Grave Encounters (2011)

Running Time: 92 minutes

Release Date: September 9, 2011

Review by: Stacey

Pretty much, if you haven't heard of Grave Encounters, you've been living under a weird rock that doesn't let you watch horror movies.  I'm also an avid defender of (most) found footage films despite their typical formula that lost its appeal somewhere along the way.  From the get-go GE didn't seem to hold much promise in the way of giving us something fresh and interesting, but dammit, they sure pulled a fast one over us because a lot of people (including me) fucking love this movie.  It has most definitely gained a cult following in the horror community.

 

Grave Encounters starts off as typical and innocuous as most found footage films do- paranormal group plans to spend a night in a supposedly haunted former mental institution, shit goes awry.  Only GE throws some humor in the mix by having the paranormal group shoot a reality show not much unlike a certain douchey ghost hunting show on Travel Channel... I mean, it's hilarious how spoof-y it is with the obnoxious show intro, the fake psychics, and the over-the-top host, Lance Preston (Sean Rogerson).  There's no reason to go too much into the plot because I'm assuming the majority of you have seen it already.  For those that haven't, just know that when it gets good, it gets GOOD.

 

Of course, the film wasted no time in telling us it was alllll real.  We already know that's complete bullshit.  Moving on, the first 30 min start off uninteresting, but that can be said about a lot of found footage movies and their need to set everything up to look as authentic as possible; YOU AIN'T FOOLIN' ANYONE!  But don't turn off the movie just yet, like I said, it's going to get good.

For being the debut of The Vicious Brothers (Grave Encounters 2, Extraterrestrial) they definitely got it right and wrote/directed a creepy film with a competent cast.  Although the script was cheesy at times, it didn't hinder the major scares that took over in the last half of the film, which were surprisingly good because they weren't just random noises and people popping up around corners.  During the action scenes the sound was loud and really fucking scary, which kept me on edge the whole time (my poor Yorkie had no idea what the hell was going on.) Speaking of the cheesy script, though, I really enjoyed that the film made fun of itself a lot.  It knew that goofing on these silly ghost hunting shows would add this playful banter between the audience and the characters.

 

 

If you can look past some of the scares with the ghosts with distorted faces like we've seen so many times over, Grave Encounters is a really refreshing found footage horror film that succeeded where many have failed.  The copious amount of twists and turns in the film keep you glued to the screen throughout and are definitely unsettling.  It left enough of an open-ended type finale that they had to make a sequel, which I will be watching AND reviewing next, so keep your eyes peeling for that in the next day or two!

It's not a pioneer film by any means, but it's definitely one that I can watch over and over and still have a blast with.

4.5/5 grabby disembodied ceiling hands

 

Watch the trailer here!