Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Grave Encounters

I've recently become really fascinated with the "found footage" movies that have been coming out lately. I've always been someone interested in the paranormal, the unexplained and I've found a niche that caters to that bent. I suppose my first "found footage" film was "The Blair Witch Project," and although that one didn't scare me in particular (I would love to watch it again, in hopes of really being able to appreciate it this time around), for some reason these "real" movies get me interested. Most notably of late, of course is "Paranormal Activity" both 1 and 2 and I am seriously wishing I could see the third one in such a trilogy.
My husband is not a fan of scary movies in the slightest. He thinks the paranormal is bunk. So I haven't been able to convince him to take me to theaters for the third installment. Instead, I find little known gems on Netflix. This is where "Grave Encounters" comes in, and also the point of this post.
"Grave Encounters" is "found footage" of a paranormal investigation team who locked themselves into an insane asylum to investigate the paranormal. Of course, they build things up in the beginning, which is really an art - get that tension just right. But then they threw it all away with really in your face scares and bizarre asides. The team saw real people, they tried to escape the premises but somehow discovered there was no way out. Faces shifted, blood splattered, and people began to disappear. One investigator got lost in the dark, was picked up by some unseen force, and choked. Very in your face. But what sealed my opinion of this film was what happened when whatever demon from Hades dropped him on the floor. He lay gasping for breath, and then A BOLT OF LIGHTNING THREW HIM ACROSS THE HALL.
I really hate in your face stuff like that. It fails to be scary, except for the initial jump factor. The real art of these films is in building great tension, slowly and simply placing the antagonist in the film. I want unsettled scared, not jump-out-at-you scared, and this movie failed to deliver it.

1 comment:

Kristy said...

I think the 3rd installment is out on dvd.