Found Footage February Day 12 Godforsaken!!

Day 12

Godforsaken

What is it about found footage and demons.

Like what’s the draw there. Why is it such a popular thing to do for found footage films. Like it sort of reminds me of a scene in spawn with clown where he complains about weekend satanist and how Heaven gets all the good ones, they get dipshits.

Like it just makes me think Jesus rises and its caught in 4k, but the devils offspring makes it and someones recording it on a virgin mobile flip phone.

Sort of like how every UFO recording is done on the grainiest video.

Not saying I hate it, just wondering.

One of my all time favorite movie moments that’s stuck with me and I still get creepy vibes watching, is the dream sequence from Prince of Darkness, where they all share the same dream of a news reporter doing a broadcast outside the church they are also currently occupying, and you see this very odd figure bathed in light being filmed. It just has this eerie look to it. Like something you shouldn’t be seeing, or should exist in this world yet there it is.

Stuff like that is my jam, and it’s why I keep hoping someday a film about evil and or demons, actually carries that sensation through to its full potential to make it impossible for anyone to sleep without first finding god so they CAN sleep.

The best example was an ex of mine. She was more into old black and white 50’s horror, but decided to give modern stuff a try since I was into it. So she decided to watch Drag Me To Hell. A movie I really love and laugh at, but has its definite creepy moments. She was 30 or so minutes into it, and I excused myself to go downstairs and get something to drink. She demanded I bring her with me because that movie got under her skin and she didn’t want to be left alone in a room, that still had all its lights on. We had to watch an hour and a half of funny stuff after so she could feel safe enough to sleep.

Will this film fil that creepy void? I don’t know. I doubt it. But we can hope it’ll provide some needed entertainment. It’s another quick romp of a film so we shall see how they handle themselves in this one.

With that said, lets ready for a funeral with a surprise guest. The returning deceased!

The Film

Dearly beloved, we are here to get through this thing called life. Electric word, life it means forever and that’s a mighty long time. I’ve actually said that at a funeral I presided. Loved it. But in the case of this film. We are gathered here today, as family comes to congregate at their local church, for funeral services. We are following Chad the director. Who has decided to film this funeral, why? Well we shall see. It’s a small town so everyone has a touch of that too nice for reality feel to them, because of a thing called community. We are quickly meeting a few of the towns players but no one work remembering just yet as we haven’t gotten there. Not yet.

This film is aiming to kick us in the teeth and start things with a bang. So just as we get a small feel for everyone and how some feel about Chad being back in town. There’s a disturbance in the force. People are running from the church screaming, women are crying and huddling themselves on the floor. So Chad being a chad, heads into the church. What he finds, is pretty interestingly disturbing. The recently deceased, Lisa. Well her coffin tumbled and we aren’t sure why.

Until we are shown why. There is apparently movement inside the coffin. It’s pretty damn creepy as you don’t know what the hell is going on. As she returns, you hear her groaning out, moving like she has a bad itch on her back she can’t exactly reach. She grins and soon begins diving after those left in the church. Soon enough, she finds Chad filming her, smiles and charges at him as well.

Is she a vampire? Is she a damned soul? No one can say. She isn’t attacking anyone. She’s just keeping everyone at a safe distance from herself. Eventually she makes her way to the churches entryway and just stares at the crowd outside crying and screaming as they see her.

It isn’t until her mom approaches her that anything actually does happen. Her mom approaches her recently deceased daughter, crying and embraces her. She doesn’t know how she has returned or why, she’s just over joyed her daughter has come back. That is until she stares into her daughters face, which the camera skillfully hides from us in shadows. Whatever it is that mama saw, it wasn’t her daughter. She begins trying to choke her resurrected daughter screaming “That’s not her! That’s not my daughter!”, but in a truly funny moment everyone is pulling her off of trying to strangle her…..recently dead daughter. I mean really, you can’t kill anyone more than they already are once they’ve been embalmed and on the slab but. Lord help her she’s gonna try. And the thought that these people try to stop that is. Well its progressive I guess, the dead have rights too I suppose.

