The Black Water Vampire

Paid 5 bucks to see this because I'm a huge fan of found footage. Also, because a reviewer on one of my favorite horror sites called it a "hidden gem."

After seeing it, I have no idea what the actual frack that reviewer was thinking.

The movie is exactly what everyone else is saying: A terrible rip-off of Blair Witch. And no, I do not mean an homage. It's literally Blair Witch, but with poor acting, dull, repetitive dialogue, and a rubber vampire costume.

The first two-thirds of the movie was tolerable, if boring. But the final third devolved into nothing but screams and running. Ended with zero explanation of the questions raised by the story.

And the final scene? Laughable.

Waste of time and money...both on my part AND on the part of the movie-makers.

This is just terrible. There was a long drawn out beginning that amounted to a very poor middle and a pathetic end.

I get the concept of "Found video tapes" but feel that it was done and gone away with Blair Witch.

This film and story line would have suited a traditional filming method but the ending should have been given a lot more thought.

There is no originality with this film, which is a real shame because there are so many books out there that can provide the film makers with a truly terrifying story that could be portrayed on film.

The vampire him/itself was very much along the lines of the original Nosferatu, with no fangs to speak of, but actually the only highlight of the whole film.

Opinion is really a personal thing, and if you like this whole found tape thing, then you might enjoy it.

Me, I am going to stick with the proper way of filming and watch the "jump out of your skin" films.

In the town of Black Water, WA, four women have been killed in the woods within the last forty years. Documentarian Danielle decides to make of movie about the events and brings a production crew of three to the town to investigate.

The women had been found mutilated and with bite marks. No blood was found at the crime scenes. A man is on death row for the murders and Danielle doesn't believe he is guilty.

They interview the convicted man, who seems crazy, and writes a symbol on the partition glass in blood, but doesn't give them much by the way of answers.

Next they go on a hike in the snowy woods to visit the crime scenes and gather what information they can. This is where the real action starts. The movie gets pretty interesting here as they are stalked in the woods.

People will draw comparisons to The Blair Witch Project here, fairly, since it does follow the same formula. The one review I skimmed said that it was wrong to show the creature, that what you don't see is scarier, a la Blair Witch. This is not true of course. Depending on what movie you are making and what you intend for the audience, both ways can be very effective, and it works here.

I had a lot of fun with this movie, especially the last two scenes, which pay homage to two very popular horror movies. 7/10.

This FF horror is made in a style that hundreds of other FF horrors were made , a group getting lost in the forest, hearing strange noises at night etc, it just feels like any other FF horror you have seen before.

While the one hour or so was cliched, the last 22 mins , was absolutely terrifying and insane with the last scene before ending being the most disturbing one highlighting a cult that exists in the Black Water area. There is one jump scare (related to Anthony where he got killed) as well near the end which was very well timed and really shot me off my bed.

Watch it in a cozy silent night and you will enjoy it although it feels a ripoff of many other FF horrors of this kind.

Found footage film borrows a bit from The Blair Witch Project and just about every other in the woods film. Standard characters with requisite annoyance and singular focus on "the project" without regard to common sense. The creatures have a certain creepiness to them, but that doesn't make a film. Townsfolk bring a minor element that adds something different to the mix, but it isn't enough to save the film. Okay enough if you like this type of film, but it's nothing new or great.