briannabelasco

I caught this documentary on Shudder. Listening to William Friedkin is a true pleasure for any artist, filmmaker or not. I recommend this movie to anyone in the arts, as it's filled with insight from a master craftsman.

This movie falls into the ultra indie horror category. This type of shoestring budget movie can either succeed despite its limitations, or be completely unwatchable. I give this film credit for going against the cliche of the old scary house with endless dark rooms. Other than the grainy surveillance footage in the opening minutes, the first half of the movie is bright, optimistic and upbeat. Even the "bad apartment" seems pristine and filled with light... at least at first. Everything about this movie goes from light to dark in an extreme way. The pacing here is unusual for indie horror and it makes the scary parts a bit more scary. You don't expect the jumps to get you but they still do. So this film succeeds (on a B-movie level) by entertaining and scaring despite it's lower production value. This type of paranormal horror really tries to make something scary out of nothing and it mostly manages to do it. If you like found footage or movies like Annabelle, you might appreciate this one a little more.

A clever approach, an authentic cast, and some unnerving moments. I think there is sequel potential.