But the laughs don’t stop there. Soon after the near strangulation of her not daughter. Chad is filming behind himself back at the church. We then see Chris, a wheelchair bound man, all smiles telling his buddy Chad “Dude that was the coolest shit ever!”

And there we go, our film is underway.

I mean, if this were shitty, I would be readying myself for a big center bite of a shit sandwich. But the film in just the first 7 minutes, has managed to build the promise of an interesting story,

The idea you don’t know if they’re a zombie, possessed or what happened to them was played well, and now that we have a better idea, that she more than likely is evil as all hell. It’s a fun setup with some real potential. Small town witnesses a ‘miracle’ just not the kind they had in mind, and now we get to see the reaction to that miracle.

Shortly after the failed funeral. Chad is now joined with some of his filming buddies. He’s driving them all to his hometown and the idea now is to make a documentary on this miracle resurrection. So in our group we of course have camera man Chad, we have assistant director Katie, and director director Dom.

We are being told right off the bat, that Lisa the recently resurrected, comes from a weird family. Not closed in and home schooled weird. But believing their home is haunted by a demon weird.

So our group is being taken in by Dom and his mother. Who serves as a church minister. We briefly met her during the funeral service as she was grumbled at her son for filming inside the church during a funeral service. But once the vestments are gone and she’s home? She’s just plain mom, a wonderful cook, who doesn’t like a lot of cussing in her home.

Surely this will play into the film.

Once again much like yesterdays film and the one before it. This film is very short. So expect things to happen swift and without warning. This one however, unlike the previous film. Is carrying itself well and the series of events actually is making sense.

So the group spends the night reviewing what Chad had filmed during the resurrection to get a better understanding for what exactly happened, Chad having known Lisa since Elementary school is their main source for background on her. It’s not made clear exactly how Chad had this, but given their friendship we can assume he’d had it from hanging out with her growing up. But Chad produces a very old drawing Lisa did, of the demon she claimed was haunting her home. It might be a kids drawing but its still pretty damn creepy.

So after a nice meal and a rest we are ready to begin our documentary. Which starts with a brief interview of Chad’s mother and how she believes this miracle is, or can be explained in the bible, so she can see it being just that, a miracle and not you know, hell on earth. But we aren’t going to get anything good outta mama, no no. We need to go to the source.

So we are heading to Lisa’s home. They are hopeful to spot her and see how she is after the, resurrection. But they also are looking to get a few words out of her mom, the same mom who tried strangling her resurrected daughter, claiming that wasn’t her daughter.

As our intrepid group make their way, bravely up to the house. They find the door unlocked and, well why not let yourselves in right? I mean sure it’s a small town but, breaking and entering is still defined at unwarranted entry forced or otherwise into a home not your own sooooo. That’s there’s to deal with.

Unfortunately it is a short visit. As they enter, they hear loud odd moaning, and not of the mama’s got a squeeze box variety. But more of the something is wrong. Our group discovers these noises are coming from the basement, more specifically  cellar door in the floor. Don’t get too excited though as we don’t see much. We find her mother standing on a chair and screaming about demons, clawing at the group. They rightfully run right out of the house back to the car, finding her mom now standing crazily outside staring at the group as they drive off.

It's a fair reaction.

On both parties.

You wonder into someones home during their mid life crisis, your gonna suffer the consequences. Or you know, someones kid dies and comes back evil as all hell, they aren’t exactly going to set out cookies and milk for you. So the party regroups, has a few drinks and bonds. For whatever its worth in the few moments of sanity the group has left. You know this is not going to end well, and it’ll either go straight to hell in a hand basket, or the whole town will be controlled by evil and no one gets out alive. We shall see.

Since their day didn’t exactly go that well, surely the night will bring something better in the end. So Chad stops by to see Chris. Our wheel chair pot loving friendo.

