stebai66

Honestly the writing is the only slight on this otherwise fantastic drama. The superlatives used are frequent and exaggerated. I get it's a dramatization, but if I hear "miracle" again to describe a drive, well.. Also why did it depict English F3 fans as bare chested raving lunatics/animals? Anybody around at that time would tell you it was, (and still is) supported and watched by reserved types. The kind that one might find at the Oval or Lords. There seemed quite an anti England thread to episode two that just wasn't there for Ayrton. He was well supported, and indeed highly respected for his on track skill.

Also why is Murray Walker relegated to such a bit part? He was a personal friend of Ayrton but has seen hardly any screen time.

OK - I've seen a lot of found footage flicks over the last 30 years, but this may well be the best of the lot. Honestly.

It feels 100% real. Set in the late 70's, the studio is exactly as my minds eye recalls Late Night talk shows looked. Oranges, Browns and yes, Beige, you can't help but be transported back to flared trousers and platform shoes. The studio House Band boogie and smile just as they should. The script is full of nods to the era with jokes that you'll have to Google to understand, well unless your into your 60's. It just works as a whole and effortlessly creates a vibe that is so period correct and believable. The cast is universally perfect, Dastmalchian IS that guy who we vaguely recall as "that" contender who never made it to the Talk Show host big table. His mannerism's are always just as they should be, cheesy and light hearted, served with a side of creepiness. I don't think you can find a single flaw in his performance. Torelli nails the possessed young girl thing too. When she looks straight into the camera to deliver lines, or just because she's in a TV studio, like any young teen would, it really is quite unnerving. I could continue handing out plaudits to all of the cast, but you get the idea, they're all great.

Why 9 stars? There are a couple of flaws, one of which grates because it could have been so easily avoided. Whilst the Broadcast footage is presented in 4:3, slightly off colour, period correct style, the Back Stage footage is not. It's presented in a 16:9 laser sharp, b&w ratio. It drags the viewer, kicking and screaming, out of the so wonderfully created 70's right back to the present in seconds. Surely any backstage footage filmed at the time would have been done using inferior film stock, no? It would have been 4:3, b&w and likely scratched/grainy. It's such an odd artistic decision to choose and I would very much like to know the thought process that went into making it. Just flicking to b&w would have distinguished the chapters sufficiently. The only other small gripe I have is that, personally, I could have done without the last five minutes and have the movie finish at the same time as the broadcast footage. I'm sure some enjoyed the coda, but for me it was unnecessary.

Seriously though this movie is great. To call it a Horror movie in 2024 is going a bit far and will annoy younger audiences accustomed to violence, blood and guts. It is a Chiller that sits right at he top of that ladder. I cannot recall a single jump scare, though I had mentally prepared myself for one a couple of times, and that is to be applauded. Oh i should shout out the old school sfx used when things do get messy in the finale. They are more "The Thing" and "Ghostbusters" than anything of this century and again feel 100% the right choice.

To the perfect Halloween movie playlist you go.. in 3. 2. 1...

Well, I actually had high expectations for this. Read a lot of positive stuff, damn my English teacher. Anyway what we have here is a good idea, ruined by a bunch of characters I hated. A bunch of whiny, self centered teens, with smarts somewhere between a Mars bar and a US President. Mustn't forget some of the stoopidist suspension of logic flaws I've seen in a horror movie for some time. After the Police arrived, and left, the whole plot collapsed. For a horror movie to really work, it has to draw you in with realistic, everyday likelihoods. The cops would have shut the house down, taken all the phone footage and confiscated the hand. They did none of the above.. Now a hand that allows you to contact the dead I'm prepared to give a pass. A bunch of Aussies finest, walking away from a blood splattered crime scene without a hint of concern.. Well your taking the p**s aren't you mate! The Cinematography however was excellent. Kudos to them.