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The Paranormal Diaries: Clophill (2013) Review

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The Paranormal Diaries Clophill ReviewSynopsis: In 2010, a documentary team was assembled to investigate the legend of the Clophill witches and to try and uncover the truth behind the paranormal events. What followed during that long weekend at Clophill was a terrifying journey into the unknown.

My Quick Review: Clophill is a UK entry to the Fake documentary genre and, despite some lengthy exposure, it does the job.

While watching Clophill you feel like you’re watching one of those Ghost chasers show, and this is actually not as bad as it sounds. The documentary crew seem genuine enough and the location is an actual infamous haunted ground.

If you’re into paranormal stories based on real places/events, you should be able to enjoy Clophill and get yourself immersed in the story. And this is probably the only way you will be able to feel some jolts towards the end when there is a cresecendo in the ghostly happenings.

It’s a pity that the filmakers (who are behind the Zombie Diaries movies) felt they had to add some family scenes (in the beginning and at the end) to give the movie more meat and bring even more scares towards the end. Those scenes are the weakest and fell very staged.

The documentary part works as a creepy investigation of the paranormal and will satisfy a niche audience. For most horror fans though, the lack of scares or genuine horror will have them turn off their tv way before the movie ends.

My Rating: 5/10

Director: , 

Origin: UK

Naprata (2013) Review

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naprata reviewSynopsis: Inspired by an infamous online video clip of a son beating his mother, a television crew from Belgrade comes to a remote Serbian village to shoot a report on violence against women. Inquiring with the locals about the protagonists of the video, they encounter a local expert on supernatural phenomena and learn about a ritual of summoning an ancient demon, naprata. Wanting to capture the first authentic footage of something otherworldly, they change their plans. Excited by the prospective success of the recording, they defy the old saying that “it’s better to believe than to be convinced.”

Quick Review: Naprata is being coined as the first “Serbian Found Footage Movie” and, being a fan of found footage myself, I could not wait to see what was in store for me.

65mn later, all I can say is that this movie won’t be the “A serbian Film” of the found footage genre.

Let’s start with the good: Performance by everybody involved was convincing and felt legit for a fake documentary style movie. According to IMDb, all the dialog was improvised so kudos for the reality factor.

The folklore behind the story was also very interesting and could have lead to a much better story if we hadn’t wasted an expository painful 40mn prior to get to the meat of the story.

Yeh, you guessed it, like many other found footage efforts, Naprata takes way too long to go anywhere remotely scary or creepy. Quite nothing on screen will hold your interest until the end and only the last 10mn or so are remotely interesting.

So, while I applaud the intentions behind the movie and the genuine aspect of it, I can’t go behind the lack of actual scares or visual horrors on screen.

My Rating: 4/10

Director: 

Origin: Serbia

The Castle Project (2013) Review

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the castle project reviewSynopsis: As Brian and his team tackle the intimidating task of renovating the historic Croke Patterson Mansion in Denver, CO into a Bed and Breakfast hotel, the workers begin to report supernatural occurrences, from sightings of apparitions, whispering voices and peculiar odors.

My Quick Review: I’m still not sure about the true motivation behind Brian Higgins’ film The Castle Project.

Is it a 100% real documentary, another “haunted house” found footage movie, some twisted christian propaganda or a great commercial for his newly opened Bed&Breakfast inn. Somehow I believe it’s a mix of all the aforementioned.

The movie quickly grabs the viewer’s attention with quick editing between previous home owners interviews, and a few live shot inside the house. When Brian starts to record himself spending the night in the mansion, the creep factor goes up a notch and, at this point, we are expecting some well deserved frights, that never come. It’s a pity that from this point forward, the documentary turns into some journey in the search of purgatory’s history and christian art throughout the ages.

The Castle Project ends with a somewhat interesting but far fetched explanation for all the unexplained events that have happened in the Croke Patterson mansion. It’s an unsatisfying ending that leaves us wanting more but works well as a teaser to the soon to be opened (at the time of shooting) inn.

My Rating: 6 (as a documentary) 4 (as a horror movie).

Director: 

Origin: US

Click Here to watch The Castle Project Online Now!

 

The Bell Witch Haunting (2013) Review

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the bell witch haunting reviewSynopsis: Based on true events. The Robertson County Sheriff’s Department has released footage found on the bodies of the Sawyer family’s cell phones and video cameras. What was first thought to be a murder-suicide is now believed to be the return of a centuries-old demon responsible for America’s most famous paranormal event.

My Quick Review: The Bell Witch Haunting is the latest movie whose story is inspired by the bell witch legend (Blair Witch project being the most famous iteration so far).

While it starts as a standard but honest  found footage movie, it quickly loses appeal when the script decides to cram as much “shocking scenes” as possible one after the other.

Suddenly, the acting becomes forced, the situation more ridiculous and useless than the others (the cable guy getting electrocuted in one of the most hilarious death scream I’ve ever heard; the badly made levitating bed cover; the possessed dad coming back home as if nothing happened; same with the sister; the awkward and fairly useless exorcism….).

What’s left of The Bell Witch Haunting is a mess of a movie, ripping off, unsuccessfully, scenes from Paranormal Activity and Blair Witch. If anything, it does prove that you still need talent behind and in front of the camera to make a satisfying found footage movie experience.

My Rating: 4/10

 Click Here to Watch The Bell Witch Haunting Online Now!

Skinwalker Ranch (2013) Review

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Skinwalker Ranch reviewSynopsis: A scientific research team investigates and documents the supernatural phenomena surrounding the disappearance of a cattle ranchers 10 year old son. Inspired by true events that shocked the paranormal community around the world.

Quick Review: Even after many bad movies in this genre, I’m still on the lookout for hidden found footage gems.

Skinwalker Ranch is a fake documentary, loosely based on real events, that looks like a mix between an X-Files episode and Paranormal Activity (it’s a bit reminiscent of Dark Skies as well).

The movie does not waste any time to show us some supernatural elements and this is more than welcome since so many found footage movies put us to sleep with long exposition scenes. We are quickly introduced to our team of film makers and Hoyt, the desperate dad.

The acting here is convincing and, as a result, we get a littly bit more emotionally attached when things go south and it genuinely makes us want to know more about Cody’s disappearance and all the supernatural happenings surrounding the ranch.

Unfortunately, after a while, the movie feels a bit disjointed and, while many things are happening, we are being rushed to quite an abrupt ending that leaves us hanging for more.

So, if you’re a fan of fake documentary and nostalgic of the X-Files, this movie is for you. For the others it’s still good fun and with a 70mn running time (before the credits roll in) it won’t take much of your time anyway.

 

My Rating: 6/10

Director: 

Origin: US