He is a pretty chill homie and he really isn’t that freaked by what happened at the church. At the same time he doesn’t want any part of it either which is understandable. So our group is hanging out on Chris’s porch as he finishes off a joint,

Chad and Katie take off for a moment to the car, leaving Dom and Chris to hang out. Which suddenly turns very interesting as Dom gets freaked out suddenly. Saying he saw something ‘on’ one of the houses. He begins moving closer to the street and soon the camera begins doing that old classic digital snow. But it doesn’t last long, and soon we see what freaked him out. Lisa is standing outside a house in her funeral gown still. Staring right back at them. Chris is not going to wait around for something to happen so he turns his wheel chair around and right the fuck inside his house. Dom decides if the wheelchair guy is blasting off, that’s a good sign to do the same, so he runs like his life depended on it. Because it just might.

We hear Lisa growling and charging but she leaves Dom alone. We find out as Dom reunites with Chad and Katie that, Lisa went into Chris’s home. So the group run back to their friends home to make sure he’s okay as they start hearing screams.

As the group transforms into the gang from Scooby Doo, they run into the house and find their friend, now standing up. With his parents at his side. They are praising this miracle and their son is tearfully laughing as he stumbles but is still able to walk.

Now it would be fair to ask just what the fuck is going on, and thankfully Chad is doing just that as the group talk to him off camera and then sit his ass right down for an interview to tell them what happened. Which is creepily done well.

According to Chad, he was scared out of his mind, and he saw Lisa just, phase in through the window, or the front door he isn’t sure which he just knows she appeared and seemed to float in. He says that she came toward him and held onto his legs. She never spoke to him, but he said he could hear her talking in his head. She was telling him to be calm and not be afraid. She was saying this to him, telepathically, while her face looked incredibly sinister. Soon he felt coldness through his legs, a rush of blood and then. He could move his legs for the first time ever.

So, sinister looking resurrected girl, using telepathy telling you to cool your tits and giving you the ability to walk. That. That sounds faintly concerning. But its about to get a lot more so. Chris tells his friends that after she did that, she asked him if she could stay with him. Naturally after that miracle he couldn’t say no. He felt it was owed given what she’d done for him.

SO…creepy sinister resurrected evil looking girl who phases into your house, ask if it’s cool to hang out there for a few days and the guy says sure why not. Yeah checks out. I mean honestly, yeah. Yeah that’s pretty fair.

It almost reminds me of something you’d expect from Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Carl. I mean it would fit.

So of course, with creepy girl within their reach. The group want to interview her. However when this happens the power suddenly goes out. Chris soon recovers and is directing the group. He is also bringing about the only strong minus I will give this film on its final grade. Because they done fucked up. Chris shows them the basement door of his parents home, but before opening it he gets an odd look on his face and hesitates. “She’s in my head again.”  With that Chris walks off and soon returns.

Holding his mothers cat. When asked why he has the cat? “She’s hungry, she needs to feed”

Yeah.

Yeah….

Fuck you movie.

Yes the group thinks he’s joking but then they actually do try to stop him when they realize no, he is not joking and he brings her the cat. I didn’t care to hear the cat suffering so I turned off the sound. Thanks to the subtitles I didn’t miss out as it told me “Cat growls” followed by “Cat suffering”. So yes. You killed a cat, you lose points. If Joe Bob Briggs can take away points for no nudity in a horror film. You are damn right I can take points away for killing a cat. You just don’t mess with kitty man, that’s all I’m saying.

So now with resurrected girl having been fed, it’s time to see if she’s camera ready. This is gonna be fun.

Or at least it would’ve been. It was funny as hell. I loved it. I hate them for feeding her the cat, but what happens next is great. Dom has the camera and he is heading for the door to film Lisa. He hears her slurping and eating. Thankfully we don’t see it. But we do see Lisa. She’s very pale looking,  and wide eyed. Upon seeing her and the cats blood on her hands and face, Dom immediately and rightfully has a very real reaction, “Nope. Nope, fuck that, Nope no way”, dude is out of the house and done.

He was willing to believe it was a joke, and they only made it sound like the cat was being eaten, he was willing to think the girl faked her resurrection and that Chris could’ve faked being in a wheel chair. But nope. Fuck that, he’s done.

However Chad, Chad is not done.

Katie believes the group should give this up and get out of there, go back to university and forget this craziness. Which is fair. I mean she wants to live, and with this kind of shit going on. Girls rolling out of their coffins, eating cats, healing the sick. It’s only a matter of time before we have Nazi’s riding dinosaurs and she knows it.

