Saw this when it first came out and it was a welcome unsettling innovative surprise. it held my attention from beginning to end. love how they established how each camera records in the beginning -- without this the ending (how it was captured) would have been confusing; instead it's pure panic and terror, and brilliance. just one example of how intelligent and well thought out this work is.
it's a lean production without jump scares. and no annoying music to tell you to "be scared now." two threats destabilize the viewer: the real supernatural threat that shadows them and the unnerving psychological mind-bending moments that it fosters. together these put me on the edge of my seat.
three people make this film a classic with their relatable interactions and behavior. whether casual or raw the acting is always real and appropriate to the moment -- no over-the-top histrionics, no lame reactions or full-on stupidity. they make sense and hold it together, until they no longer can.
the fact that their acting is so intimate and authentic makes the experience even scarier -- we like these people; we're with them and we're for them but we know we can't help them and that's unsettling. the video style brings us right in.
filming the woods in black and white removes the reassurance of color and light. but it's what's not seen that is most gripping and most threatening. awesome creepy house too.
then there's the wonderfully disturbing mood of the film. that ever-increasing sense of dread; a tense foreboding that grows from confusion and vague misgivings to vulnerability and helplessness to powerlessness, despondency and finally pure terror. it's a nagging metronome that tauntingly marks time. an inexorability that says "you're going to die."
so well edited too.
love love love! 8.5/10
it's a lean production without jump scares. and no annoying music to tell you to "be scared now." two threats destabilize the viewer: the real supernatural threat that shadows them and the unnerving psychological mind-bending moments that it fosters. together these put me on the edge of my seat.
three people make this film a classic with their relatable interactions and behavior. whether casual or raw the acting is always real and appropriate to the moment -- no over-the-top histrionics, no lame reactions or full-on stupidity. they make sense and hold it together, until they no longer can.
the fact that their acting is so intimate and authentic makes the experience even scarier -- we like these people; we're with them and we're for them but we know we can't help them and that's unsettling. the video style brings us right in.
filming the woods in black and white removes the reassurance of color and light. but it's what's not seen that is most gripping and most threatening. awesome creepy house too.
then there's the wonderfully disturbing mood of the film. that ever-increasing sense of dread; a tense foreboding that grows from confusion and vague misgivings to vulnerability and helplessness to powerlessness, despondency and finally pure terror. it's a nagging metronome that tauntingly marks time. an inexorability that says "you're going to die."
so well edited too.
love love love! 8.5/10