Reel Evil

Great Addition to the Found-Footage Genre
I've said this before and I'll say it again: I never get tired of the found-footage horror sub-genre. Granted, I've seen some stinkers over the years, but for the most part the found-footage category has treated me fairly well. Full Moon's recent venture into this reinvigorated area is REEL EVIL, a nice little fright-flick that is well done and serves up the scares by the bucketful.

This film impresses me on several levels. It looks good overall, the acting is top notch, the special effects rock, and even the gore is impressive. In short, it is a very entertaining thrill ride.

Probably the most excellent aspect of REEL EVIL are the scares. I actually jumped a couple of times when creepy things happened in unexpected places. The film does a great job of setting up what you think will be a scare...but then nothing happens; and then, when your guard is down later on, something happens that surprises you and makes you spill your popcorn. THIS is a great...

I WONDER WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM?
This film is a new twist on old "exploring the abandoned asylum for the criminally insane" horror film. This one incorporates the found footage genre. In this production a film crew is hired to film a documentary on behind the scenes footage of a movie filmed at said asylum. What this gimmick does is to allow decent lighting as the main crew had set them up. This gives us a more professional looking found footage film.

Kennedy(Jessica Morris)leads this group of daring film makers as they explore the abandoned establishment. You see occasional ghosts on the camera, but initially there are fewer ghosts than appear on my camera. After our heroes have a tussle with the main quirky film's director, demanding producer, primadonna actress and they explore for a bit, you are one hour into a 72 minute feature before the first scare.

The film needed to be longer, cut out some of the build up, and extend the horror ending. I kept waiting for things to happen and when it...

Great acting (for the most part), and that's it.
I love found footage films, specifically because the acting is so raw and realistic, and this one is no exception. Everyone (except the female playing the actress) was authentic, solid in their range, and did a great job of drawing you into the story, so the movie gets two stars for that. Unfortunately, that's where the positives of this film end. The plot has been done before, (and much better, might I add, by 'Grave Encounters'), and the special effects are atrocious. All of the apparitions looked to have been made using Microsoft Paint and then placed into the film with no regards to realism, or how it would appear to the average person. Considering that movies of this nature rely heavily on how well the SFX is implemented, I must say that I was very disappointed by what I saw. Lastly, there are too many instances where absolutely nothing happens, or the actors are walking around in (literal) circles, and this becomes tedious really fast.
The worst part of the film, however,...

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