But Chad is telling her this could be their big break. This could make their careers, end her never ending cycle of always being a production assistant. Even Dom, who had the shit scared right back up into his intestines is ready to believe there could be something here. He just was not at all ready for any of it. So a decision is made. The group will go back, and try to film her, try to get some sense of what’s going on, then close out their student documentary.

As they approach Chris’s home the next day though. They discover police and firemen outside the home. Two firemen, a paramedic and two police officers enter the house. A little later we hear screams and all 5 of those men come running out, telling everyone “Get in the car and get out of here!”, they all load up, except for our trio of documentarians and fly the hell away from that house.

No idea what happened, just that whatever it was, whatever they saw. They knew better than to fuck around and find out.

But not our filmmakers. Hell no! They are soldiering forward. And within just a days time, there is enough of a transformation in everyone that you immediately can sense just where this is going. Chris has gone from a joking, doesn’t give a fuck cool dude in the chair. To now being a messenger for the profit Lisa. He went for a walk and began telling everyone what happened, how she healed him and the ‘miracles’ she can perform for all of them. His parents backing their sons story seem to be like servants at his side as he is proof of a miracle now. He is acting empowered and more like a leader to a congregation, leading the sick to their savior, or slaughter.

Which the group get to witness, as they are taken down to the basement once more. Only this time there is a mother and her sick son. They watch as Chris takes hold of the womans son and pushes him against his will into the room with Lisa. We hear struggling and screaming, then moments later. The door opens, and we see Lisa’s mom, helping the child out of the dark room. Now looking healthier, healed of whatever illness he had. Soon after another woman tells the camera how she came there as well to be healed. That she has an illness the doctors cant treat, her eyes are damaged and she can hardly see. A young girl was deeply scarred by a fire on half of her face. There is a line of people waiting for their turn to be saved and to witness a miracle. One by one they all go into that room, they are all touched by Lisa, and they emerge changed.

The funny part of it is Chris’s mother, completely given over to this and believing in the miracle faith that is Lisa. Serving plates of cookies to the sick and those waiting to see the others be healed.

Every time.

Every person that is healed, and witnesses her miracle.

Every family and person saved by her, is soon constructing, or given by others. A large wooden structure, like an off tripod. Painted red, and placed in front of all their homes. Along with a spray painted red circle on the ground around it.

All of those Lisa saves change immediately. They all completely give themselves over to her. Believing she is a divine power, or perhaps she’s just now in their minds as well.

But again you can see what is going on. And its great. I mean it sucks for them, but for the film it’s great.

The town is losing itself to the madness that is Lisa Fever, and now the church is empty. Chad’s poor mama has no one to preach to, and no one to chow down on the church wafers. Even odder, the head priest Father Anderson is gone. He apparently left town after having seen Lisa and the state she was in. Whatever happened during his brief encounter with her, was enough for him to decide he needed to leave Nicole in charge of the church while he questions his faith and all he has been taught or believed in. Because he can’t believe what he has seen, what is happening and it certainly can’t be the work of any god he has ever prayed too.

Well don’t worry too badly about that, because even though he said he was leaving, and did. He is back in town!

He’s renewed his faith, he’s got a crucifix and after an unseen training montage to become the best priest he can, ready to face off against demons. He’s standing outside Chris’s home, waving a cross around, shouting out blessings and scripture. It’s gonna be a slobber knocker!

Only it isn’t. He promptly stabs himself with his own cross and dies. The group run out to check on him, only to see a lot of faces peering out at the dead priest from within Chris’s home, and a grinning Lisa watching as paramedics wrap his body up in a bodybag. So, Evil 1, Good 0.

Nicole is not taking the loss well, he was the strongest person she knew and now he is dead. She can’t stomach this and she can’t stand that the whole town believes this is a miracle of god. So she’s going to try and talk logic and sense into them.

A minister using logic and sense to talk to a fanatic. It writes itself.

