Director: Tyler Russell
Year: 2026
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
Trying to film a documentary, a film crew arrives in a small town beset with stories about a famously haunted church and begins trying to film their investigation of the church, unaware that the stories being told are real and that their entrance to the building has started them down a dangerous road.
Review:
Overall, this was a pretty intriguing genre effort. Among the better factors with this one comes from the immensely effective and likable setup that manages to work incredibly well for this type of film to provide some enjoyable factors. The central setup of the team arriving in the town and trying to interview locals for the video, but continuously getting stonewalled with their refusal to say anything about it for fear of some supernatural retribution that spurs everything along, sets everything up quite well with an impressive attitude and atmosphere from the beginning. The idea of the town being this afraid and this reluctant to be involved with the building, and being more content to ignore it and refuse to be included in the documentary since it means having to deal with the supernatural ramifications of the building and its history, sets up quite an effective tone where the whole approach might mean they’re in over their heads.
When they finally manage to get to the particular building and begin their programming, the whole thing turns into a fairly solid and chilling series of setpieces that focus on the rampaging supernatural spirit inside coming to mess with the group. The initial series of exploratory settings with them inside the building, looking to get through the twisting corridors, confusing hallways, and generally pitch-black rooms, makes an impression rather nicely with the build-up about the reluctance to get involved with the building. The fact that they get trapped inside and slowly wander off while trying to find a way out is a great touch, helping to add a sense of dread to the proceedings as they slowly start to suspect something is wrong within the church. However, it also highlights the main issue here where nothing genuinely happens with the found-footage format, making it impossible to tell what’s going on and just rendering the film as a series of setpieces without any kind of payoff. The constant interruptions to the investigating officers makes the pacing feel even more off by disrupting what’s going on, and with this showing off its low-budget origins frequently, all come together to hold this down.
Overview: **.5/5
An enjoyable if overall flawed found-footage feature, this one is a bit disappointing as its positive points are quite likable, while the negative factors are quite heavy and drag this down overall. Those with an appreciation for this style of genre fare or who are hardcore found-footage fanatics will have the most to like here, while most others out there should heed caution.
Comments
Post a Comment