Review: Willow Creek(2013)

A Bigfoot enthusiast boyfriend and a smart beautiful and ready to help out girlfriend go into the woods to capture definite proof about Bigfoot's existence. They set up camp for the night unaware about the danger that surrounds them............. Will they pay?


FOUND FOOTAGE!!! Yup. One more of those in my kitty. I know people are tired of the same sh!t but some of those can be brutal, as i have pointed out more than once in my blog. And after a long long break from my blog i tried to start with something more simpler. But this one maybe simple to explain but it isn't bad. Its terrific and terrifying!! Found footage with its personal style can freak you out if done perfectly. And this is not perfect. Not by any means. But still can wreak havoc on your blood pressure system. Its Blair Witch Project revisted with a different legend. And only just less scary. What the woods can do for your horror nobody can. I am not a camping enthusiast by any means but even if i was this would have put me off it for sometime atleast. So a great job done within the limited realms of the tired found footage genre. Haters something to chew on........


The biggest surprise for everyone would be the fact that this taut horror thriller is directed by Bob Goldthwait. The man known for his loud and garish satirical movies. The stand up comic and actor is the surprise package of the whole endeavour. Though i have yet to catch all his movies, this seems a brazen surprise as any. He sets up the plot brilliantly for the first 45 minutes and then slowly but surely goes for the kill. No hard running and fast action here to look to. Its just two characters out on an adventure to prove something. He has his protagonists meet many characters before their final adventure in the forest, for the routine interviews. And he wrote those brilliantly. It feels real. The dialogues and the situations just make us feel closer to the action and we are completely in sync with our lead actors. Once thats done the next 30 minutes of terror just nails it. Nothing over the top. Just cool and calm camera and sound work. Plus creepy locations And voila! we have a winner. 

This is so romantic. Just kill me already!!

Yes. While i have amply praised the director for his great work, this movie belongs to two unknown entities with awesome chemistry. And they are our lead actors of course. Alexie Gilmore(Kelly) has had bit roles in many Bob Goldthwait movies. She does excellent work here as a girl who accompanies her boyfriend just cos she likes to spend time with him. Her evolution from someone who doesn't believe and give a damn about Bigfoot to save me from it damsel in distress is amazing. And she steals the show no doubt. Bryce Johnson(Jim) also excels as the man who is excited about completing his dream of retracing Patterson's steps into the woods where he shot his famous Bigfoot footage. He is cocksure about its existence and revels in the area where everything is named after Bigfoot. There are statues, murals and motels. And burgers too. The couple take in the sights and scenes as our lady fantasizes about Bigfoot's big manthing. Some great scenes performed well by supporting artist during their interview scenes put a smile on our faces. And thanks to those we grow ever so close to our protagonists. When actors make us care they win. And these two are brilliant. They hold our attention for 79 minutes and no mean thing that.

I was joking. Please don't kill me!!

Minimal camerawork and fast editing do no harm to this awesome horror piece. But the fact remains that the best scene and the one which will send shivers down your spine is the almost 20 minutes single take monster. As is the pattern with such kind of movies you will hear things and not see them which works in its advantage. The sound work done there is brilliant. For those long minutes you know something is very wrong and you imagine what it is but you also know there's no escape. Great work by the technicians.


HighTension Verdict: Found footage is a tired genre. But so is Rom com. Once in a while a movie comes which makes you sit up and take notice. This is one of those. So in hindsight you can say a genre is never dead. It needs one great movie to peak interest in it again. Bob Goldthwait of all people does the unthinkable and creates a creepy terrifying movie which can make you think twice about camping in the woods. With a lean runtime of 79 minutes he scores again. Plus that single 20 minute scene of terror is enough to give you heebie jeebies. A slow burn horror that relies on your imagination successfully to increase your heartbeat. A movie well done. More power to indie horror. 


HighTension Meter: 7.5/10


Instead of a famous quote i'll leave you people with a link to the Bigfoot footage thing(for those unaware): Patterson Gimlin Footage

 

Review: The Tunnel (2011)

As scary as it sounds!!

Its 2007. New South Wales government stops its water recycling project and homeless are reported missing from the underground tunnels. A journalist in need of a story, Natasha  feels something amiss and goes down and under to find out the reason behind the missing homeless and the government cover up and soon it amply becomes clear that the reason is far too scary and dangerous to be disclosed and they may never make it.............


Damn its scary. Australian horror is an underrated beast and this shows how that beast has grown over the years. Couple of nice flicks like Wolf Creek and Primal made me aware of the situation and this makes me confident that Aussies would be a frontier in Horror soon. Their beautiful natural resources could become the perfect murder haunt. And the filmmakers exploit it and make us dread the lush greenery and in this the underground Catacombs which houses a World War air raid shelter and also the water project which has been stopped suddenly. Endless rows of claustrophobia inducing tunnels which I last witnessed in the mindblowing Grave Encounters just f*ck with your head. You'll be as agonized as the leads and will be praying that they find the exit soon. Cos the longer they stay there the longer you are tense and have a high heartbeat rate. Its crazy and scary as hell. Found footage has been criticized but what that genre can do when done right is just amazing. It takes you in and tears you apart. As apart as the leads. Wow. You may be a horror king/queen and seen many such movies before but this will creep you up. Turn off the lights and turn on The Tunnel. You are in for a very scary ride.........


