This is How Movies Should Be Made

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

After reading most of the other reviews, I thought I was in for one of the scariest movies I had ever seen. I couldn't have been more surprised.But something about it just kept falling short for me, and I don't really no why. Creepy atmosphere? Yep, extremely creepy, but just not filmed in a way to maximize it.Jump scares? Yes they were there, but for some reason they just weren't really scary. Perhaps they were telegraphed to the point that I knew they were coming.Creepy ghosts? Yes, but once again they just fell short of being scary for me.I wouldn't say this is a bad movie, because the acting and everything is pretty solid, it just wasn't really scary. All the right elements were there, between the location, sound, etc., it just didn't really do it for me.***Minor Spoiler Alert*** In fact I found myself picking out spots in the movie that WOULD have made great places for jump-scares and surprises, but they just didn't get used for that. Ex: it's a horror film staple these days to have the camera on a particular character, pan away from the character, then return to them a moment later with a ghost/monster right behind/next to them. It's cheap, but it works well. This movie had TONS of places where that would have been fantastic, but I don't recall seeing that technique used even once.There were all kinds of long, dark hallway shots that would have been perfect for showing a ghost/spirit in the background, but it never happened. The movie was filled with shots of the characters roaming the dark halls of an abandoned mental asylum, walking blind into dark/creepy rooms, so I was waiting for them to round the corner and have something scary right there in your face, but that never happened either.I'm not saying all horror/scary movies should follow the tried-and- true techniques all the time, but this movie could have really been well-served to use a few of them.I'm giving it a 5/10 because although it wasn't a bad or poorly produced movie, it just wasn't really scary for a horror movie. Plenty of other people thought it was though, so by all means check it out if you're so inclined.

I've been on the search for a truly frightening movie. For some reason I remember the first few Paranormal Activity films really freaked me out, so naturally I thought 'Grave Encounters' would be more of the same. The fact that this film didn't make me flinch once makes me curious to watch the paranormal movies again, to see if I had just been super stoned at the time.The premise for Grave Encounters is clever enough. A 'Ghost Busters' type reality show crew shows up at an abandoned mental hospital to report a haunting, without ever believing that anything paranormal could possibly occur. They soon find themselves locked inside the building and menaced by a malevolent spirit.I'm disappointed to say that throughout the film I was waiting to feel that sense of dread in my chest, hoping for that sense of suspense that has a person want to turn on the lights during a very frightening sequence. But that moment never came. What was frustrating about the whole thing was that I thought the idea and setting were perfect for a good horror movie. Hell, even the actors were convincing (asides from 'Matt'), which leads me to place the blame on the directors, who I hope in the future will be able to truly follow through on creating a scary movie (to their credit, the ALMOST had it here).Honestly, the whole time I was watching this movie I was thinking back to 'As above, So below', one of the few found-footage films after Paranormal Activity that got it right, and achieved true scares and suspense. Part of what made that film work was the setting and the sense of claustrophobia, and what's so frustrating is that Grave Encounters almost had that too!Don't get me wrong, it's not a terrible movie. For a 'Found-Footage' piece, it's actually very top notch in terms of quality. If you scare easily, I imagine this one will do the trick. It's certainly better than 'Insidious', which has been labeled as one of the most frightening movies of the decade, though I thought it was laughable. Furthermore, if you did like this, I'd highly recommend watching 'As Above, So Below' which is in a similar vein but done right.

I made an account just to write a review for this film. I did it because I am angered by all the criticism it gets. People say that it's "just not scary" and that it is "boring" and "slow" but I disagree. It's pacing is phenomenal. It starts with an oddly comical vibe, making fun of it's own genre, then the slow descent into madness begins. It creates an oppressively dark and bleak atmosphere. You feel like you are locked in that asylum with them and everything gets worse and worse and worse. The concept of no escape with infinite rooms( a kinda alternate dimension) is brilliant and greatly contributes to the horror of it. By the end, you are left with a blank space in yourself. You truly feel abused. It also touches on some very interesting subjects about asylums back in the 1930s when a perfectly normal person was taken, told he was crazy and then experimented on and left for dead. He is then told that he is "better" now but truly he is permanently screwed. That is precisely what happens to Lance at the end. All in all, it is a brilliant horror film which received bad rep from people who don't understand what good horror is and feed on crappy jump scares.

For Tribeca Films, The Vicious Brothers direct this horror flick about a group of paranormal-investigators trying to boost ratings for their TV show. Lead investigator Lance Preston(Sean Rogerson)is to the point of even paying for fake interviews and evidence. This sixth episode they are filming will take place in a derelict psychiatric hospital. Hoping rumors are true, they should be able to capture things that go bump in the night while the cameras are rolling. The film crew is disappointed that nothing has happened; that they know of. Soon the ghost hunters become the hunted and trapped by lobotomized spirits.The location(in Vancouver, Canada)is eerie, even with the lights on. If you don't scare yourself, there is enough atmosphere and creepy scenes to raise the hair on the back of your neck. Some of the characters get very irritating; but the stars of this reality show don't stay together for long. Surprisingly worth your time.The cast also features: Ashleigh Gryzko, Shawn Macdonald, Ben Wilkinson, Juan Riedinger and Bob Rathie.