Horror in the High Desert 2: Minerva

This is what a found footage should look like! Take notes! There are definitely more questions than answers, which is not a bad thing. My heart was racing the whole time so much anxiety, never wanted this movie to end. This may be the best movie of 2023, super creepy and the idea is original not like ant movie I have seen! Do yourself a favor and just buy it don't even bother renting it. This may be the creepiest movie I have seen in a long time, it will make you feel uneasy and stay woth you for days. This is one movie you don't want to miss!

After seeing this I will never live alone or drive without a fire arm.

Having just watched this and last night the first film, I'm beyond baffled by the recent positive reviews and can only speculate who made those. This film is dull and a total duff, just like the first one.

I've seen loads of horror films with bad reviews which I often think are undeserved, but this has made more annoyed by the bizarre positive reviews, especially those mentioning particular crew members (who on earth ever mentions the casting director? Seriously?). My standard for horror films is low, I like low budget indie films, but NOT when the reviews look blatantly not genuine. An OK film for found footage fanatics like myself.

Decided to write this because I saw part one of this fine little found footage horror movie and immediately rented the sequel without much expectation but I am pleasantly surprised. It's creepy, keeps you watching and expecting what would happen on the edge of your seat. Smartly made and it gives you just enough creepy dread horror bit by bit to keep you interested and scared. Yes, scared. I don't get scared watching 99% of horror movies but this one had me anxious and not wanting to see what comes out of the shadow of the infrared camera - because I was just plain scared. It leaves room for another sequel so hoping for the same soon. Good job.

I enjoyed the first 'Horror in the high Desert'. It was a little slow but the ending sequence was well done and made the wait worth it. 'Horror in the High Desert 2: Minerva' however didn't work for me. It was equally slow but I never felt like the pay-off justified it.

Found footage is always a tricky genre to get right, because it's so crucial that the audience buys in. I try and make the effort to always buy in, however it can sometimes be harder than other times. The interviews in this movie felt very fake. Camera angles and candid shots that would never be filmed or used are in almost every scene. It can be quite distracting.

I was disappointed I didn't enjoy this one. Others seem to be thoroughly enjoying it, so I can't help but wonder whether a second watch would be worth a try. It looks like there will be more sequels in the future too so I will still check those out when they come along. This one wasn't for me though. 3/10.

The first movie I watched just because I saw the close to 8 rating on this one and my OCD would kill me if I started a series with a sequel. Except that business with Star Wars. But that, that doesn't count.

I'm very glad I did. This isn't a spectacular horror movie, but then what even is? Worth asking. For me, the best horror is able to bring the scares without relying on kitsch like jump scares. And it isn't gratuitous with the violence, while not being afraid to use it either. But perhaps most importantly, it's gotta tell a good story. And the story established in both films is vague enough to be menacing, while pointed enough to establish itself as doing something new-while not even being very new.

HHD (someone's gotta coin the shorthand title after all) is a series that, so far, has taken the found footage and documentary narrative styles and performed them together in a remarkably smooth way. Seriously, as it starts you think, "Ah this is gonna get old." But by about midway, I found myself wondering, "Well if there was something like this in real life, wouldn't this be how it'd be delivered?" Don't get me wrong, it's not unique. But it's pulled off without it being clunky and dumb, which in this genre is itself unique enough.

What's more, often the independent productions either go too far into graphics and effects, which fail to make up for the hollowness of the rest and with they can ill afford anyways, resulting in a weird piece of uncanny valley with bad dialogue, or they sacrifice so much at the artsy fartsy altar that watching it feels like a Halloween TEDTalk by Philip Seymour Hoffman. I'd say not in a good way, but I don't think there is a good way.

In short, these folks have done a great job at just making a solid entry into a sorely unappreciated genre. And I look forward to the next entry, which is all but guaranteed following this second chapter.

Please, really please, don't sell out.