You've got mail Never judge a book by its cover¦or a film. The Den, one of Fright Fest's last showings of the evening, plays to an empty cinema but gut instinct led me to fill one seat; an instinct I would come to appreciate. … [Read more...]
Review: As Above, So Below (2014)
Lara Croft and the Philosopher's Stone [pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B00LSW70MU][/pullquote] There is an old saying with films that it's better to start weak and finish strong than start strong and finish weak. John Erick Dowdle, the director of the latest found footage horror As Above, So Below … [Read more...]
Review: The Borderlands (2014)
[pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B00C3L3VW8][/pullquote] The found footage horror genre has hit something of a creative cul-de-sac in recent years. The explosion in popularity because of its low cost to make and high returns at the box office have seen an explosion in the number being made, which has … [Read more...]
Review: [REC] (2007)
[pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B003S4G8RY][/pullquote] A TV film crew, while recording a documentary about firefighters, become trapped in an apartment building during a zombie outbreak. Their attempts to find out what's going on, and hopefully escape, are all shown from the perspective of the … [Read more...]
Review: Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014)
A Mexican-American community in California is rocked by the murder of a reclusive old woman. Friends Hector (Jorge Diaz), Marisol (Gabrielle Walsh) and the recently graduated Jesse (Andrew Jacobs) begin investigating the dead woman's apartment before making a startling discovery that leads back to one of their childhoods and suggests at a dark future ahead. … [Read more...]
Review: Cannibal Holocaust (1980)
[pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B0051ZH8CC][/pullquote] Much has been made of the controversy surrounding this Italian-made cult horror: probably a surprise to nobody with a title like that. Banned in several countries due to its graphic violence and sense of amorality, the film even attracted … [Read more...]
Cloverfield (2008) review by That Film Guy
Reducing the Godzilla-style monster film to the point of view of one of the screaming little people on the street, the JJ Abrams produced Cloverfield proved a masterpiece in subtlety and marketing genius. Trailing only the briefest glimpses of the devastation, with websites dedicated to the unknown Cloverfield Project, the production team managed to generate huge amounts of … [Read more...]
The Bay (2012) review by That Film Guy
The found footage genre of film-making has opened the door for new directors to create marketable low budget films. Made with the use of camcorders and lower cost cameras, these pseudo-documentaries have a strong history within the sometimes more forgiving horror genre and have conditioned audiences not to expect Hollywood special effects. From The Blair Witch Project to … [Read more...]
The Bigfoot Tapes (2012) review by That Film Geek
Released in the same year as The Lost Coast Tapes, this features a similar premise, namely a found-footage style horror film with a documentary about bigfoot as the premise for why the protagonists go into the woods. It also follows path laid down by The Blair Witch Project with the early sections interviewing townsfolk to set up the plot, then the expedition into the woods, an … [Read more...]
V/H/S (2012) review by That Film Gal
You have to respect the vision of V/H/S. Five stories, five directors, five found footage tapes. It's a neat idea. Each director gets their plot of land to plough and till, and they plant some pretty ghoulish seeds. The shorts are, of course, framed by a central story arc which puts the found footage into context. This arc follows a bunch of petty criminals as they are given a … [Read more...]