Directed by Carlo Ledesma who has helmed three shorts before this. Its been done pretty well. The lights and dark. The monster silhouette. The shit scary location and brilliant use of found footage sub genre and its tropes like mysterious voices recorded on the audio equipments and the disappearance of their equipments. Its been done eerily well. Though Blair Witch and Rec have shown us the best sides of the genre this too has a couple of novel moments which you'll appreciate if you aren't busy being scared by it. And the monster too though isnt seen clearly and there's not much i got about what it is and why, is creepy. The writing is also damn nice with enough backstory to keep us engaged till they enter the tunnel. And when after facing a lot of difficulty they DO enter the ride starts. And it is a breathless ride which you will want to end soon. The survivor interviews interspersed with the action in the tunnel may take away a little thrill from the movie for some. Though it didn't affect the scare quotient for me. So all in all a damn nice effort from the aussies that gives us a spine tingling chiller.

I am telling you, your galfriend would get us killed!!

A movie can't be scary if the actors don't gel and do well. And if i was scared by it there's no denying the fact that the actors have punched above their weight and pulled off an amazing act which makes it so believable and in turn turns this into a much more dread induced ride. They have a great chemistry and it feels as if real journalists have been imported from the BBC. Found footage needs such acting prowess to pull off "its real" trope. And these fine actors nail it. Bel Delia(Natasha) plays the desperate journalist in need of a story. Andy Rodoreda(Peter) is the producer, Steve Davis(Steve) is the cameraman and Luke Arnold(Tangles) is the sound department. All four gel really well and its hard not to believe they are a TV crew not actors. So with the increase in the believability factor the creep and dread factor hits hard and we see how good acting can take a movie to heights which it didn't imagine it could reach. A small found footage horror from a relatively low key Australia film industry with not known actors making waves internationally. That's a great team work. There are a couple of creepy cameos too that may shake you as the movie slows down a bit during the hour mark. So the cast is unimaginably good.

Blood blood everywhere.....

  

 Now on to the technical department which has the writers Enzo Tedeschi and Julian Harvey turn editors. True mark of a gritty indie movie. They work pretty well and give the movie a good pace. Though as i said it slows down a bit in the middle. Horror needs to be as long as its meant to be. Cos if the story doesn't support it no need hitting the 90+ mark. The effects and the little gore that it has, has been done well. The monster is scary and the cinematographer lights up and darkens out all the right time to create horror which may make you breathless with a high chance of a heart attack. Another example of good team work.


HighTension Verdict: Found footage has more bad specimens than good. But considering the positive reviews to VHS2, Grave Encounters, Rec and the Paranormal Activity series it remains a genre which can shock you if done well. And this one may not be the best but it remains a masterclass. Watch out for the opening scene. It creeps you out and sets the mood. Though a couple of novel ideas may backfire, it still is a damn scary chiller. Beneath the scenic city of Sydney horror will rise. A must for your horror collection...... Though its free to download from BitTorrent and also is on Youtube.


HighTension Meter: 8.5/10

BEST Quote: 

"The light runs out"

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Review : Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)

Sleepless night indeed!!

A family suffers a suspicious break in and install security cameras to solidify their security only to realize that something more serious and downright scary is going on at night, inside their house......


Paranormal Activity was an amazing movie. It was scares at a fraction of a studio horror film cost. And being a found footage movie buff I just enjoyed it much more intently than others who still like old age horror and were averse to too much tamper and change. Some amazing jump scares and creepy atmosphere and regular characters made it unbelievably scary and it became a big hit. So expectations from the sequel were immense. And with a new director onboard they attempted to uncover more haunted ongoings in another house and fortunately came out trumps. Well not Oren Peli good, but good. Although it may test patience of people as it isn't till the 45th minute that any kind of scares are exhibited. But once it starts it turns more and more interesting. Its kinda slow characterization and build up towards a grand finale kinda movie. And you wont be disappointed by the ending. Another nice movie gets added to the recent found footage wave. Must watch!!


 Tod Williams(The Adventures Of Sebastian Cole) directs this pretty nicely. Some creepy atmosphere is created and the characters grow on you. So that means when you encounter the first round of real happenings nearer the hour mark you won't be disappointed. This whole movie is a series of jump scares and to pull it off so well is commendable. Written by Michael Perry(Stephen King's Dead Zone) and Christopher Landon(Disturbia) the movie is full of cliches and situations exploited in many movies. Plus it depends much on its characters and atmosphere. Even if one had been amiss it would have crashed admirably. But it turned out well, fortunately. And i enjoyed it immensely. Though its not as good as the first, its a worthy successor. Job well done!!

Cleavage Cleavage Cleavage!!

Likeable characters mean the acting is pretty good. And so as an audience our job becomes that much easier as we know who to root for. And horror movies can rise or fall based on that small fact. Happily this dark knight rises and makes us happily scared. One of the best characters in the movie is played by Katie Featherston(Katie) and Sprague Grayden(Kristi Ray). Both play sisters who love each other very much. And something had happened in their childhood which crops up now and then. Also the Kristi's descent into madness as the haunting gets worse is very well enacted. Also well done Brian Boland(Daniel) and Molly Ephraim(Ali) too do decent work as we get all worked up knowing what awaits the unlucky family but unable to do any thing cos its found footage you see. Nice job!!


Cinematography is decent. As also the editing and background music. All combine to form a potent found footage horror which can scare you and make you feel unsafe at night. 



HighTension Verdict: Found footage is often derided even after giving movies like Paranormal Activity and Rec. Maybe this isn't as good but when it comes to good midnight horror movie not many found footage can be as effective. Its gonna be hard sleeping tight after watching this. Go watch!!


HighTension Verdict: 7.5/10.


BEST QUOTE:

Daniel Rey: We just can't let this affect us that much. If we do that, the terrorists win.