It’s a short conversation between Chad’s mom Nicole, and Chris’s mother. It’s the kind of crazy that is generally concerning, and one that is far more frightening when real. Nicole is trying to tell her that this girl is not a miracle, a savior or god. She’s far from anything to do with god. But Chris’s mother is fully lost. All she can do is tell her she is misguided and lost. That she is denying the truth and, if she will just go see Lisa. She will believe. Everything she says is just done with such a blind devotion and the emphasis she puts behind ‘you will see’ ‘you will believe’, it’s creepy. But. Nicole is strong and devout in her beliefs. So she decides fine, she will go see Lisa. So our crew go with her and record the encounter. Nicole is visibly shaken and on the verge of losing herself. She tells Lisa she is not a god, or a savior. She denounces her as being evil, Lisa calmly walks up to her, then lunges at Nicole and puts her hands on the womans head.

Next thing we know, Nicole is screaming, wide eyed and begins pleading for forgiveness from Lisa, begging to be forgiven for doubting her. Chad helps his mom back up, but she’s terrified. She’s lost her sight.

After the encounter his mom refuses to eat, or drink. She doesn’t want to leave her bed. Chad is scared for her and has no idea what to do. He lost his father as a kid and he can’t stand the thought of now losing his mother. He rushes over to Chris’s home and begins demanding answers, wanting to know what Lisa did to his mom, why she was harmed when they were told she wouldn’t be, and all Chris can do is spread his arms out and shout about his mom being a non believer. Not part of the faith.

At this point The film takes a turn I actually give props on. A hit of realism. Dom sits down and talks to the camera, admitting that they don’t really have a documentary at this point. It’s now become personal, one of their crew is personally involved as his mother has been blinded from this experience and things are spiraling into chaos. So its very likely they will have to abandon the entire project. But his talk is cut short as Chad ask him into the house to help them. They’ve agreed they need to get his mother some help. So they are planning to take her out to the car, drive her to a doctor in the city and find out what’s wrong with her.

Which is far easier said that done, and really a surprisingly emotional scene. The mom doesn’t want to be moved or touched. She’s afraid now that she can’t see and everything feels unfamiliar, her faith has been shaken to its core and all she has now is her own thoughts and darkness. Chad helps her down the stairs. But the moment he tells her their plan. She breaks free from him and Katie, only to blindly bump into walls and find herself in the basement. Where the group catches up with her, only to find her with a knife in her hand at her throat. Telling Chad she can’t go anywhere, she cant leave the house, “She won’t let me leave”

The way she says it, any time at all she brings up Lisa. It’s just delivered with the perfect mix of sounding like you are being held prisoner, and you have no control. She will end her life, but she doesn’t want too. But she is telling them Lisa won’t allow her to leave, so she’ll do it. Chad breaks down sobbing. He has no idea what to do. He wants to save his mom and he wants to help her. The strongest woman he’d ever known in his life, is not broken, crying and threatening to kill herself.

Dom tries talking to her, trying to assure her that they won’t let anything happen to her, however…Dom also is thinking like a documentarian as well. So he can’t help but film this and ask her about what happened with Lisa. What was the experience like, what did she see.

Which she can’t tell them. All she can do is tell them, with a look of both shock and terror. That this girl, is god. She is THEE god, and the things she showed her They destroyed all that she believed, she won’t tell them anything and you can see the thought of doing so just terrifies her. Like she’d call Lisa god, just to get her site back, and stop from seeing in her mind whatever it was Lisa showed her.

Well the group is running out of options but Chad does the only thing he can. He promises his mom he will not take her anywhere. He just wants her to put the knife down. Dom leaves the house and heads over to Chris’s home, he’s trying to ask him to speak to Lisa to try and have her help, or tell him what happened. Anything.

When Dom enters Chris’s home, we find Chris’s parents sat on a loveseat. Leaning into one another, dead.

From the stairway comes Chris, holding a revolver, cackling out of his mind about what a special day it is. Telling Dom that his mom and dad had a special day, it’s special for all of them. Because now they get to all be with Lisa. “Through death, we will be with her!”, and with that Chris shoots himself.

As Dom leaves the house and three dead bodies, the horror is just beginning. Outside Dom finds more people outside their homes, blowing their brains out. You hear gun shots go off from other homes nearby. Everyone is going through a mass suicide now. Dom runs back to Chad’s home and back to his friends, still trying to save Nicole.

