he ends up broke, trying to survive and looking for answers. From there on it's just silly, and I lost any and all connection with this film. I noticed that this motion picture was much better carried on the shoulders of two leads than one. Derek's journey isn't intriguing enough without the input of Clif. It's just a bunch of scrambling around to find a cohesive plot.
The first act was a lot better than the second and third.

The worst scene for me, involves Derek being totally animalistic and savage, yet he's still holding the camcorder, recording all of the violence. It makes no sense, and scenes like this are why the found footage sub-genre is on it's last leg. We're at the point now where we'll need a miracle in found footage for this style of movie making to become everything but the laughing stock of horror. But regardless, stick around through the credits for a last minute surprise.

2 stars out of 5

HATE CRIME (2013)

RATED- Unrated
RUN TIME- 73 Mins
WRITER(S)- James Cullen Bressack and Jarret Cohen
STARRING- Jody Barton, Nicholas Adam Clark, and Greg Depetro
DIRECTOR- James Cullen Bressack



Synopsis taken from IMDb
A Jewish family, that just arrived in a new neighborhood, are recording their youngest son's birthday celebrations on video when their home is suddenly invaded by a bunch of crystal-meth-crazed Neo-Nazi lunatics. 




Now, if you read my blog often, or even time to time, you know that I'm one of those horror fans that can't resist a movie that has everyone waving the brutal flag for. If you tell me a film has a reputation like that, odds are I'm gunning to see it. I'll try any movie once, just to say I watched it. Being a horror critic you have to be up to date on what is considered extreme, just common sense, really.

When the movie starts, we're watching the celebration of a child's birthday. We're also introduced to the fact that the mother and father don't seem to get along too well. But before we can get any real character time, the Neo-Nazis invade the Jewish family's home and start wrecking havoc. I was surprised by how quick this film picks up. I guess seeing as it's only 73 minutes long, they had to get to the point quick.

The Nazi terrorists call themselves One, Two, and Three. They're totally off their rocker, and have no idea what they're doing. Often overacted, they're high on meth and wanted to scare the newest family in the neighborhood. But things get taken to an all new level of unnecessary proportions. In fact, one of the three lunatics even tells the family that it wasn't supposed to go down this way, but there's no going back.

So, rather than stop while they're ahead, they just go further with their terrorizing. The first notable thing that I disliked was that through the entire film, everyone is so loud and screaming that it's downright inaudible in parts. Add to that the fact that the Neo-Nazis are wearing masks, and it makes it even harder to hear some of the dialogue. I understand if this were done to maintain a sense of realism, but I would have rather heard what was being said with clarity. Especially since the acting being so poor at times ruins the realism the film creates.

I also have a problem with the fact that this movie takes itself so seriously, but it pussyfoots around the solid details that would have really improved the film. Such as when the mother is being raped. She is raped twice, once by Three, the over-sized meth freak, and a second time by her own son upon being forced by the intruders. And neither of these times does the moms underwear leave her waist. I know I probably sound like a creep saying this, but there's no proper way to say it without being blunt.

If you want to make a film that is built on suspense, then you don't need to show everything. But when you make a movie meant to push boundaries and show everything gruesome, you don't forget details like a rape victim still garnished in lingerie. It's common sense. What I dislike about "Hate Crime" most, is its lack of commitment to being a hardcore horror film, although it tries to pass itself off as one.

There's some serious problems paying attention to detail too, like the fact that the family doesn't fight back at all and just moan and cry like helpless victims. I understand the fact that the idea was to show a family being helpless and victimized, but no one trying to defend themselves is just disappointing. I know that if this type of scenario happened to me, I'd go down fighting, not crying and begging. I also hated how the victims weren't even tied up tight. Here we are, watching them thrash about in their chairs as they're beaten and even branded on the face with swastikas, all the while they're not even tied in tight, and could easily escape. I mean it's pretty clear watching the movie how lose those chords are tied around them. So again, something else that ruins the authenticity of this films attempted realistic feel.  

