The Demonic Tapes

First, this movie is not based on a true story. It is clearly all fiction and that's ok. It is better as a work of fiction. I don't understand why the filmmakers tried to say it wasn't.

That said, I like the plot device of this movie. The lead character finds some audio tapes that were made in his house before he moved in. He listens to the audio tapes throughout the film and they reveal a record of a medium battling against a demonic presence in his house.

Since we are just watching the character listen to tapes, there isn't a lot for the lead actor to do. He isn't the most compelling on screen personality.

What makes this movie work for me is the juxtaposition of the lead character listening to the tape in the exact same place as the location of the tape. The medium talks about the same room and the same sights that we see in the present.

I liked it. I recommend it as something different.

Actually, the title is a lie. I could finish it if I wanted to. The problem was I didn't want to finish this film. I made it 28 minutes in.

The film opens claiming to be based on real events or real recordings, I had already forgotten what. It then shows us a man in a house with a cat. He occasionally talks on the phone to what may be his roommate.

Out of nowhere, a tape recorder starts playing in a room and he finds it. He then starts listening to the tapes.

This is basically where the movie essentially ends. If actual stuff happens beyond the 28 minute mark, I had by that point ceased to care.

What fills in the rest of the alleged film is completely random B footage of this man meandering around the house and walking around town while listening to the tape recorders apparently recording some manner of séance from 2003 in which a woman is trying to contact a demonoid phenomenon in a man's house.

I'm very easy to impress in terms of movies, and when movies take risks like this, I tend not to completely shut down just out of disgust for the format (like people who can't stand found footage films because of the camera shaking). However, this means it needs a story to sustain itself.

What ever story this film was attempting via the tape recordings was, at least as of 28 minutes in, incredibly predictable and cliché. The medium makes contact with a spirit almost immediately, and it's predictably evil because it has a hoarse, growling voice like a Death Metal singer, and has a sleazy-sounding evil laugh it uses with tedious regularity just to remind you it's evil.

as far as I could muster, the demon's name is "Mr Sheets" because a ghost boy spotted him under a sheet or something.

If this movie improves after the 28 minute mark, there's no evidence of that in either of the other reviews. Maybe, possibly, some day after exhausting everything else available on AmazonPrime, I will come back to this film, but I will do so with an overwhelming reluctance.

I had this on my watchlist for ages. I thought it was a zero budget found-footage movie that might be good for a laugh, à la Paranormal Farm. I finally watched it just now and am taken aback by how much I love it. The idea is very original, insofar as much of the story is told through an audio device. The character finds some dictaphone tapes of a paranormal investigation, which are played as he either listens or gets on with his life. It's an unusual concept, but it works for two reasons. Firstly, the visuals are beautifully and intelligently shot, and echo the recordings in clever ways. Secondly, the tapes are done superbly. The actress has a wonderful voice, and the lo-fi recordings sound spooky and believable. Together, the sights and sounds create an atmosphere that I found intoxicating throughout. There are some genuinely tense and chilling moments, and one jump scare that I found extremely effective. Also worth a mention: there are two beautiful sequences with perfectly chosen music. It's very much an elegant piece of cinema, rather than a found-footage or mockumentary style film.

A lot of love and craft went into this, and I consider it a masterclass in doing more with less. When I like a film with a low score, I make an extra effort to review it, so fired up the app as soon as the credits ended. One of my favourite films of the year, and I couldn't be more surprised!

Watch it alone Watch it in the dark It's not bad but you may get distracted Don't expect much then you 'll enjoy it

I've never written a review before but I just had to for this movie. Whatever this film tried to say, failed miserably! Maybe the actors could have made it better than it actually was, but again, failed miserably! For just one example, the part in the first two minutes of the film when nothing has even happened yet, the phone rings and the guy has a look on his face as if the phone ringing was the most strangest and scariest thing that could ever happen, and NOTHING had happened yet lol!! But it's not entirely the actors fault, I do blame the director too. He should have "directed" the actor to not have that look on his face! It was so stupid I almost felt bad for the actors-almost