Only now things are worse. Now Nicole must kill herself. Because it’s what Lisa wants. She only ask her son not to bury her. She doesn’t want to be buried ‘again’, telling them that when Lisa touched her that is what she saw. She was buried alive for what felt like an eternity to her, only to awaken blind. And sadly with that, Nicole kills herself in front of her son, Katie and Dom.

They all are at their wits end now, and none of them know what to do or how to process, well..anything.  They comfort each other and try to decide what if anything is left for them to do.

There’s a Steve Martin movie I really love called Leap of Faith, and I have seen the film, maybe twice, three times in my lifetime. But I still remember one song that they blasted through that film and feels very appropriate now.

Are you ready for a miracle?!

READY AS CAN BE!!

With night falling on the small town. It’s time for Lisa’s promise to everyone. Nicole begins screaming downstairs. Nicole is back from the dead. She’s groaning and growling demonically and stumbling about the house. Soon she comes in view of the group and their camera, only to attack them in much the same way Lisa had done when she was resurrected. Only Nicole is trying to kill them.

She ends up outside the house, and with that. The film commits its one last film sin. We hear a dog parking out in the street, and then yes. Suffering. This is not over with quickly either. Which is kind of the worst too. Like for some people its one thing to hear an animal yelp in pain. But hearing the animal suffer, and continue suffering until its killed.  So for those who might be a wee bit on the ‘nope fuck that and fuck you’, well. Yeah.

To make it worse, we see the dogs severed head and we see the one who killed the dog, and is now feating on the dog, is none other than Nicole.

Now we have the final trick of the film. Which is beautiful.

Every single person Lisa saved, and devoted themselves to her as their god, who then killed themselves for their own resurrection to be joined with her. Are all back and…now zombies.

Unfortunately with this news, we get two bits of sad news. Firstly, Dom has been bit by one of the town patrons, and is starting to look, not so good. Secondly? The film just had to pay homage, and I kinda wish it hadn’t lol. At one point while avoiding zombie towns people and seeking safety. The group find themselves in the local theater. Which just so happens to be playing the original black and white Night of the Living Dead.

You crafty bastards just had to get that in there didn’t you. You were doing so well. So, so well.

We now are entering the final moments of the film, and we are given resolution and answers. The group make their way unknowingly into Lisa’s home. The house is empty, all except for Lisa’s mother, who is dead of her own doing in the basement. Apparently when the group had found her down there, she was preparing to kill herself, and once they left. She did so. Not only do they find a suicide note from her, but the answer to what the hell had happened.

In the dirty basement in an unfinished room. Lisa’s mother had formed a summoning circle. In her suicide note she writes pleading for forgiveness.

When her daughter died, she couldn’t take it. She could not live without her. So she decided to reach out to the demon haunting their home and contact it. The demon had promised her it would bring her daughter back. It just didn’t tell her how, or the consequences. When she saw what became of her daughter, and the sinister smile she had. She knew she had been tricked and she took her own life.

I kinda love that. The idea that this demon used her daughter as a conduit, converted an entire town to believing she was the one true god made real, only to get them all to kill themselves and become mindless zombies that the demon is free to control at will. It’s just evil. Good old fashion fun evil.

So of course Dom is not long for this world. He begins talking about the same thing Nicole had. That he woke from a nightmare, where he was buried alive and now blind. That he saw god, Lisa IS god and a terrifying god. Not soon after he passes away. Only to return as an evil zombie.

He quickly takes out poor Katie, and Chad finds himself on his own. Forced to flee into the basement of the house. Where you think he’ll meet his end. I mean the movie is doing another homage to Night of The Living Dead, he’s closing the door to the basement, locking himself in with Lisa’s dead mother, only to find she is no longer on the ground dead. Much like the mother in Night of the Living Dead found herself in the basement with her now zombified daughter.

Of course he runs into her. And it’s every bit as creepy as it should be, she grins at him and charges attacking. He’s able to dodge her and she is flung out of frame, Only for the movie to then give us another moment I felt would be our ending point.

