This movie was surprisingly entertaining. I did have somewhat high expectations as I found another Shudder original, "Host", to be an excellent scary movie. What makes it surprising is the movie went an entirely different direction than what would be expected.
The plot follows an internet personality who goes to a supposedly haunted house alone to live stream an overnight stay. I was expecting to mostly just see some spooky shadows and movements and some ghosts, a la "Hell House LLC" (also an excellent movie). And the first half of the movie did take this route.
As other reviewers have mentioned, the main character is...quite annoying. But that's the point, and that's what made me think of "Grave Encounters". Just as that film's characters were purposely unlikeable to mimic the bad personalities in certain "ghost hunter" shows, this character also mimics the cringe of many internet personalities. And that I found enjoyable.
The second half of the film took a sudden turn, when we began dealing with ghosts that were actually tangible beings. The added silliness of it really reminded me of "Evil Dead" (the original 1981 version). It was unexpected and definitely changed the tone of the film (and I sincerely wonder if the reviewers saying the plot was "predictable" actually watched the movie). I would say the first half was more scares/anticipation (a la Hell House LLC, Grave Encounters) and the second half more gore and silliness.
There were some parts that seemed a bit too drawn out and lost my attention a bit. I was surprised when I finished the movie that it was only an hour and a half long because, well, it did feel longer, which is why I gave it a slightly lower rating.
Overall, I recommend. 7.5.
The plot follows an internet personality who goes to a supposedly haunted house alone to live stream an overnight stay. I was expecting to mostly just see some spooky shadows and movements and some ghosts, a la "Hell House LLC" (also an excellent movie). And the first half of the movie did take this route.
As other reviewers have mentioned, the main character is...quite annoying. But that's the point, and that's what made me think of "Grave Encounters". Just as that film's characters were purposely unlikeable to mimic the bad personalities in certain "ghost hunter" shows, this character also mimics the cringe of many internet personalities. And that I found enjoyable.
The second half of the film took a sudden turn, when we began dealing with ghosts that were actually tangible beings. The added silliness of it really reminded me of "Evil Dead" (the original 1981 version). It was unexpected and definitely changed the tone of the film (and I sincerely wonder if the reviewers saying the plot was "predictable" actually watched the movie). I would say the first half was more scares/anticipation (a la Hell House LLC, Grave Encounters) and the second half more gore and silliness.
There were some parts that seemed a bit too drawn out and lost my attention a bit. I was surprised when I finished the movie that it was only an hour and a half long because, well, it did feel longer, which is why I gave it a slightly lower rating.
Overall, I recommend. 7.5.