The Upper Footage (UPPER)

Blake, Taylor, Devin, and Vlogger Will drive around New York City looking for cocaine and women. Devin finds a young woman, Jackie and all five of them go back to Blake's apartment and an accident happens.

I know this is a very brief overview on the film, because I think it is far better to know as little as possible going in and then after the film look on the internet at the marketing and recent issues. If you wish to know more a quick Google search should give you a wealth of information.

I first saw an article about Upper on Bloody-Disgusting almost two years ago and was intrigued. The marketing campaign was top notch and left me wanting more. I finally have got to see the movie and I was really not sure what to expect. The first half of the movie is a little on slowish side, plus I knew what ultimately was going to happen because of the marketing, but it does a fine job in establishing the young adults for what they are, rich and only worried about drugs, hooking up and themselves. After watching the movie the next day I talked about it with co-workers and wanted to talk even more but I did not want to give anything away so I just encouraged them to view it. It has been two days since I saw the film and I am still thinking about it, which as far as I am concerned is the definition of a good film, to make you think and keep thinking after the film is over. Upper is not an easy movie to watch nor is it an easy movie to review. The best bet is to watch it and decide for yourself. The ending of the film left me angry over what had transpired because these rich spoiled young adults had not taken responsibility for their actions. The film is a commentary on the socialite/"Upper" society and media. It might be a love it or hate it film, but love it or hate it the film should spark some great discussions.

"The Upper Footage"

It wasn't just bad, it was annoying.

Had it been made prior to "The Blair Witch Project" and just a short film made by a group of friends with a good camera, it would be OK.

I want to state all kinds of negative one-liners but that's not being objective and will get ignored. s in the Found Footage genre were was, "The Blair Witch Project." Quite a few of my co-workers thought that Blair Witch was real. That was due in part to the multimedia campaign elements such as the website.

The Spanish film, ".REC" was great. It was engaging from beginning to end. Not that a real budget necessarily matters but it had about $1.8 million and the money was widely spent.

I found V/H/S to be better than this and that movie received poor reviews. It was crudely filmed but then so was The Blair Witch project but it wasn't dishonest.

I was misled by the list of positive reviews by Internet critics on the Vimeo site as well as the user reviews.

I'll stop short of accusing the film makers of using their own people as shills. For all of the dishonesty, lack of creativity and lack of entertainment value, I'm giving this a 4.

Only because the male anti-hero actors were good. Not being sexist. The females were just one dimensional.

If "The Upper Footage" entertains you then great. I can't stand Ranch dressing, avocados or curry but don't criticize others who do.

If you enjoy found footage films and never watched ".REC" have a look at both the Spanish original and the American version with Dexter's sister, Jennifer Carpenter. The American remake did justice to the original.

If you watched this on Vimeo, the Joss Whedon film, "In Your Eyes" is a better choice for your first Vimeo rental. A nice romance, low key, great acting with characters you liked.

Roger Ebert was the last of the educated and credentialed, objective professional critics. The rest have zero credibility whose one-liner reviews are from a copy/paste cheat sheet.

First off let me say I'm a fan of the found horror footage genre. Having watched not only the popular ones such as Blair Witch, Grave Encounters, REC, etc. I also really enjoyed watching the less well known Haunted Poland, Severed Footage, Exhibit A, etc.

Often I find the ratings of found footage films rather low as they are not to everyone's taste. However, with UPPER I couldn't understand what all the hype is about. At best I give it a 4/10 as I am a fan of the genre.

This film distinguishes itself from other such movies by its astoundingly shaky and out of focus camera. For instance, in the last third of the film, when they are driving towards Greenwitch, there are about 5 min of unfocused black screen with only shouting in the background. I was about to brush this off as an irritating feature due to the lack of night vision of the camera - when suddenly it is revealed that the camera does have proper night vision.

As for the plot, there isn't much. Basically it's obvious that something will go wrong. There was quite some tension among the "friends" to begin with that I was't surprised (contrary to some) that there would be a whole lot of arguing when something does hit the fan.

To be fair found footage films aren't famous for their plots, however the tension in them towards the end is always palpable. UPPER on the other hand left me rather board all the way through. I honestly can't find any comparison with for instance the Blair Witch Project, which towards the end got me very freaked out. UPPER is in the drama genre and weak at best.

My advice, watch this if you are a fan of found footage films, otherwise skip. Definitely not worth a second look.