In her suicide note, admitting her deal with the demon. She admitted she opened a gateway for the demon to our world. So sure enough. We get to see, veiled thinly in shadows. The demon that Lisa had drawn claiming she’d seen as a kid growing up. It attacks Chad. But we ain’t done!

Oh no sir. Chad somehow escapes the demon. So we can get ANOTHER homage, the dead are breaking through the doors and reaching in for the one last living human. All of them that find Chad, end up grinning and chuckling wickedly. Chad does a dive out the window and limps off seeking sanctuary.

Now. Had they shown him limping down the street shouting “Sanctuary! Sanctuary!” then I would’ve laughed my ass off and declared this the best movie drunk and or sober. Alas they showed restraint.

Instead he makes his way to the church his mother had preached at, Finding himself squaring off against Lisa. Being chased through the church above and below. Each time he escapes Lisa, She suddenly appears ahead of him. Giggling and toying with Chad. Until she finally has him cornered and knows this is where things end. It’s appropriately creepy and played well. She’s grinning, even as he hits her trying to beat her head in, Only making her laugh each time he tries to stop her and in a very nice touch calling back to what I mentioned at the beginning about her resurrected ass having been embalmed? As soon as his beatings begin landing and taring at her skin, she’s bleeding green embalming fluid.

With that, she lunges and takes him down. The camera going static in and out, and we see her ripping his cheek out and off, at long last the film rolls credits and, what a hell of a ride.

The End

This was needed. This movie was great, nearly flawless. Well executed and put together.

It’s everything the movie last night wanted to be and wasn’t. It was even shorter than that film, and it never felt like it. It actually felt a bit longer, because you were invested in the story. Things were structured well and they stuck to their guns. The idea having played out fully was brilliantly done.

I mean yeah at the beginning you could’ve easily seen this turning zombie. Especially when she was hungry and they fed her a live animal. I could easily have seen the film going that way and have everyone she saves suddenly finding themselves hungry for flesh. A trade off for their being ‘saved’.

You also could’ve just as easily had this go with the town becoming crazily devout and killing the camera crew for not having accepted their savior and see them performing a ritual at the end to summon the demon.

There were a few ways it could’ve gone and in the end it went crazy. But in a good way. I’m seeing a lot of people were split on the ending and that makes sense. The ending can be seen as a bit extreme compared to the rest of the film, but it absolutely set this up from the beginning. It’s fine, it’s not a throw everything at the wall thing,

The film even though not especially long, did balance itself well, in taking the time to lay out its story, give you subtle suggestions (Through albeit bold gestures) as to what’s going on. It kept me on the fence of, is this a demon? It seriously looks and sounds demon.Is this eldritch horror driving the town insane? Is she a vampire? A zombie? An actual GOD?!

Once we get where the movie has lead us. It just settles itself simply with “it’s exactly what we said it was in the beginning”, it’s a cautionary tale of the extent some will go when faced with loss. Turning to what you feared and fought against for years, now looking for help from them. Only to in the end be reminded, you asked pure evil to do good, they don’t do good.

When it keeps you guessing, and its ending either entertains you or makes you smirk and groan a bit. It’s done it’s job. It just didn’t go how we thought it might, but it still laid out that possibility. Like a demon lottery and I dig it. Does that also work for other films that either subvert your expectations or take a wild swing? Fuck no. It takes a skilled hand, and caring about the project you started. They understood the assignment and it paid off in the end. In a direct contrast to our previous film, This knew what it wanted to be. They knew how to keep the suspense up and keep you guessing. They gave us plenty of information, we understood what was going on each step of the way.

Which is another thing I enjoyed from this movie. Not a lot of found footage nail this down exactly and its somewhat understandable. Because you don’t want to damage your own gear. But it’s the realism of dropping your shit in true moments of what the fuck am I seeing, and having actual human reactions. Like Dom sitting down and discussing ending the documentary, But then when going to Chris’s home, he’s shook by what he see’s and drops the camera, picks it up and keeps going. Nicole’s suicide same thing. In some of these films you can tell they gingerly drop the camera down . The camera person is gentle with the camera even in the face of unbelievable horror up until it’s necessary for the camera to begin distorting and show damage. But when you have your actors display actual human responses and stop filming too. That’s worthy of note.