There's hardly any gore aside from a painful eyeball removal scene that's done off camera. This however, is filmed properly and lets the screams of agony tell the story rather than show you all the details. It's probably the most gruesome thing that happens in the entire film, even though we miss the visual. The entire third act is incredibly suspenseful, and the found footage/documentary style of filming works well for the story.

I think that One, Two, and Three are complete idiots outside of just being racist losers. When the father escapes their grasp, they waste so much time doing nothing. Meanwhile, in reality, someone escaping would cause the protagonists to run in fear of the cops being called. Not in this movie. They just get high and take their time, which is not realistic at all. They stick around beyond when they should, and they record way too much.

Towards the end it doesn't even make sense as to why they're still recording, and you can tell that it's just for the sake of the movie. You can't just leave things go on like that for the sake of the story. There's ways around such hiccups that wouldn't lessen the movies value. Such as just letting the movie cut off, or finding a better reason to let the camera run aside for the sake of having it sit on the dashboard while the meth-heads talk.

In the end, I enjoyed "Hate Crime", but I dislike it for its shortcomings, in which there are many. Nothing irks me more than a horror film with vast potential to beat the walls of conventional-ism down, but chickens out and plays it the safe way. Yeah, it may be hard to stomach, but there's things that constantly remind you that it's only a movie. So the point of the flick is lost, and it just becomes a senseless movie about brutality that dares to push barriers, but doesn't make the cut.

2.5 stars out of 5

THE SACRAMENT is a gut-wrenching horror experience

RATED- R
RUN TIME- 95 Mins
WRITER(S)- Ti West
STARRING- Joe Swanberg, Kate Lyn Sheil, and Amy Seimetz 
DIRECTOR- Ti West



Synopsis taken from IMDb
Two journalists set out to document their friends search to find his missing sister.




I've waited a long time to see this flick, having been a fan of  Ti West since I caught "The Roost" (2005) on Showtime while just browsing through channels. Since I don't tend to pry into/nor care about the private lives of celebrities or directors, it was a surprise to find out that West is from Wilmington, Delaware, the same place ol' Grimm here resides. It's cool to know there's someone from Delaware keeping it real for horror fans out there.

"The Sacrament", Ti's sixth feature-length film shows him giving the found footage sub-genre a try. We've seen West capture paranormal content before in his films, but this is a more grounded approach, and much scarier, in it's own way. From the jump, it opens with a strong sense of realism, and some good music. The score is notably well done, and just sets you up for what you're about to experience. It's unsettling, and alerts you that something serious is going to happen. Even though nothing happens right away, you know it's coming, and there's even a slight sense of dread.

I knew that there were some similarities to the real-life Jonestown Massacre even before viewing this film, due to my already existing knowledge of that event, and having heard the synopsis for "The Sacrament", back early last year. What I didn't expect was how far this movie was going to go, and I don't think most people do. This is not your conventional horror viewing experience by a long shot, and it's as horrifying as it is sad and tragic.

Sam (AJ Bowen), Patrick (Kentucker Audley), and Jake (Joe Swanberg) are cutting edge journalists and camera men. They take a trip to visit Eden Parish, the commune Patrick's sister, Caroline (Amy Seimetz) left drug rehabilitation to stay at, only to be greeted with trouble instantly. Upon finding out Patrick brought his friends (Sam and Jake) to join him on the trip, the transport men don't seem too keen on the idea. And things go from weird to worse once making it to the commune. At first glance all seems fine and dandy, but to outsiders, it's easy to see how delusional this whole situation is.

Although most of the community are resistant to talk to the journalists, some aren't, and I really liked that you get some screen time with some members, and see how they think and act. I also appreciate that it feels like you're watching behind the scenes of a documentary. After hearing that everyone obeys a man they call Father (Gene Jones), Sam goes for the throat and intends to ream Father in an interview. However, no matter how hard the questions, Father has stronger answers. He has a way about him with charisma and words that pulls you in, and  clouds even the clearest judgement against him. Sam even says that he had trouble concentrating when doing the interview, and didn't get to ask nearly as many questions as he hoped.

