In Memorium

I want to start by saying it took me forever to find this movie. Thankfully, I got to join a great torrent tracker that casually had In Memorium in their catalogue. I was very excited and watched it right away. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm a huge found footage fan. I know they can be a little slow or have a long build up. But in In Memorium, the tension it gets to create in many scenes, fells kind of short. Sort of messy ending, too. Things to watch about this movie are the acting, which is pretty great considering the genre, and the ending scene, although messy, it's more than I can say about other movies around the same tune as In Memorium. I liked the way Dennis' character was built, too.

I get what they were going for here, I think, but the reviews claiming this is wildly frightening or ingenious are nuts; this is an interesting premise executed by mediocre actors without having thought through the premise to anything intense or exciting. I watched it because I watch everything horror, but I wouldn't try to sell anyone who wasn't a hardcore genre fan. The main characters aren't particularly likeable, and the scares are fairly pedestrian without establishing either something viscerally or existentially disturbing. The only other point I'd make is that the "found footage" thing is a little goofy because SO MANY CAMERAS that it comes together as an edited film.

Man with Warren Beatty hair catches bone cancer. He and his lovely woman move to a rental house to document his death. Why? Can't say. But good thing they did, this is a great ghost story. They encounter a ghost there in the rental. I liked how good'n'scared I got with almost nil special effects. I especially like that money seemed to be spent in the right places.

I consider myself a huge horror fan - I like everything from slashers to psychological thrillers. But I'm incredibly picky about what films I consider to be classics: The Exorcist, Rungu, The Mothman Prophecies, Session 9.

So when I was looking over the schedule for the International Horror & Sci-Fi film festival and saw this film's premise, it filled me with hope. I saw the screening, hoping the film wouldn't suck, and within the first 15 minutes all of my fears went away and I was left with an amazing experience.

I won't spoil anything but I'll leave you with this: This was one of the few films I've ever seen that made me grab my wife's arm in fear and - at one point - almost turn away from the screen. (Audition is the only other film to hold that honor.) The atmosphere and tension that the director creates is incredible.

If this film is playing at a festival near you, don't hesitate to see it. They haven't announced a DVD release yet but I'll be adding it to my collection as soon as they do.

i really enjoyed this film; saw it at the int'l horror & sci-fi film fest in tempe, AZ on a Sunday morning. i'm so glad i saw it during the day--wouldn't want this lingering in my brain so close to bed time!!! i found the film realistic (yes, even though the premise is supernatural), and it presents a great twist on guilt and regret. some may feel that the "evil" should be shown more in horror films, but i thought that this film showed just enough; it depends a lot on the psychological aspect of fear. great acting from the two main characters too--i felt their fear and desperation. hope this gets picked up for wider distribution. check it out if you can.