'Heidi' drew me into seeing it, with a cool poster/cover, an intriguing and quite creative premise and as someone with a general appreciation for horror. That it was low-budget, which from frequent personal experience is rarely a good sign due to that there are so many poor ones out there, made me though apprehensive. Same with it being found footage.
It is sadly however yet another film seen recently, hence some reiteration because the exact same strengths and flaws are here present in those films, that to me was incredibly disappointing considering its potential which it doesn't do anywhere near enough with. 'Heidi' is very weak, with a plethora of problems (fairly big ones too) and doesn't do enough with its potential, which was hardly small. There are however a couple of decent, even good, qualities in 'Heidi'.
Lets start with the positives. The scenery is atmospheric and spooky, despite being wasted by the nauseating effects of the excessively shaking camera work and editing.
Best thing about 'Heidi' is the doll, which is quite creepy. Liked the opening, which was attention grabbing and kept me hooked. Which is why it is such a shame that 'Heidi' went downhill so drastically.
Going on further to the negatives, the story does feel over-stretched and some of it feels vague, under-explained in the last third where the film especially became duller, more predictable, more senseless and less scary. Too many characters are too sketchy and with nowhere near enough to make one want to endear to them. Their irritating and illogical decision making and behaviours frustrates.
Making the film feel bland and forgettable with not enough heart put into it. The effects are ropy at best, the sound quality is obvious and utilised cheaply (being too loud in the build ups and people's reactions) and it's best not mentioning the histrionic and stiff acting.
Dialogue can be stilted and rambling while the pace goes to a standstill after the promising opening and drags on forever, never recovering. The second half is interminable. Found too many the supposedly shocking moments not surprising or scary and the supposedly creepy atmosphere dreary, due to the excessive obviousness and the lack of tension and suspense.
A lot of 'Heidi' has underdeveloped plot elements and often nonsensical, irritating and confusing character motivations, while too many of the things to make you jump or shocked are far from creative or scary and are pretty tame. The ending finishes the film on an incomplete and confused whimper. The whole of 'Heidi' felt unfinished but especially so at the end where it just ends with too much left hanging in the air.
The more psychological elements are unimaginative and are more odd than scary, completely failing to show the horror of the subject. Some badly sagging momentum too. The direction is pretty leaden, got the sense their heart was not in it, and the music doesn't really fit.
Concluding, very weak. 3/10 Bethany Cox
