Tag: Found Footage

Greywood’s Plot, An Early Halloween Style Trick or Treat!

Ultimately, Greywood’s Plot is about freeing that personality hiding within. And as for what Greywood does, well, that’d be telling.

Greywood's PlotSpoiler Alert

Some nightmare scenarios come from not waking up to smell the roses. And in Josh Stifter‘s movie, Greywood’s Plot, Dom (played by this filmmaker) has to deal with facing his problems head on. He’s a bookworm and wannabe cryptozoologist who podcasts out of his parent’s basement. Despite efforts from his mom to get him out to learn about the world, it seems he’s done nothing fruitful.

Technically, he’s the hero of the story, and the way he treats Miles (Keith Kadichel) makes up part of the tale. After receiving a mysterious videotape confirming there are creatures skirting around his neck of the woods, Dom drags his pal along, and they nearly have a fight. Their friendship is in jeopardy, and when they split up, it’s safe to say, “ut-oh. This won’t go well.”

They’re lost in the woods of some remote part of Minnesota, in a search for answers to life, universe, and everything.

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Star Light, Star Bright. What’s Hiding in the Ghost Lights Tonight?

We may well have the perfect found footage movie in The Ghost Lights.

ghost lightsArriving on Digital August 26
Terror Films Channel Sept 2 and Kings of Horror Sep 9.

I can’t help but wonder if writer/director Timothy Stevens knew about The Brown Mountain lights of North Carolina when he wrote the screenplay to The Ghost Lights? The idea to explain where they come from is great, but that’s not where this movie goes. Instead, his film takes viewers in for a different ride.

The flashbacks which make up the bulk of this film hint at something sinister about those lights. Cinematically, I particularly liked the shift to a black and white presentation. It gives the narrative a bit of noir.

The tale presented here goes beyond the smuggling of Mexicans across the United States border. The illegal alien agenda may suggest something else about these ghost lights. They could be a wormhole instead of just a signal flare. I’m merely guessing, but to wonder where Aurthur (John Francis McCullagh) went, and the people referenced in the interviews he’s conducted, is the mystery his daughter Alex (Katreeva Phillips) has to investigate. 

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It’s Dangerous to Vlog in A Town Full of Ghosts

In A Town Full of Ghosts, the scares are light and the suspense doesn’t work.

A Town Full of Ghosts' Haunts Digital on June 17Available on Digital

Mark (Andrew C. Fisher) and his wife Jenna (Mandy Lee Rubio) are living in A Town Full of Ghosts. Believe it or not, these entities are the least of their worries. Instead, what they have to deal with is each other as they are alone. 

This cabin in the wood scenario is more like a town located far, far away from Route 66. However, they have friends along for this thrill ride. They have a cameraman Justin (Ali Alkhafaji) and his girlfriend Lisa (Lauren Lox) with them as they video blog about their work to transform Blackwoods Falls from a ghost town into a tourist trap off the beaten path.

The fact writer/director Isaac Rodriguez is examining this vlogger/TikTok culture gives this film some oomph. This subplot concerning Mark wanting to up his viewership drives at least half the film. As a result, what people are witnessing is his descent to madness. It starts when he discovers this town’s sordid history. 

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Where’s the Longevity in Oren Peli’s Paranormal Activity after 10 Years?

The Paranormal Activity franchise ended many years ago. and some fans may argue it’s been a trailblazer for the found footage genre.

Paranormal Activity PosterBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

The Paranormal Activity franchise ended many years ago. and some fans may argue it’s been a trailblazer for the found footage genre. Anastasia Hanna of mxdwn.com thinks so, and I have the opposite opinion. It’s been 10 years since its wide theatrical release on Oct 16, 2009 (technically 12 if you count the film festivals), and the last film was about three years ago. Unless there’s a steady stream of this franchise, interest will pitter off.

The impact of this franchise faded with the passage of time. This series has always been a social experiment from the get-go. It’s designed to see how many people will react to the jump scares than to follow the trail of clues offered in all the movies made to date. Blair Witch did a better job with this particular subgenre of horror films since it felt realistic. It did not depend on sequels to make a lasting impact which gets imitated in comedy variety shows and in pop culture. After six films, there’s nothing to even truly recall other than the one ‘scary’ scene where the bedroom door swings open and the fate of Katie and Micah unwinds for all to see.

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