A Horror Film Blog

Having watching Jane Schoenbrun's  We're All Going to the World's Fair it is almost impossible to say quite what I have watched. My initial comments on Shudder were condescending, faintly praising the director doing something other than a slasher clone.  There's an implied criticism in that, suggesting (not too far below the surface) that what ever they did they did not do it terribly well.  And I imagine a lot of people watching We're All Going to the World's Fair would have left it at that.  At best, a sporadically interesting attempt at micro-budget film-making.  At worst, a near unwatchable pretentious mess. But thinking about the film again as I tried to write this review, I found myself feeling much more positive and intrigued, about the film itself.  Its refusal to give a conventional narrative or establish a diegetic reality with observable rules prompted an intellectual response and forced me to either reject the project altogether (as I suspect m...

For ardent fans of my musings (I know you are out there) the Evidence of 2013 is a totally different cheapie found footage film to Evidence (2012), previously reviewed on A Horror Film Blog. Though - such are the conventions - or constraints - of the found footage genre they might as well be the same film.  You could argue we could just title most found footage films Evidence and be done with it.  Which would at least save someone having to think up a snazzy new title to make their identikit products stand out.  In case you are not too good at reading between the lines this Evidence is yet another specimen of by the numbers found footage malarkey, similar to 99% of other films in the genre. Which isn't necessarily bad, if you like that sort of thing (I do); but if you don't, there aren't any reasons to watch this. For people that do like FF type films, this is a mix up of shakey-cam and more traditional style film as a bunch of cliched cops try to work out what happened t...

 A needless 'sequel' which adds nothing to the legend created in the first film and only weakens its legacy. Back in the late 90s I staggered into the Cameo cinema in Edinburgh one morning, beset with a hangover and fully intent on disliking the film I was about to see, the hysterically hyped The Blair Witch Project .  I did see it but I did not hate it.  I emerged from the Cameo blinking in the weak Scottish sunlight and chastened and humbled.  The film makers had accomplished what they set out to do - craft an effective, well made, innovative film. (I know, Cannibal Holocaust , The MacPherson Tape and The Last Broadcast and probably several others beat it by varying numbers of years, but none of them had any significant mainstream impact.) A genre was created with The Blair Witch Project , and effectively ended as well.  After that film, what else could you really do with  found footage style?  Other than endlessly repeat the same tropes and ideas....

A negligible found-footage film which doesn't bring anything new to the genre and which - even at 74 minutes - feel interminable. Found footage films can be very good - The Blair Witch Project , obviously, and I have a guilty fondness for the first Hell House LLC film.  They can be notable for innovation, essentially setting up the rules of the genre, like The MacPherson Tape and the mighty, repulsive yet glorious Cannibal Holocaust .  Or they can just be a bit rubbish, like Evidence . Happy campers. Have these guys never seen any found footage films? The stereotype of the found footage film is that it is what wannabe film makers do when they lack ideas, creativity and cinematic skill.  That's usually unfair because making something that looks like amateur handheld rubbish while still keeping it watchable, making sure the camera is actually pointing at the right thing at the right time, and making everything audible is actually difficult.  Even when you try to make...