15-05-08

Director - Nikki Chatwin
Starring - Fern Chatwin, Kasey Jones, and Scarlett Isabelle Sibson
Release Date - 2013
Genre - Horror/Suspense
Tagline - "What happened on..."
Format - Streaming (Youtube) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

    
     Every job has its perks just some people fail to actually see what those perks are.  Writing for Horror Society is honestly the most rewarding job I have had in my young life.  Shortly after I was brought on to write for the site many indie directors reached out to me to review their films.  It has been seven months I am still getting messages from indie directors to review their films.  I absolutely love it and I hope I can write for the site until I die.  That is how I came across this found footage slasher.  Director Nikki Chatwin caught wind that I write reviews from the site and found me on Facebook.  After a few messages he hit me up with a link to the short.  I knew nothing about the film beforehand so I told him I would watch it with an open mind but I would be honest in my review.
      The film follows a group of twenty-somethings that witness a break in across the street.  Instead of calling the police they decide to start filming the house in case anything unfolds.  They decide to be a little adventurous and head over to the house until a scream forces them to retreat.  While back in their home they spot someone in a white mask outside the window.  They try to hide but soon their home alarm goes off and before long the one holding the camera is attacked.  Later, someone walks in to the room where the camera is still rolling and they are suffocated by a plastic bag.
     I honestly dislike found footage movies and I especially hate big budget found footage films.  Almost every one I have seen has bored the life out of me and for the most part this one is no exception.  I have seen multiple real time films that were extremely powerful but the found footage real time film is honestly just too damn long.  Most are comprised of way too much dialogue of the characters in the film freaking out and this film falls victim to that as well.  Way too much focus was placed on the characters reaction to the break in that is taking place instead of the menacing white masked slashers.  If more emphasis was placed on the killers then this would have been one bad ass little short.  Instead, it was dry and boring until the end.  The ending was the high point of the film and showed so much promise.  I wish the entire short was that intense.  The acting is hard to judge due to the found footage nature of the film.  We hardly get any real camera time with the cast other than up close "confessional" style dialogue which is also extremely hard to judge.  The story is nothing new but could have been one hell of a straight forward slasher if the found footage angle was dropped and more emphasis was placed on the killers.  Finally, we don't get any real on screen kills or special effects.  Most films can skip on this but slasher flicks can not.  Slasher fans can brutal and if you don't give them some blood and gore they will make their own.  Overall, this had the potential to be a great short but could not pull it off.  I would love to see another attempt by the director at this one.