Nightlight (2015)

Hello again, treating you all to a second review today! Checked out another found footage horror film called 'Nightlight' today, it had a few familiar faces and was much better than I had anticipated so here we go.


Nightlight (2015)

Summary: 

Five friends head out into the woods to play a series of games, one of them being a night time version of hide and seek, but this game doesn't end well for all of those involved when Ben (Mitch Hewer) goes missing. The group end up separated and soon realise the tales of these haunted woods were true and someone or something is after them and it won't stop until it gets revenge but revenge for what?


Review:

'Nightlight' has far too many similarities to that of 'The Blair Witch Project' and yet, it fails to execute itself as well. The characters are nothing special, in fact we don't really learn an awful lot about any of them besides Robin (Shelby Young) and even that is a shallow attempt at building a reason for their demise.
As far as low budget, found footage horrors go 'Nightlight' certainly isn't one of the worst I have ever seen, nor is it the best but it does provide cheap thrills and the usual shaky camera with minimal lighting. The film itself doesn't rely too much on gore and focuses on the threat off camera, by building up the anticipation of what lies off screen this provides a much better atmosphere in a film like this.

There are several moments throughout the film in which Scott Beck has gotten it oh so right and yet he manages to mess it up with the trembling hands of Robin who drops the camera every time things are about to get interesting. Whilst Robin walks through the darkness she realises her only source of light is to set off the flash on the camera, with each step she clicks the shutter button and the flash reveals her surroundings for a brief moment. This was one of my favourite parts of the movie, it does leave you with baited breath even though you know exactly what is coming.

'Nightlight' doesn't have a strong storyline and the dialogue consists of too many teen clichés but the audience do get an explanation from Robin as to why these things might be happening to them and who she thinks is behind the torment and then the film ends with a suicide video from their ex classmate. Nothing special or out the ordinary, just another predictable ending.

Not a complete shambles but definitely not worthy of another watch 'Nightlight' takes the handheld camera shots a little bit too seriously meaning half the time you have no idea what is going on.

2/5

Haunting of Cellblock 11

Haunting of Cellblock 11 (2014)

Synopsis:

A team of Paranormal Investigators spend the night in a haunted prison in a bid to up their ratings and keep up with their competitors. Somehow the team end up locked inside and with no escape they're forced to face their fears. 

Review:

I'm not one for brutally tearing a film apart because as an aspiring filmmaker I understand how difficult it can be, especially on a low budget but I can't deny the fact that 'Haunting of Cellblock 11' is a laughable attempt at a horror. The whole premise for the film sounds intriguing, set in a creepy abandoned prison, found footage, paranormal investigators... Yes, we've seen it before but I am a huge fan of this sub genre and wanted to give it a chance.

'Haunting of Cellblock 11' could have been a great film, it could have been a hidden gem amongst these kind of films but the ridiculous acting takes away any kind of credibility. There were times when I literally laughed out loud and that is definitely not a good sign. The script was appalling, dialogue was comical, the characters had no substance and overall it was just a farce. 

Of course there were some positive parts of the film, for example the back story of the prison and it's gruesome past is a great idea and the brief flashbacks and reconstructions were artistically pleasant but as far as good points go that is all I have.

'Haunting in Cellblock 11' is proof that film making isn't just about an interesting storyline, it needs a good script, great actors and  smart editing to build it up into something great. Definitely won't be watching this film again and if I were you I'd spare yourself from checking it out.

1/5

Clown (2014)

Hello guys! I do apologise for my lack of posts, I won't bore you with excuses. Instead I'll jump straight back to it and start off with my review of Clown, so give it a read and let me know what you think.

Clown (2014)

Summary:

When Kent (Andy Powers), a loving father finds a clown suit just in time for his son's birthday party he decides to try it out and soon discovers that he can't remove it. Kent realises this wasn't just an ordinary clown suit but one that has cast a terrifying curse on him.

Review: 

An interesting premise for a horror film nowadays as it's not very often we get many killer clowns featuring in them, so when I heard about 'Clown' I knew I would have to check it out. The film jumps straight into the action, with Kent trying on the suit almost immediately and then struggling to remove it. The slow burning process of the terrifying transformation is what makes 'Clown' stand out, the brutal visuals of children being eaten and maimed by Frowny the Clown (Eli Roth) creates an individuality to the film and the usual victims seen in horrors. 

Director Jon Watts has created a monstrous and deeply disturbing atmosphere by allowing the transformation to start off a little bit comedic but after a grisly scene in which Kent has a part of his nose ripped off in order to take off the nose, we soon realise that it's going to be much darker than first expected. 'Clown' could fall into the psychological thriller category as opposed to horror, yes there are gruesome scenes with blood and gore but for myself, personally I wasn't scared by it in the slightest and at times it just felt a little bit silly. 

The acting wasn't some of the best I have seen and it was very difficult to relate to any of the character's because Watts skips past any character development and back story and straight in to the horror but it was much better than I had anticipated. 

If you are afraid of clowns then maybe this film isn't for you, the final image of Frowny the Clown is not for the faint hearted and the visual effects are incredibly realistic. 

'Clown' is never going to go down in history as one of the best horrors around but as far as killer clown stories go it's not that bad. 

2.5/5