The Flock

I love found footage movies. My favorite genre by far when done right. Ive seen them all, literally. I was excited for the idea behind this one, but the execution was underwhelming to say the least. The effects were done well enough, and the plot was original enough to not feel like a re-tread. Unfortunately, the acting and dialogue killed it. Acting isn't necessary to pull off a movie of this type. In fact, it can add to the realism of the experience. But actors who pause and seem to have to recall every single line or deliver them in a monotone way with zero emotion, completely ruins the feel just as equally. If the dialogue comes across as if it were written by a child, it even further ruins the experience and the viewer's immersion. Having both a bad script being delivered by bad "actors" who sound like they just woke up when they should be startled or excited, or whatever the case may be, is completely unbearable. Great idea here, with decent enough effects, but everything else just falls flat on its face. Ive seen far worse with much less initial potential and that is what makes this one so hard to swallow. Unfortunately, the end product here is better off being skipped entirely.

The acting sucks so bad it's painful to watch. And I'm usually lenient about that type of thing. The dialogue and the actions of the characters are nonsensical and some of the characters are so cringy. Just don't do it. Please don't do it, you'll regret it. The ending was stupid and most of the time you either weren't sure what was happening or didn't care. The creatures mask was not bad but literally everything else was. If you want to see it so bad go google a picture. You'll waste a hell of alot less time. The higher reviews have to be from people with severely low standards. I swear a bunch of teenagers made this.

Movies like The Flock and Robert Livings' Infrared do what found-footage style films should do: keep the whole film shot in a first person camcorder. By doing so, the film makes the viewers feel as if they are directly going through the experience with the characters. Besides the cinematography, I liked how The Flock uses real abandoned locations for the majority of the film. This not only helps with the immersion, but it increases the horror aspect as you don't know what's lurking around the corner.

As a whole, the film is well-acted, with the cult leader, Crow, being the best of the bunch. Patrick Liberatore really sold me as a crazy cult leader who tries to be the second coming of Charles Manson. Additionally, the kidnapped camera operator did a good job acting as the audience surrogate following V and Danny. He reminded me of Ethan Winters from Resident Evil VII in many ways, as Ethan, like the camera-op, was our introduction to the events of the story. On the side of the mercenaries, I liked Trinity's chemistry with Son. The two come across as having a sibling-like relationship that was wholesome.

What I wished the film did better is to have a more focused plot and main character or group that we could follow. The Flock has the viewers following two groups and I was confused as to which one we should relate to or sympathize with. Also, I felt that the plot was a bit unfocused, especially with the limited runtime. As the film went on, I had trouble discerning whether The Flock as a cult were truly evil. However, that is likely the intention of the film by making you question how bad they really are.

Despite a few flaws with the film, I can safely say that The Flock is another solid inclusion in the list of new found-footage style horror films. It does a good job in production design, acting and cinematography. Unlike a lot of horror films that rely too much on jump scares, The Flock feels more atmospheric, as if the feeling of danger was on the horizon. Combined with an effective and likable cast, we get both a frightening and engaging film!

The film is an interesting horror, devised with lots of cult members, unique mockumentary feel and weird editing skills. Very much got that Blair Witch feel to it however there are times where it completely misses off the grid.

Found footage purity and reasoning - close to 100% The main characters are pretty good actors. They come off as believable. As with all fff, there are some strained dialogues There are a couple of twists and turns along the way.

My biggest criticism is not of the technical aspects of the film, which are excellent. It is of the actors in the cult. They do not seem believable.

Nonetheless, I think this is a very good film.

The Flock commercials were excellent. Insightful and accurate parodies of modern church outreaches

The director, Dillon should be rightfully proud of his work.

PS, love the fps images in the final third.