Grave Encounters (2011)

For their ghost hunting reality show, a production crew locks themselves inside an abandoned mental hospital that's supposedly haunted - and it might prove to be all too true.

Director:

The Vicious Brothers

Writer:

The Vicious Brothers

Stars:

Ben Wilkinson, Sean Rogerson, Ashleigh Gryzko

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ben Wilkinson	...	Jerry Hartfield
Sean Rogerson	...	Lance Preston
Ashleigh Gryzko	...	Sasha Parker
Merwin Mondesir	...	T.C. Gibson
Juan Riedinger	...	Matt White
Shawn Macdonald	...	Morgan Turner
Arthur Corber	...	Dr. Arthur Friedkin
Bob Rathie	...	Kenny Sandavol
Fred Keating	...	Gary Crawford
Max Train	...	Punk Guy
Martha Eason	...	Punk Girl
Luis Javier	...	Javier Ortega
Mackenzie Gray	...	Houston Gray
Eva Gifford	...	Demon Girl
Michele Cummins	...	Bathtub Demon

Storyline

Lance Preston and the crew of "Grave Encounters", a ghost-hunting reality television show, are shooting an episode inside the abandoned Collingwood Psychiatric Hospital, where unexplained phenomena have been reported for years. All in the name of good television, they voluntarily lock themselves inside the building for the night and begin a paranormal investigation, capturing everything on camera. They quickly realize that the building is more than just haunted - it is alive - and it has no intention of ever letting them leave. They find themselves lost in a labyrinth maze of endless hallways and corridors, terrorized by the ghosts of the former patients. They soon begin to question their own sanity, slipping deeper and deeper into the depths of madness, ultimately discovering the truth behind the hospital's dark past...and taping what turns out to be their final episode.

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Plot Keywords:

reality show | paranormal | ghost hunting | labyrinth | ghost | 

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Taglines:

They were searching for proof... they found it

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site (CA) Official site [jp]

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 September 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cold Spots

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Digital Interference Productions, Twin Engine Films, Darclight Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In Dr. Arthur Friedkin's room, there is a book on a table; the book is just one page of runes that is repeated. The runes in the book can be transliterated into the Latin alphabet, and the words clearly read out a parody of "I've learned" written by an unknown author.

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Goofs

At the very beginning of the movie, we see a summary of the episode of 'Grave Encounters'. But, at the end of the first sentence, the word Asylum is spelled wrong. The so-called episode is called: The Haunted Asyulm.

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Quotes

T.C Gibson: [while in a bathroom, the door slams shut] What the fuck was that? Guys, cut the shit! I'm not fucking playing!

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the credits, a message reads: "No Rats Were Eaten During The Making of this Film".

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Connections

Followed by Grave Encounters 2 (2012)

User Reviews

True to the genre and scary, with a small 'but'.

I was fortunate enough to see Grave Encounters last night, a movie I have been waiting for, for a long time. And because I know there are a lot of people out there who still have to see it, I will not spoil anything, which makes it a bit harder to review the movie at this time, but I'll give it my best.

I loved the beginning of the movie, especially as a 'ghosthunters' and 'ghost adventures' fan. It is very clear that the makers of this movie have at least watched 'ghost adventures'. The cast is legit, this could've seriously been a new paranormal show, or at least it could've convinced me.

I loved it even more that the makers of 'Grave Encounters' (I mean the show in the movie) actually prove it is almost impossible to capture evidence each episode. This while that's what's required to keep a ghost hunting show interesting all the time, and how they are planning to deal with that in case 'once again' nothing happens, this was the only time I had to laugh during this movie. After that, the lockdown (that word sounded very familiar to me ;) began and the laughing stopped...

In contrary to what other reviews said, I DID find it very very scary at times, even the parts that were already in the trailer. There were moments that I literally jumped off my seat. If you're going to watch a movie about ghost hunters, of course you can expect slamming doors and stuff like that, I don't think one of my previous reviewers are very honest about that and I actually wonder what YOU were expecting. Of course there are screaming people all the time, giving the events of the movie (or even only half of them) I would've liked to see you in a situation like that!

I do however admit that the movie made some turns towards the end that I didn't expect and would rather have seen differently. Once again, without spoiling anything because I would hate to do that, I would rather have seen the makers keeping it ehm, a little less explosive and a little less revealing. Once you see the movie you'll understand what I mean.

I would have been more satisfied if the only thing that I had seen the entire movie are slamming doors and flying things for instance. But I guess that's also a matter of what you are willing to believe CAN happen.

So my only reserves are that the only reason that this will not be a new blair witch project, is because there is too much visually revealed. Metaforically speaking: keeping ghosts invisible is usually scarier.

Overall, I was greatly entertained, this was the first movie to seriously scare me while watching in over a decade, which says something coming from a die-hard horror fan (check my history). It has been worth my wait and I hope I see more from this crew in the future.