Mean Spirited

This was a movie that I learned through a press release hit Shudder. I was offered a screener to see this, but since it was already streaming, I just went ahead and watched it there. I knew coming in that this was filmed in found footage. Seeing that this was also partially comedy, which made me leery. I still wanted to decide for myself.

Synopsis: a failed YouTuber's weekend in the Poconos turns into a nightmare when a demon joins the party.

We started this off in the past. Someone is filming as a boy knocks on the door of a house. I'm guessing that Frank (Neville Archambault) is that man that emerges. The boy says that his cat is in a tree and needs help. The man doesn't see anything and soon realizes that this is an attempted prank. He drags the boy inside.

It then shifts to the present. We see two guys enter a house, Andy (Will Madden) and Tom (Daniel Rashid). There is a chair, with a microphone and a camera that is set up, recording. Andy sits down and goes into his introduction for his YouTube channel. As a disclaimer, he's the failed person in the synopsis. He goes by Amazing Andy.

The vacation that he's going on with Tom is to visit Andy's former best friend, Bryce (Jeff Ryan). He's highly successful and it gets under Andy's skin. He says that it doesn't, but we see otherwise. Coming along is Tom's girlfriend of Nikki (Michelle Veintimilla) and a producer for the channel, Joey (Maria DeCotis). I get the idea that her and Andy might be a couple, but that's never confirmed. They also pick up another friend, Dew (Will Martin), who is upset that Nikki is with them. He thought it was going to be a guy's trip.

Our group gets to the Poconos and stop at a visitor's center. They get spooked when they find a bloody postcard stuck to their windshield. There is also someone in a creepy mask and robe in the tree line. They're just staring at the group. This isn't the only local that is off. We see later that there's something wrong with the bartender as well.

The group then arrives at Bryce's place. It is large and modern. They notice that there's religious iconography all over. There is also a locked room that has a plate with words on the door. Bryce is welcoming, but he also has ground rules. This is supposed to be a fun, relaxing weekend. Andy can't keep his snide remarks to himself and Bryce does well at staying calm. Not always though. Andy's anger blinds him though and he misses that something is going on here that isn't quite right. It will turn this weekend vacation into a nightmare that will change them forever.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start then would be that this is a fun movie. I've been on trips like this and I know people that are like these characters. Not necessarily to this extent, but close enough. Since this is filmed in the style of found footage, we are supposed to think that these people are old friends. I get that. I've been the Andy where I'm bitter at someone so I'll make remarks. Deep down, I hope they take it without things getting physical. I also want a reaction. Bryce knows he's in the wrong, but I love that there is a deep seeded issue that he's been harboring as well.

I should then just talk about the acting. Madden, Ryan and Martin feel like they've known each other since high school. Dew is that over-the-top character who drinks too much and just does stupid things. I've been this guy in my friend group. Rashid as Tom is interesting. He was religious growing up, but it seems like he has distanced himself. That's not necessarily the case. He brought his bible and there are pages marked with tabs. He has a beautiful girlfriend in Nikki. It seems like he's ready to break out of who he was. I like that she is trying to befriend Joey. DeCotis' character isn't a girly girl, where Nikki is. Everyone's dynamic here is good. I also like the fact that Tom is dating Nikki. She's a bit out of his league. There is worry that Bryce could steal her and Tom isn't worried until things progress. Everyone feels like their character. I also thought the supporting cast worked for what was needed.

Now then to shift back to the story. We have a simple premise here. Our group comes to the Poconos where Bryce has a house. Andy can't get over the fact that he lost his friend. The rest of the group gets annoyed and us as the viewers, we are with them. There's a supernatural angle here though. Something happens to Dew that we see. Since the synopsis says there's a demon that joins them, he becomes possessed. It is from there that we see others are as well. What is great there though, we get a baseline of them before they change. I like how the opening video factors back into this later. This is slow burn that we see where the characters don't and I like that.

Let me then go over to filmmaking to finish this out. I thought that the found footage reasoning as to why they're still filming works. Andy is trying to make it big. It annoys Bryce and others that he always has a camera. That adds to realism for me. He is trying to prove his point and in doing so, needs to have evidence. Now since this is a slow burn, I thought that since it has around a 90-minute runtime, I never got bored. It takes time to develop but doesn't lag. My issue is that I got annoyed with Andy. He is so whiney and it never goes away. That was an issue I had, but I know he is that way by design. There is a great question posed to him and I like where that ended. The effects we got were good. I'm guessing there was CGI. Being that this is found footage, they were able to hide them so I'll give credit there. We do have music included, but since we're seeing the edited footage, that's fine. They do creepy things with sound design. My only issue is who is this movie for? Since there's possession, are they just playing this off as 'fictional'. A movie that Andy made and it caused him to make it big? I can work with that concept, but that's me rationalizing.

In conclusion, I didn't hate my time here. This is a solid found footage horror film that is using the idea of vacation and possession. The only issue there is that we've seen similar things before and they have been done better already. I'll still credit them for making an enjoyable movie. The story isn't deep, but this is more about the characters and their motivations. Madden, Ryan, Rashid, DeCotis, Martin and Veintimilla were all solid. No bad performances in my opinion. This is also made well enough. It makes sense why it is found footage and no glaring issues. The only problem I have is how whiney Andy is and it grated on me a bit. Still worth a watch to fans of this filming style.

My Rating: 6.5 out of 10.