The Triangle

I watch a ton of found footage / documentary style horror movies - I just love them. This one was unique. I thought it had an original premise and a solid execution, which is rare for this genre. Most importantly, it didn't go the way I expected, which is a delight to me as a frequent viewer of films like this one. I thought the cast did a great job of making the movie believable - especially, as others have said, Andrew Rizzo, who played the slightly sinister cult leader. I noticed that other reviewers complained about the characters as being hippies, quirky, weird, etc - I thought they were very true to form when it comes to people that would choose to live in a commune in the desert. The set was also very convincing to me. Mostly, however, I am happy that it didn't go how I expected it to go.

I did not rate the film higher because the first act does drag, and I feel that the final reveal could have used *slightly* more backstory and foreshadowing. If you are not a fan of endings that don't wrap up everything neatly, this movie will frustrate you. Personally, I think it added to the mystery of the movie, and it would have ruined some of the mystique if they over explained what happened.

Overall, if you love found footage style horror movies like I do, this is worth a watch. If you're impatient or prefer clear endings, I would pass on this movie.

So - If you don't have the patience for a slow building film or need to have every aspect explained to you....you will not enjoy this film. It will only leave you angry and confused. Aspects of the story are decidedly vague. There is a lot of handheld camerawork and (nicely done) split screens. I went into this film with the lowest of expectations. I'm still surprised at how engaging it turned out to be.

Found footage in rural Montana. That's all you need to know. The acting was solid and convincing. The build-up is slow and keeps you wondering which direction the film would eventually take (you won't likely guess right off). It's not by-the-numbers suspense and the feeling of menace and unease feels more nuanced and genuine than most. If you enjoy a variety of found footage films - this one definitely gives you something different.

The Found-footage genre seems to attract the worst kind of film maker. The ones who would rather do cheap vanity projects than actually attempt to make a decent film. After watching this poor excuse for a film, I think I hit the nose on the head with my assumptions. Let me set the scene for you; a group of dorks receive a postcard from one of their missing dorks, and he invites them to visit him in his commune. The commune is really a bunch of entitled losers who decide to forgo the comforts of modern society and instead live cheaply in the wilds of the Montana desert (I didn't even know Montana had deserts). Everyone in this group is an insufferable hippie; who in their right mind gives up modern things like electricity and television to live with a group of other weirdos, freaks and geeks? There is something strange going on, but no one wants to talk about it.

That's where the movie failed for me. The film starts out with an hour of people talking, giving each other weird glances, a camera man who is scared of his own shadow, and a just cult-like atmosphere seeping from every corner of 'The Triangle'. So for almost an hour, we see their daily activity, from cooking to pooping, and nothing else of interest goes on. I am not exaggerating; save for the camera that gave me violent nausea, nothing else of interest goes on. Until they show the film crew what it is that they were hiding.

My interest peaked, I thought we were going to be treated to a final half hour of creepy developments and startling discoveries. But, just as quickly as the interesting thing happen, the movie ended. Not in a whimper, but in a half-hearted "Meh".

It was obvious that the film makers were on a budget, or were just extremely cheap, since this film literally ended like most movies begin.This whole experience felt like something that was half baked, like a cake that was taken out of the just as the outside turned brown. The credits told me everything I needed to know about this failure, and with a truly talented team, this movie could have been something interesting. But these people are not talented, nor do they deserve your time or money. Avoid this movie, never speak of it, and watch something else. Anything else. Just because I wasted an hour and a half of my life, doesn't mean anyone else has to.

Heed my warning; This "Triangle" definitely deserves to disappear.

A decent enough piece of Lovecraftian horror, sans blood and gore or expensive special effects, that only hints at the cosmic terror haunting its victims. The Triangle has the look and feel of a fairly low-budget affair, but is filmed in a beautiful, stark location that lends to a suspenseful atmosphere. There are many open questions of character motivation and backstory that some will find unsatisfying. However, I was fine with certain key plot elements being left open to my imagination.

Done right, the filmmakers could have elaborated and put the finishing touches on a masterwork of dread. But, given the ambition of the idea behind The Triangle, they could've more easily gone too far making silly, illogical choices, creating not a modest psychological thriller, but a full-blown farce. In the end, The Triangle is an incomplete, interesting charcoal sketch of a paranoid's half-remembered nightmare, but not a fully rendered, color masterpiece of a seer's infernal vision.

This starts off with some filmmakers who get a cryptic postcard from a friend who asks them for help. They decide to visit their friend's commune and film a documentary about it while helping their friend. Instantly you're going to think this "commune" is a cult and these guys are going to end up burned at the stake or something. Nope. That's not where this is going. It goes in a completely different direction. It's an interesting direction for about twenty minutes and then the movie ends. I did not particularly like that direction. I did not like the ending. I feel cheated.