Screening a special videotape, police detectives watch a documentary created by several students about a bizarre mystery that the local police are eager to sweep under the rug due to the occult undertones in the case which eventually prove true when they stumble upon the real culprit.
This was a decent enough if generally problematic found-footage effort. One of the better features with this one comes from the strong and somewhat simple setup that lets this one dive into the kind of appropriate storyline for its presentation. The idea of the whole thing being presented as students watching the finished product of several students looking to dive into a supposed hiccup with a case that was quite controversial and didn't lead to any closure makes everything feel wholly worthwhile why they would undertake the documentary they chose. The case itself is certainly worthy of such attention, as the ritualistic murders and the inability to determine whether the individual in question was responsible start up rather nicely while mentioning the potential culprit in the local creature said to live in the area, all making this a fine touch to start this off. The later scenes showing them undertaking the mission to document what really happened and going around doing their interviews and necessary footwork to settle everything is a fun touch here, helping to uncover the different possible outcomes for what's involved here. That provides enough fleshing out of the setup and filling in the clues about their case that the final half becomes a rather chilling feature where they head off into the woods to investigate everything, putting them in the middle of a chilling revelation about everything. As they get lost, more desperate, and more aware of the true creature following them, the film becomes all the more intriguing by showcasing the group getting picked off one by one in the dark, twisting woods, made all the more impressive due to the close-quarters nature of the found-footage format. It all comes together for a lot to like here, while there are a few issues that hold it down. The biggest drawback to the film is the inherently irritating and aggravating main characters that are at the center of the investigation, which makes it hard to care about what's going on. The group isn't that friendly or interesting to follow, with the majority of the time devoted to them yelling at each other over their incorrect directions or unsatisfactory performance with how everything is going, which brings their whole mission in an unlikable manner. The other issue here is the general sense of cheapness and general flimsy presentation, as there's a lot of obvious examples to give away the inherently low-budget nature of everything, form the special effects, the guerilla filming style, and the lack of extravagant material here with the low-key nature of what's going on that might not be something all viewers will enjoy. These are the main issues that hold it down.
Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Violence.
