Well while I'm still waiting for 'Grave Encounters 2' to arrive, let's go over a film (Better known without the 'The') which is completely different to 'Episode 50' and 'Grave Encounters'. And before you ask, yes, this is one of the many films which named itself after the successful 'Paranormal Activity' franchise to try confuse viewers.
Here a group of people go to an abandoned asylum to investigate and film whether it is haunted or not..............oh God damn it! Well, I suppose the difference here is that this group consists of students who are investigating for...some sort of college credit, I don't know, I don't know what sort of course would require you to spend a night in an asylum. I have to say, congratulations to 'Grave Encounters' for being the first of these three films, since that had an April 2011 US release date compared to 'Episode 50's UK release date of September 2011 and this film's US release date of October 2011.
The plot, it's fine, you know I'm a fan of horror films set in abandoned asylums, it's a fine plot. The way they set out the plot, really let's it down. You see we follow John (Oliver Rayon) being interrogated by a woman named Rebecca (Amanda Barton), as he is the only suspect to his friend's murders. That's right, this film basically spoils what happens in the first five minutes.
Apart from that this film is riddled with errors. The main one being that Rebecca and John are going through the footage (Which makes me wonder why the film bothered to say 'Four days earlier'), so I do have to commend the film for combining found footage with normal viewing, from every single camera shot, and at one point when John asks why the group didn't hear certain sounds, Rebecca says that the editors amplified it on the footage. This all raises one question; why are you all fucking idiots?! If someone has gone through the footage, then you really should have noticed that John couldn't have been responsible!
That and the film suddenly has different camera angles for no reason, one example being that a camera suddenly appears on the dashboard of the car recording the four occupants, and when a character is holding a camera, you suddenly wonder what the Hell when you see said character suddenly walk on screen. That alone raises a couple of questions, one; if this was meant to be a ghost moving the camera, why? And two; if it was a ghost, why doesn't either of the two characters in the scene, one looking in the direction of the camera, notice the camera moving around on its own? Then there's a matter of a car which the characters say is gone, and yet it apparently didn't move at all. Yeah, dialogue in this film is stupid. Except for "I'm not okay with this" "I don't give a shit" which given the circumstances was pretty funny. It wasn't meant to be.
The characters meanwhile are really bland and forgettable. I only really remember the main girl Samantha (Chelsea Vincent) because of her hair. That's a good sign. Actually no, I do remember Brennan (Brett Edwards) because I remember how much I hate him. Why? Because the second his girlfriend Blake (Nadia Underwood) mentions how much they're in love, the footage cuts to him cheating on her with another girl. I can only guess the police decided to edit in that footage. Also he acts like a dick to the others, though he is the only one who actually reacts like a normal person later and is yelled at for it.
I do also remember Tess (Sabrina Villalobos) since she and John had a friendzone relationship issue where they both thought that they were too good friends to go out so they never said anything. I do remember this, mainly because it tugs at me, just like it most likely does to most people on this planet, I only know it too well........insert sad music here.
Then again the film barely focuses on this apart from...three lines. So screw it. Also Daniel's (Derrick Scott) mother is dead. This is only mentioned once at the weirdest possible time, with no build up whatsoever. So you generally feel nothing for these characters since you learn virtually nothing about them, when you do it's at the last possible minute or it means you hate them for the remainder of the movie.
Which is actually a shame because most of the actors and actresses do actually give a decent performance. It's like they believed this film was destined for greater things, which, of course, it isn't. Okay some of the minor actors and actresses could do better, but for the most of it the cast of unknowns do a pretty good job.
Effects, well it's a low budget film, what do you expect? But in all fairness the film does remarkable well in the effects front, it doesn't go for big CGI scares, it more goes for a 'not what you see but what you don't see' approach. At first anyway, which did work, but then it really tried to make you feel disturbed than actually scare you. Mainly by cutting to black and not showing you what's happening. And John is being accused of killing his friends?
To wrap up, well, despite the better than expected acting, and the good use of their budget for the first part of the film, it really goes downhill fast. The story is riddled with errors, the plot is stupid, the characters are forgettable, and the film really isn't scary. But the thing is, this could have been an enjoyably bad film, if it wasn't for the ending. Please see spoiler section. For this part of the review, it's crap.
Spoiler Section
You know Rebecca is questioning John about the events of the film because he's apparently the suspect for the death of his friends? Well, as you know I've already mentioned that since someone had edited the footage, John should already be in the clear, especially when you see people who aren't John, see John when other characters are being attacked, and see characters fly across the room.
Well guess what, Rebecca isn't associated with the legal system. Oh no, she's part of a secret government organisation who are tasked with keeping the paranormal activities at this site secret. THIS IS STUPID. Firstly, if they already knew about the paranormal activity here, then what was the point of questioning John? Secondly, when Rebecca was talking to her boss and recommending "termination of the subject", why couldn't John hear her? When the set was taken apart we saw the laptop she was using was literally on the other side of the wall. Thirdly, if they knew about the institution being haunted, then why didn't they stop the students going in in the first place? And after that twist, what was the point of the film?! This twist ending literally means that the questioning and therefore the film was completely and utterly pointless!
And then the friend zone business...I...you can't...I need a drink to forget about it before I plunge into depression again.
Dedicated to those in the friend zone.
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