These days anyone with an iPhone and a laptop can make a movie, but how many filmmakers can claim to have created a phenomenon? It's happened twice in the found footage subgenre; firstly in 1999, with Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez's peerless no-budget chiller THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, and eight years later with Oren Peli's spiritual follow-up, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY. These are films that have had a profound impact not only on horror cinema, but on cinema itself, and their fingerprints can be found all over director Justin Cole's scary found footage exposé THE UPPER FOOTAGE. While the extent of the influence Cole's film will ultimately wield remains to be seen, there's no denying that it already represents a genuine postmodern pop culture phenomenon. A full account of the film's turbulent history, written by Cole, is available online (seek it out, it's fascinating), but it boils down to a desire by the filmmaker to perpetrate a convincing and self-perpetuating media hoax capable of transforming a found footage thriller into a real-life snuff movie sensation involving Hollywood celebrities. It's a fascinating conceit, and speaks to not only our fame-obsessed culture, but to the role both social and 'legitimate' media play in constructing our everyday reality. Cole's venture was a rousing success, and what started as an unsubstantiated rumour soon became urban legend, then established 'fact,' reported on by the likes of Entertainment Tonight. Cole was so successful, in fact, that he found himself the target of campaigners outraged (not unreasonably) at the notion of a young woman's death being exploited for commercial and artistic purposes, and a long and clandestine struggle against the powerful parents of one of the actresses in the film, who took umbrage at the content. The fact and fiction surrounding THE UPPER FOOTAGE have become so blurred that it's difficult to know what to take at face value, but it certainly appears that some kind of conspiracy is dedicated to hampering the film's prospects. So there you have it – a textbook example of how to make a movie that stands out from the crowd, one that so thoroughly transcends its own limited trappings that the actual film is almost irrelevant, it's the media ripples that count. But when you strip away the hype and subterfuge, the conspiracy theories and Chinese whispers, what's THE UPPER FOOTAGE actually like? Just as Cole has found himself a victim of his project's runaway success, so does his film. While most genre offerings are at least moderately predictable, dealing in familiar tropes and well-worn clichés, they also pride themselves on their twists and turns, the story elements we didn't see coming. THE UPPER FOOTAGE isn't like most films. There's barely a story to speak of, and, given the extensive media coverage it's received, you probably already know exactly what's going to happen. As such, it's hard to recommend THE UPPER FOOTAGE to anyone whose priority is an action-packed roller-coaster ride, or who's looking for a casual afternoon's viewing. But for anyone who takes their cinema seriously, or has an interest in either the film's history or the wider relationship between the media and 'real life,' it's a different story.

I've long lamented the preponderance of unlikeable cretins in horror films (for convenience of categorisation I'm calling THE UPPER FOOTAGE horror, although convincing claims could be made for a variety of genres). I don't think I've ever watched a movie populated by such irredeemable monsters as those in THE UPPER FOOTAGE. Again, however, the film is an exception; the fact that its characters are soulless, amoral abominations is very much the point. It's as damning an indictment of directionless, hedonistic, moneyed youth as you could possibly hope to see, a drug-fuelled collision of the best of Bret Easton Ellis with the worst of MY SUPER SWEET 16. Cruel, sneering and without a single saving grace, these are horror movie villains of the scariest kind – those that actually exist. Cole holds up a mirror to Hollywood society, and what it reflects is sickening.

As a rule, found footage fails to convince. Cole is as meticulous about his filmmaking as he is about creating a believable backstory, resulting in a finished product that's entirely persuasive. He avoids all the usual pitfalls – a reliance on rigid scripting, use of incidental music, too-good-to-be-true framing, multiple cameras, ostentatious editing – and even manages to circumvent the thorny question of why they continue to shoot after tragedy strikes. The dialogue is largely, maybe entirely, improvised, and the long takes and awkward angles cement the sense of verisimilitude. It's easy to see why so many industry professionals were fooled – THE UPPER FOOTAGE really does look like the real deal.

In the end, of course, it's impossible to strip away the hype and subterfuge, the conspiracy theories and Chinese whispers. Gone are the days when movies were just movies – now they're multimedia franchises, websites, twitter accounts, t-shirts and actions figures, fan fiction. No-budget horror films from unknown directors can't lay claim to such grandiose marketing strategies, but, as Cole has proved, with a bloody good idea, an insider's understanding of entertainment media, and balls the size of Godzilla's, even the most modest of found footage productions can be elevated to near-mythical status. It's impossible to divorce THE UPPER FOOTAGE from the furore surrounding it, nor should we try. It adds an extra dimension to the experience, a spice you just don't get from watching a common-or-garden horror movie. Slow, meticulous and grotesquely authentic, THE UPPER FOOTAGE is a glimpse into a morally vacuous world of excess and casual barbarism, a world where no one thinks of anyone but themselves, and celebrity is a licence to get away with murder. It's not an easy film to watch, and it was even harder for Cole to make, but nothing worthwhile is ever simple. Cole claims to have already planted the seeds of his next project, one he describes as 'a bit riskier.' The mind boggles...

when i first heard about the movie, i was immediately hooked to the idea and followed it all the way to the recent release. i followed the ups and downs with all the news on the film and to finally see it, there's a great sigh of relief and accomplishment the whole time, i was at the edge of my seat. it was definitely worth the wait, and the amount of publicity this movie gained was just awesome. I'm not going to lie, it had me going the whole time with the plot that bordered the line of fact and fiction. UPPER was like a mixture of The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield. it was great! hopefully one day, i can watch this one the big screen to better enjoy this movie to its full potential.