The Break-In

I actually kind of liked this film...for the most part. First of all, the premise was relatively unique, even in the saturated "home invasion" film space, and the ending was somewhat unexpected and clever.

The cast was also decent at portraying realistic characters with the exception of the main female character, Melissa. She was so over-the-top cutesy and bubbly, every time she spoke I cringed and it totally took me out of the film for that moment as I thought about how annoyed I'd be having to hang out with a grown woman who acts like a little girl 24/7. Maybe she's like that in person...but hopefully not. It's really off-putting and irritating seeing a women in her 30's (I'm assuming) constantly push this "aren't I adorable??" act.

Another miss was the inclusion of a scene that was supposed to be a dream, yet was apparently filmed on the lead character's phone because we see it as the audience. That piece caused a lot of confusion, as it wasn't clear whether it was actually a dream or if another physical activity occurred (trying not to include any spoilers here) and the dream was misunderstood by the lead himself, but it could've been more concisely explained. If it was in fact a dream, we shouldn't have seen it as the entire movie is "found footage" pulled from a cell phone.

All in all, I found it entertaining enough as a diehard found footage fan, but it had some major dings against it that could've easily been improved. Not a bad effort for what appears to be literally no budget at all, and I appreciated the bought that obviously went into the storyline, though.

I am a big fan of indie horror. I watch pretty much every unknown horror that hits Netflix. So I figured I would give this one a try.......at first, started off much like a lot of the found footage movies out there.

Sets up the story and characters, filmed a lot like Paranormal Activity. But unlike a typical ghost story, this one was about a home invasion. To me, that was much more realistic than a demon in my house. I don't want to give anything away, but watch this film! And then tell me you don't double check every lock in your house afterwards.

The last half of the film is especially terrifying. Again, I am a big fan of found footage films. Some people hate them. But if you are a fan, this one is worth the rental.

If that triple combination, which seems to be so common nowadays (movies such as Creep, They Look Like People, The Good Neighbor), makes you tingly, you will probably enjoy this. But if you're not the biggest fan of either found-footage or mumblecore, which I admit I'm not, then this might fall a bit flat. The 10/10 reviews are friends of the filmmakers. It's way too obvious—not sure who you think you're fooling with a 10-star review that is your only review on IMDb. I think the 1- and 2-star reviews are a bit harsh, though.

I was moderately entertained until the last ten minutes of the film, which really soured me on it. Let me run through the pros and cons.

Pros: The basic set-up is simple, but intriguing enough to hold promise: an engaged couple, Jeff (Doescher) and Melissa (Binkley), who are expecting a baby, and prone to anxiety, start freaking out when they hear of others in the neighborhood being burglarized. Jeff gets a new phone and gets obsessed with recording everything on it, especially when he notices anything suspicious. Although they come off as a bit smarmy and bougie at first, the dynamic between Jeff and Melissa is good, and as the tension between them and the impending threat of a home invasion ratchet up, I felt myself on edge waiting for them to confront the danger, as you know they eventually will. Not much happens, as it is mostly dialogue, and thankfully I found the writing and delivery fairly engaging and convincing for this mumblecore style. One of the characteristics of mumblecore is naturalistic and sometimes improvised dialogue taking precedence over action; this dialogue is often contrived and is as likely to take me out of the film as immerse me in it. Dialogue that is trying desperately to be "natural" or "quirky" just sounds so obviously forced that it really isn't "realistic" (and I am bothered by the whole notion of films having to be "realistic" anyway). I'm not sure why I found the dialogue in The Break-In better, other than it felt, for the most part, like the way people would talk to each other, with a believable inflection and affect that was neither flat nor too over-the-top "actor-y."

Cons: First, the title is boring and isn't going to pull many people in, unless you're a sucker for home invasion fare, which this film only halfway is.

Next, while I enjoyed the dynamic between Jeff and Melissa, the friendship between the neighbors felt forced; they talked too much about how they loved being friends with and living next door to them. And the neighbors just aren't as good actors, though you don't really get to see them do too much.

Third, if you're going to do found footage, don't add outside music into the film. It always makes me stop and think, "This shouldn't be here." It's sparse, only used during the creepy night scenes when Jeff thinks someone is trying to break in, but at the end, there's a particularly egregious use of poppy music that's supposed to tug at your heart strings, which is baldly manipulative. Finally, most importantly, the last ten minutes is a mess, for several reasons that I won't go into because of spoilers. I'll just say that one problem is that it violates the found footage premise in more than just sound—we get an image that we later find isn't "real." This feels like a cheap move to trick the viewer. Then the "twist" ending, whether you see it coming or not, again feels too manipulative and not really earned.

One last note: although "horror" is the first genre tag, I don't consider this horror very much. There is an atmosphere of anxiety, which I associate with thriller, rather than a sense of dread, which I associate with horror. Still, that line is blurry, and mumblecore is pushing hard on that boundary. If you like movies such as Creep and They Look Like People, you might enjoy this, but if not, you might avoid it. For me, I'm split down the middle; it's good for a single watch if there's nothing better. Streaming free with Amazon Prime. 5/10

I was excited to see this movie after reading the plot. Once I saw this was taped with a cell phone (i.e. low budget style) that was a turn off but decided to give it a chance anyway. After the first 5 minutes into all of the rambling on chitter chatter about Bob and who the heck else they were talking about..I became so bored and drawn away from the film I almost forgot I put on "a movie". It reminded me of when your at a house gathering or art galley opening with many people that you do not know and everyone is talking in this monotone voice, eventually what all begins to sound like...blahh blah blah...blah blah ..blah blah. Have no idea if this cell phone captured something more interesting but these characters, voices and script was becoming annoying. More effort in the writing would have been more appreciated to start or maybe more editing to get things going.

Not much chemistry between the cast members, but it still worked. The story dragged, and yet I still watched, curious to see where this would go (I don't give up when it comes to not-terrible horror movies; you can find some real gems that way!). I'm so glad I didn't stop watching because the last 10 minutes turned really turned this movie around. I literally had a WHAT THE...moment. Should have seen it coming but I didn't. Would I recommend it -- on a rainy afternoon, why not. Am I sorry I watched it-- not at all. I loved the ending.