facelessmasks-225-601283 Reviews

The Devil's Doorway (2018)

A bit derivitave, but good effort.

[7/10 · 10 September 2020]

I know there are many who get a bad taste in their mouth when they hear "found footage," but I'm not one of them. I've actually become of a fan of the sub-genre, thanks to some amazing efforts, and while I don't feel like this is a film that is going to break any new ground, I feel like they told an excellent story and painted an excellent picture of a time and place for it, as well. I would be remiss if I didn't say that it seems like they were HEAVILY inspired by 2013's Final Prayer (or Borderlands, in the UK). There are just too many similarities to assume it's accidental, and I feel like they had to change the time period just to deviate their story as best they could. That being said, it's gets high marks because it's got a good script, had some serious talent behind the scenes, with the costume and set design, and Lalor Roddy is the best Northern Irish actor that no one has heard of, and his "confession" at the end is Oscar-worthy.

Closed Circuit Extreme (2012)

I'm being generous.

[3/10 · 6 March 2020]

This was a pretty dreadful movie. The dialogue was barely audible, let alone comprehensible. Through the thick Italian accent of the main actors, you can only catch about every 3rd word, but honestly, with a plot this simple, you can have zero understanding of the English language and still understand what happens in this movie. That fact kind of speaks for itself. Having seen both real and fake violence, I can attest to the acting of some of the actresses. Their performance was pretty good; I usually gauge the performance of people in violent situations by how much it triggers my PTSD, and they earn their extra two stars for it.

Nightshot (2018)

An impressive effort in a polarizing genre

[7/10 · 8 February 2019]

I came into this film cautiously optimistic. Usually, foreign efforts in the found footage genre sit better with me than American ones (i.e. Borderlands). I thought the ambiance was palpable, and the acting was excellent. I felt like the premise was about as derivative as you can be, but a lot of the set decoration stood out from the usual fare of creepy dolls, pentagrams on the floor, upside down crosses (there were a couple in here, but tastefully done) and runic or proto-Hebrew writing. At the end of the movie, I felt like it was an impressive effort, and the acting on behalf of the female lead sold me on it (to qualify that, I worked as a first responder, and I've heard real agonizing, blood-curdling screams, and hers were very authentic... authentic enough to be a bit of a trigger for those with PTSD). I say solid 7/10.

21 Days (I) (2014)

The Worst Found Footage Movie I've Ever Seen (And I've seen most)

[2/10 · 24 June 2018]

The title said it all. The lead was obnoxious, the supporting cast was terrible, it followed every possible cliche, the dialogue was the hottest of garbages, and 5 year old special needs kid could have written a more coherent storyline having a molly seizure. Instead of watching this movie, just go kneel in front of the nearest toilet and bash your head in between the rim and the seat for 90 minutes.