With an entire commune backing him, it's easy to see how and why these people live this way, even if you see and understand why and how it's completely wrong. It's very clever storytelling to show you the other side of things, the side that makes it clear to you why these people stay in Eden Parish. If not for this key element in storytelling, the film wouldn't have been as good as it is. If the story just focused on the negative things, and how Father and the commune is bad, it would have been cliche and another recycled found footage wannabe success story. Luckily, that is not the case with "The Sacrament".

Things get very complicated when Sam, Patrick, and Jake start having people beg them for transportation away from the commune. And it becomes clear, that not everyone is as happy with their life in Eden Parish as it looks. The third act of the film is total chaos, and downright heinous. As I said earlier, I was surprised by how far things go, and how it all plays out. Especially the scenes involving children. And while I give West credit for making another solid horror film without having it drenched in gore, the body count is outstanding. It's almost hard to believe the lack of blood shown for so many people dead, and it's all done very tastefully and used as needed.

There's hardly any cliches, in fact the only one that I can honestly remember is the fact that there's no cell signal for Sam, Patrick, and Jake. And under the circumstances it's understandable as to why they have no signal. And the acting is surprisingly good. AJ Bown and Joe Swanberg have been in a lot of horror films in the past couple of years, and never have I seen either of them act so real and genuine. This is their best performances yet, but the movie is crowned by Gene Jones's portrayal of Father. Father is as maniacal as he is sweet and charming, and his sincerity in the role makes the overall experience of watching both compelling and stunning.

This is the found footage sub-genre at its very best. Everything about it is memorable. Trust me, you can't unsee it once you've viewed it. It's the most horrific thing I've seen in recent memory. It's not the type of scary that makes you sleep with the lights on, it's the type to make you cringe and even feel sick. "The Sacrament" is a powerhouse and a modern horror classic, that shows everyone why Ti West is the best director in horror today. All of West's films are close for me, and I won't know until a few more viewings, but it's safe to say that this is quite possibly his best feature yet. It's definitely the best acted, and well worth the wait.

You can catch "The Sacrament" on VOD now or in theaters June 6th. But whatever you do, don't drink the juice...

4 stars out of 5

EVIDENCE isn't just another found footage film

RATED- R 
RUN TIME- 94 MINS
WRITER(S)- JOHN SWETNAM 
STARRING- RADHA MITCHELL, NOLAN GERARD FUNK, AND STEPHEN MOYER 
DIRECTOR- OLATUNDE OSUNSANMI 



Synopsis taken from IMDb 
A detective hunts down a killer using video footage shot by the victims of a massacre at an abandoned gas station. 

I can't really say that I was expecting much from this one but, being truthful, it delivered more than I expected. Although I'm a fan of HBO's "True Blood", Stephen Moyer hasn't done anything to impress me. Most of all the things I've seen him in haven't been very favorable to say the least. So, it was a nice change of pace to see him in a film with some real potential. 

Rather than following the cast around for 90 mins, the way most found footage movies do, this one actually incorporates some story. And, in between watching the footage found, we see inside the police department as investigators study and inspect the recorded evidence. We also see how the officers react to watching what they're seeing, and try to solve the mystery. I liked that this was done in such a way to mix-up what's now common for the found footage genre. This one makes the effort to go a little further, and do a little more... 

Detective Burquez (Radha Mitchell) heads the investigation, along with the help of Detective Reese (Stephen Moyer). Reese lost his child recently, and he demands to be on this case. Although Detective Burquez doesn't want Detective Reese around due to it being so close to the tragedy that he's recently undergone, she lets him join in on the investigation. My problem with this scenario is that I think Detective Reese was accepted onto the case in way to easy of a manor. It's stressed how unstable he is, yet he's brought in with hardly any debating. I find this to be on the unrealistic side. 

