Bad Ben

OK, this guy is the only person in the movie, so you have to get used to him first. I found him kind of hard to sympathize with.

He comes off as a bit of a schlub (almost a dead ringer for actor/comedian Brian Posehn) who wants to document everything about this house he bought at auction as he's prepping it for sale. Right away, odd things start happening - furniture moving, things in the attic, things in the basement, etc.). At first, he attributes it to people breaking in, but he soon realizes there's something more going on as he looks into the family that lived there before and mysteriously left everything behind.

I thought the tension ratcheted up nicely and I was surprised that I got caught up as much as I did.

I'm mostly an art-house and indie film lover, but I've a penchant for horror, which means I watch a lot of schlock, knowing full well that budget and star-power don't mean a thing in terms of defining "good" within this genre.

Nonetheless, a single-actor, next-to-no-budget found-footage horror film in the vein of Paranormal Activity... that's the kind of thing any rational being should run away from, expecting a painfully unwatchable and sloppily structured video akin to uncle Bob & aunt Weave's redecoration home videos.

Yet, I was intrigued. A whole series?! Some of the reviews here solidified my curiosity, so I gave it a go.

It is what it is.

Haters will hate, and whiners will whine, which says more about them and their inability to understand "niche" and "objective". If you despise found footage films, just don't watch found-footage films. Easy. Unless watching them just so you can complain is your thing, which makes you far less interesting than found-footage films.

Having said that, I can respect legitimate reasons to hate this film that anyone may express... if or when I come across them. But, if you don't mind the genre, or if you love it, I'm sure you'll want to exclaim, "Good work, Nigel!" for this surprisingly engrossing one-man effort.

Well done, Nigel!

I actually saw this years ago when it was first released and really enjoyed it.

I thought I would revisit it now and actually put in a review.

+1 Star For Being One of the more entertaining 'Found Footage' movies out there.

+1 Star for still years after it remains, one of the better 'found footage' movies out there.

Really well done considering it's basically a one man show and Nigel has gone on to do many more projects since!!!! A fun watch. For me anyway. I could see why some would find it boring but I enjoyed it.

Nigel Bach has done the impossible, to produce and star solo in the done to death found footage/haunted house genre and make itit rath enjoyable. As a genre, it won't do what it really should have done a few years ago and vanish, but, Bad Ben perhaps shows that there is still a little steam left in it. Bad Ben looks like it was made on a shoe string, and that is perhaps it's charm, Bach is incredibly likeable in the solo role, and has enough charisma to make the film rather enjoyable. Not bad at all. 6/10

It's OK, far from great, but far from terrible. I've definitely seen worse... You know... Like the other two...