First up was this 2019 found footage horror/thriller about a guy who decides to document an alleged haunting in his flat.
Graham is a vlogger who is always posting random, silly videos, including pranks, stunts, etc. He's always documenting what happens in his life, so one day he gets laser eye surgery and has to wear bandages for 24 hours, and decides to upload this incident online. With the help of his girlfriend Erin, he sets up his cam to record a livestream video while she goes out to run errands. During the recording, paranormal activity happens in his flat, including a door opening and slamming shut by itself, a cup on the table moving, and something being briefly spotted in the background as he panics and tries to run out of the flat. The video ends up going viral, giving him the online fame he's always craved. He and Erin go back to his flat and document more activity, so he decides to partner up with another vlogger named Steve, who uploads videos of his online ghost hunts. They decide to investigate the alleged haunting in Graham's flat by posting another livestream, where they film even more activity. After this video also goes viral, they catch the attention of an investigative journalist named Alice, who is determined to prove that their videos were faked.
The film starts off like a standard found footage horror, but eventually becomes a statement on online addiction, and how some will go to extremes to generate content that gets views and likes. The first few scares are decent, but as the movie progresses, they become predictable and cheesy. The goofy characters, especially Steve, give the film more of a comedic parody feel. While the film does a decent job of showing the dark side of internet fame and making a case about the harmful effects of seeking validation through social media, it doesn't quite stick the landing, as the ending reverts back to horror, after spending the majority of its runtime convincing the viewer that the characters faked the entire thing. It doesn't generate much scares, but the story and characters are engaging enough to keep you watching. At most, it's a decent flick.
The next flick I watched was a 2013 found footage tale about a group of youths who venture to the Ural Mountains in the Soviet Union to investigate what might have happened to the hikers who died under mysterious circumstances in the Dyatlov Pass incident.
Holly builds a team of students to film their investigation. Included are Jensen, who’s co-director of the project, climbing experts J.P. and Andy, and sound engineer Denise. After the characters initial introduction, you see a news report of the student’s disappearance, and how the Russian government recovered video footage that they won’t release. The footage gets obtained by hackers who ultimately release it. You see the students traveling to Russia, interviewing several people, and arriving and setting up camp at the Ural Mountains. They encounter strange things, such as mysterious footprints that appear around their camp, and an old hidden bunker. They eventually enter the bunker, where they learn the truth of what the Russian government is hiding.
The characters are your standard annoying youth, with the leader, Holly, being especially enthusiastic and obnoxious. You just know she’s going to be one of those idiots who will ignore common sense in the pursuit of finding out the truth, endangering herself and her team. The first half of the film mostly focuses on the students acting silly and goofing off. The second half is when things get interesting, showing the strangeness that they encounter in their investigation. It’s not really scary, and could’ve used better acting, and a script that focuses more on the mystery and less on making the characters look like dumb tourists. Ultimately, its nothing special, the kinda movie where you’ll most likely forget about it 5 minutes after it’s over.
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