As they watch the videos from camcorders and cell phones, we see three friends going on a trip. And, they see it go terribly wrong as their stalked and killed off one by one by a man in a welding outfit. Using fire to kill most of the victims, we see that whoever this sicko is, clearly likes to torture his victims. However, lack of character development makes it hard to feel any sorrow or sympathy for the group struggling for survival.

All of the detectives back at the station, bounce back and forth trying to figure out who is behind the grisly murders. Theory after theory gets thrown out and contradicted. Ultimately, we're left trying to solve the puzzle with them. One thing that I can say, is that I didn't find it to be very predictable. Yeah, there are some scenes that you can sense coming a mile away but, there's things you don't expect as well. Especially the ending. Much like countless other horror films, everyone is a suspect, and it's all a matter of figuring out who the best liar is.

Overall, I'd say that I enjoyed this film. I'd also state that even though I'll go on record as saying I like it, I'll also go on record and say that I probably won't ever watch it again. It's one of those films that you just don't care to see again. Once is enough. Also, one of the main reason it's not re-watchable, is because it's not scary at all. It's suspenseful at times, but mostly, we just watch a bunch of random things happening. Nothing about it creeps me out, or even got a slight jump from me. 

It's just a lot of story and theorizing. In the end, "Evidence" is just one of those movies that exists. It's just there, take it or leave it. It isn't a complete waste of time but once you've seen it, you'll never need to see it again. I'm just thankful Stephen Moyer decided to do something slightly better than a terrible movie.

Crowsnest (2012)

RATED- R
RUN TIME- 84 MINS
WRITER(S)- JOHN SHEPPARD 
STARRING- MITTITA BARBER, ASLAM HUSAIN AND VICTOR ZINCK JR. 
DIRECTOR- BRENTON SPENCER



Synopsis taken from IMDb
In late summer of 2011, five young friends on a road trip went missing after being attacked by nomadic cannibals in a huge RV. Video was recorded by the victims and recovered by police as evidence in their still-unsolved murders. 




For some reason, Netflix gave this film a very high rating, so I figured I'd watch it. Only later did I realize that they've overrated a ton of movies. Giving some awful films 4 stars and up! I figure it's just some technical difficulties going on, but still, I would have liked to have known what I was getting into...

"Crowsnest" is a found footage movie, that doesn't bring anything new to the table. The found footage route is getting pretty overused as it is, so for a film to come out that's got nothing to offer is really just dropping the ball. You've got so many found footage films coming out like the "V/H/S" films, that have very creative short stories. So for this film to be full length and not have a single thing be memorable is just very poor.

There are some moments, actually there is one single moment, where my jaw dropped and thought this film had some opportunity. But as it turned out, my shock and surprise was only a momentary thing. 

I didn't like a single character and their dialog felt forced. Even though some of it came off as genuine, you're never taken out of the fact that it's a movie, nothing about it is believable, and that is crippling for a found footage film. The realism is what these types of films thrive on!

You can tell that this film is trying to imitate others, and one of them being overly obvious. They attempted to create the fear that we felt in "Jeepers Creepers", when the Creeper's rusty truck was running Darry and Trish off of the road. Only in this movie, it's done with a big white RV, and it couldn't be less scary. I really didn't care if the RV hit the stars of this film, because it didn't seen authentic. It's cheap scares and it's been done way better before.

Of course, as the film progresses and things get worse and worse, the lead characters want to hash it out and argue. They waste time and energy of drama that I couldn't care less for. The realism isn't there, so the characters are poorly written and any and all drama comes off as cliche Hollywood horror. 

There's some gore, but it's nothing noteworthy. There's few effects, but what is there is decent. This movie relied on being a paranoid film, and it didn't work at all. I don't think this movie would scare you unless you're a young teenager just discovering horror. It's sad how mediocre this film is.

In conclusion, this is a film I won't be finding myself ever watching again. I got not a single thing out of it. I found myself texting my way through the movie just to stay awake. I usually try to not be hard on horror films that I find bad, but this one felt like it took no effort to make, so the truth deserves to be spoken. "Crowsnest" falls short in every possible way and is a complete waste of time.