Post by Mr.HoRrOr on Aug 17, 2011 17:41:45 GMT -5
Plot:LANCE PRESTON (Sean Rogerson) and the crew of "Grave Encounters", a ghost-hunting reality television show, are shooting an episode inside the abandoned Collingwood Psychiatric Hospital, where unexplained phenomena has been reported for years. All in the name of good television, they voluntarily lock themselves inside the building for the night and begin a paranormal investigation, capturing everything on camera.
They quickly realize that the building is more than just haunted - it is alive - and it has no intention of ever letting them leave. They find themselves lost in a labyrinth maze of endless hallways and corridors, terrorized by the ghosts of the former patients. They soon begin to question their own sanity, slipping deeper and deeper into the depths of madness, ultimately discovering the truth behind the hospital's dark past...and taping what will be their final episode.
Cast:
Sean Rogerson
Merwin Mondesir
Ashleigh Gryzko
Mackenzie Gray
Juan Riedinge
My Thoughts:Fast-paced and scary!
Review:"Grave Encounters" is a supernatural scarefest from the Vicious Brothers directing team. The movie follows a reality show filmmaker named Lance Preston. He and his team do a ghost-hunting reality show. Whom treks around to different locations, trapsing around and exploring supposedly haunted locales. Their next stop? Collingwood Psychiatric Hospital. A place which has been said to be a hotbed of paranormal occurances and activities. These "Ghost Hunters" though don't take this stuff seriously at all.
It's all show for them. All about ratings, getting the viewers hooked, and nice shots of spooky-dark hallways to crank up the shows entertainment value. But will this latest mission prove them wrong? DEAD...wrong even? Some people say that this genre of film is getting old. Stale, annoying, or simply played out. The cinema verite/handcam-shot horror movie. It began with "REC", "Cloverfield" and "Paranormal Activity". And now, it seems everybody is trying their hand at it. But in the case of "Grave Encounters"...it works very well!
If anything, the Vicious Brothers knew exactly how to "work" this movie. To get the best out of it. A film like this could've easily crashed and burned with a weak script, weak characters, and even weaker scares. But "Grave Encounters" has none of those. Which is why it is such a strong horror movie. The script is written where it does simple things that work. It doesn't try to over-extend itself. It stays grounded in being smart horror. Because it has all the tools it needs to be scary and creepy.
And rather than looking for new tools, or trying to create new ones...it utilizes what it has to be the best ghost movie it can be. The characters meanwhile aren't geniuses. Yes, they make the same typical horror movie character mistakes, but because these people are reality show film crew folks, their refusal to leave the premises when the s*** hits the fan, makes more sense than a bunch of teenagers who wanna stay so they can get laid and or high and or drunk.
Not to mention, they all come off as tolerable and just normal indie showbiz types, who end up in a messed up scenario. As for the scares, well...they certainly are anything but weak. Granted, the movie didn't make me freak out or anything, but there are some moments where it catches you off guard with the scare moments. And also, the picture has a lot of suspense and chills, so it keeps and grabs your attention. Holding it for the duration of the picture. Always a plus when you want to continue watching the movie to see where this all ends up. Instead of just shutting it off because it's so intolerably annoying.
The picture also does a good job of setting up it's "trouble" spots. The crew of "Grave Encounters" at first, begin setting up their cameras, lights and stuff. All the while getting some backstory on the building. The supposedly haunted structure. All in an attempt to build a backstory for their new episode. The movie slowly draws all of this out, knowing that the viewer is anxiously awaiting for the real scares to materialize. So while this takes awhile, it doesn't take a long while. It's a 94 minute film after all.
When the movie finally does hit it's trouble spot though, meaning when the hospital's spirits begin to set upon the group, it starts off very powerfully. One of the group vanishes, and as they search for their missing comrade-in-reality-tv...the spirits manage to trap the group within the building. Using their otherwordly powers to switch the buildings exit to an unknown location. Thus, the group is totally at their mercy.
The movie makes these evil spirits, which are pretty much in one sentence, the lost and dead souls of the hospitals previous patients...quite malicious and caniving. They implement a certain strategy to first lure the group deeper into the cavernous building. And while they're searching for their missing friend, they rearrange the buildings exits. And then commence to snatch members of the group away to an unknown locale one-by-one.
And in between all of that, there are some spooky moments where the spirits surprise and attack the group as they search room after room for what soon goes from one missing crew member, to a handful of them. There's also a neat little scene where someone vanishes into a bathtub full of blood. Which is pretty well done for a no-budget movie such as "Grave Encounters". Now genre skeptics will label this movie as a throwaway picture.
Saying..."oh...it's just another horror movie where some people enter a haunted place, piss off the haunters, and end up dead or possessed as a result." "Grave Encounters" goes a few steps above that. Crafting a simple yet effective story which works and is smarter than what some filmmakers would've done with material like this. It's not a bloody, gory, or super graphic horror film.
But for a supernatural horror film on an indie budget, it utilizes it's main set piece, the haunted, run-down hospital...and its "smoke ghosts", who freak out the characters with a shrill yell or scream, before vanishing into thin air...well enough to be entertaining. And in the end, that's all that matters. When you couple all of this, with a disturbing, and in some aspects, stomach-turning ending..."Grave Encounters" is definitely worth checking out for any horror movie fan looking for a good 90 minute scare.
Positives:Good story, strong moments of suspense and chills. Nicely placed and well-done scares. Very creepy moments as the movie draws closer to the end. And a very disturbing ending.
Negatives:Nothing major.
Overall:Four stars out of four.