388 Arletta Avenue

James (Nick Stahl) and Amy (Mia Kirshner) is a common couple that lives at 388 Arletta Avenue. Out of the blue, a mysterious stalker sneaks in their home and bugs it with microphones and cameras positioned in order to cover the whole house. When Amy vanishes and leaves a handwritten letter to James, he suspects that someone has broken in his home. He calls the police, but the police officer does not give credit to him. Weird things happen in the house and James becomes paranoid without realizing that his movements are seen by the stalker. His obsession to discover what might have happened to Amy leads the family to a tragic end.

"388 Arletta Avenue" is a surprisingly effective low-budget thriller that gives a refreshing use to the washed-up formula of "The Blair Witch Project". The story could be shorter, but the tension increases along 87 minutes running time to a surprising and very creepy conclusion. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Avenida do Terror, 388" ("388 Terror Avenue")

Note: On 15 November 2022, I saw this film again.

This whole "found footage" genre is really being run into the ground. "388 Arletta Avenue" attempts to take on genre in an original way, but due to unlikeable characters, a dull plot line, and a terrible ending this film just falls into the endless pit of bad "found footage" films.

The main character in this film was just one of the dumbest characters ever in any horror film. His actions will frustrate you to the point where you will want to shut the movie off. The way he goes about things is just so unrealistic and stupid, this makes it pretty much impossible to root for him.

The main problem I had with the movie was the fact that it was just plain out uninteresting. I honestly didn't really care about anything or anyone in this film because they did such a terrible job of setting everything up. Things start out very fast but not in a good way. You never really get a chance to get to know any of the characters, so once things start happening to them you don't really care.

"388 Arletta Avenue" was a very dull experience. A huge waste of time, avoid this one. Only positive thing I can say about this movie is that it wasn't the worst "found footage" film I've seen.

2/10

Okay I thought this one was pretty well done. However, Nick Stahl, who is good in this btw, his character made a very silly move near the end which was kinda out of character. So I givve it -1 Star for that.

But damn I gotta give it a +1 Star for the use of Shaun Cassidy's Da Doo Run Run! That was just awesome!!!

5/10

The trailer for this promised much, but in actual fact there is very little here. Maybe a great movie for a voyeur, everyone else should stay well away. At around 1hr 26mins it is quite probably a good 26mins too long, and could have been done as a TV special or similar. The main problem is that very little happens apart from the stranger watching them, which is happening from the opening shot, this is then dragged out for the rest of the movie and you find nothing out about the stranger or his/her motives. After an hour we just wanted it to end, and when it did, it gave absolutely nothing away and left you just thinking you should have maybe washed the car or done something useful rather than waste your time on this. This maybe harsh but, sorry, a complete waste of time.

This is not a good movie... Even though it has nick stahl and devon saw a, this film falls flat on its face immediately. There is a TOTAL absence of any real atmosphere, dread, or tension. I literally own at least 200 found footage movies on dvd and blu ray and I am VERY fair when judging a movie because as a filmmaker myself, I understand just making a movie is a huge feat. However, Arletta Ave will always be remembered amongst all my ff movies......as being one of the worst right along side "the house on the wrong side of the tracks" super low budget ff films are better than this drudge because, in them, there is usually some level of tension... 388 Arletta Ave: what not to do when making a movie