Ocean City Monster Building

Watched it at a festival, the film is rather unique in its style and in its narrative, which experiments with the detective/mystery genre. Considering the mobility of the camera, the blocking and staging was not bad. Interesting script, yet many times the dialogues are too unnatural. The cinematography is very good I liked the aspect ratio, although some shots distract and feel unnecessarily unconventional. The performances, in times of high dramatic, are unrealistic due to the script; during more chill moments, they're pretty good. Although it has many locations but, it could have used the setting more creatively and experimented more with it. The pacing is hard to rate because it deliberately does not follow the conventional rhythm of a film of this genre. But I feel like the film might not be completely sure of where it stands between following the mystery and exploring the characters. The sound design is really good. The use of the radio and TV are really good.

I gathered from the end credits that the writer-director was influenced by the Dogme 95 group from Denmark (hand-held camera, no incidental music, no make-up on the actors etc etc....all in the service of naked, unadorned 'realism'). I didn't really feel it fully. I wanted to connect with the story but just couldn't.

I don't know if it's a police drama, a murder mystery, a critique of the U. S. and its treatment of immigrants, or a philosophical statement on life as we know it. The film needs to have a more focused intent for the script. I felt distracted from murder mystery/detective story by the U. S. policy/political critique and the philosophizing dialogue. The script needs tightened up quite a bit. The handheld digital lends well to the period feeling and realistic look added to the tone of the film but it seemed that some of the "art" shots were forced and didn't fit into the flow of the film." The performances were very good which carried me through this indulgent film.

The way they made it reminded me a bit like that German movie Christiane F. I didn't like that movie too much either.

Ocean City Monster Building is an unsolved mystery period piece, blending the tough no-nonsense city officer with the small-town secretiveness that creates its own case to be solved.

The film uses a lot of unique cuts and angles to help tell its story. From the upside-down bedroom flip, the café scene, to the kitchen shot during the break-in, we are treated to unexpected visuals that take us out of the usual movie watching comforts. While not all are successful (the camera retreat in the house and the chase scene aren't as smooth as others), they add to the depth of the story that is unraveling as Aida gets deeper into the case.

As the film progresses, I do struggle with the lack of highs and lows from many of the characters. This becomes even more apparent when we get to Amy Miller, whose performance by itself feels like a genuine guttural response; but against the mild demeanor of the previous characters seems over the top. Similarly, Meghan's voice-over brings a spark of energy that has been missing from Aida, the Sheriff, Sally, or her mom. As we get to the turbulent third act, it is a big jump in characterization as these individuals begin to release these emotions.

While I do enjoy many of the monologues, they seem to slow down the progress of the scene versus punctuating them. I believe it's because it comes so unexpectedly; especially Jake Miller's in the police station. Sally and Amy also seem to break the fourth wall and deliver theirs almost detached from the scene partner. I'm not sure how to integrate these more smoothly, but doing so would definitely increase the delivery impact.

Finally, I'd like to see some of the "surprise" elements kept until later in the film. We're convinced very early on that the Mayor was guilty, so the revelations of the pictures, or the mysterious acting class, or Sally's history or the call from the census bureau don't have the same reveal weight as if we were still wondering what could have happened.

Ocean City Monster Building is a low-budget sci-fi horror film that tells the story of a massive sea monster attacking an apartment building in the fictional coastal town of Ocean City, USA. We follow our protagonist one of the building's occupants and his struggle to survive the attack, rescue his estranged daughter and possibly find a way to defeat the monster before it destroys the entire city. Inspired by the classic Japanese Kaiju films of the 50s and 60s, Ocean City Monster Building rely on practical effects including special makeup, creature suits, animatronic puppets and miniature models instead of CGI creating a nostalgic yet engaging film.

Shakey camera work with weird angles and shots that really take you out of the movie. Horribly directed with terrible lighting/camera work. The camera shook constantly. Bad acting, story and script also felt bad, it has no focus and no balance, but it may have just been the cinematography/acting made the story impossible to be good. The dialogues are so unrealistic, it's laughable which contributed to the acting. The movie is meant to be a serious crime drama but it's bizarrely funny at times in ways the movie did not intent. I definitely feel like I'm laughing at the movie instead of with the movie. And it was set in like the 70s but didn't really look too much like it. I couldn't finish and skipped through the last third.