Again with Dom filming Lisa in her basement room while feeding. Absolutely the dude noped out and stopped recording, He said fuck this, fuck that, fuck everything and he checked out, it was great. It was played off as a lot of those moments with a certain level of believability. While other films don’t always have as much luck, they got it. It’s just nice having little touches like that done well and adding to the film.

The fact the film made me laugh several times while watching it, and not laughing at it for being horrible, just laughing with it because its entertaining. Praise be.

This was, and is an entertaining film. I wasn’t sure at first and I was skeptical if I’d end up regretting my bold purchase of the film versus a rental. But the trailer looked very promising, even though its ratings were sadly mid ground to low.

But man it was worth it. It’s just a simple well done movie, that did well in its execution. It kept things moving along and even if at the end, things take a leap. It’s still fun, it wasn’t expected and at the same time I’m glad they chose to go with it and run with the choice. Looking back it shouldn’t had been such a big surprise, but it still was, because you almost give up expecting it at that point. Maybe that’s why people were grumbled. Who can say.

I just know everyone was, for me. On point.

The director, Ali Akbar Akbar Kamal has done a lot behind the camera, and this was one of 8 projects he’d directed, he also wrote it and edited. Our trio of documentarians: Chad Tallor, Katie Fleming, Domenic Derose. Have mostly worked in short films and a few of Ali’s short films as well.

Even though we saw little of Lisa (Mélie B Rondeau) she really did well with the performance. She carried that absolute sinister evil presence that you just saw relishing in what it was creating in the town and how everyone just fell into place so easily for them.

Really, the opening with the funeral service and Lisa being resurrected. It was appropriately creepy and easily could’ve gone off into comically bad, but it held back. It played more like, well. A birth. A thing reborn and taking in its surroundings, grasping onto where it is now and its situation. Once it became aware, the rest just fell into place. By keeping Lisa hidden from the public like a profit, it kept everyone else from falling out of place. Had they had Lisa just popping in and out of buildings at will, You might’ve likely had a more blatant evil presence terrorizing the town. Instead of being kept purposely in the shadows until the end.

Which that itself was a well played choice. The demon born into this world, then fearing it could be pushed back out seeks refuge with Chris, His family buys into the miracle immediately without question and the demon is able to easily control him, spreading word of its miracle, building itself a protective network until it finally had what it wanted, beyond saving and took it. Resting evil gathering its forces and carrying out its chaotic plan.

Could it have been better given more time? Honestly I don’t think so. It managed itself very well. Nothing was really left out or unanswered. Everything had a purpose and place. You could’ve had more interviews done for the documentary, sure. It would’ve been interesting if they actually HAD interviews Lisa, but that feels like it would’ve ruined things ultimately as Lisa to our understanding and how she comes off later. It’s a flesh puppet for the demon so it’s not going to speak, It used telepathy and wormed into everyone’s heads.  The interview would’ve just ended up being a sinister smiling Lisa, lunging at the crew and eating their faces or slapping their foreheads.

I don’t really feel more time would have helped it as the film did what it needed and made good use of the time it had. If the film was remade, I am sure it’d be pushed to the two hour and ten minute mark. But what could you fill it up more with? Crazy towns people doing crazy things, more ‘feedings’ for Lisa, more suicides filmed or static evil presences. It just feels like anything else added would’ve been filler that wasn’t essentially needed.

If I had to gripe? I mean. I could go back to the beginning and ask why….no.

WHO. Who in their right, or wrong mind. Would see a person flip their own coffin to the ground, and emerge like a wild animal. Threatening everyone around them, grinning and leaping around.  Who would see that, and witness that persons own mother begin trying to choke them, and start laughing asking “Dude did you see that? That was fucking awesome!” I mean….That is a wee bit of a stretch right? Or is everyone in that town just THAT kind of religious that they’d see an unexplained event and have the same reaction as Jody in Pulp Fiction when Mia gets the adrenaline shot jammed in her heart.

I can gripe about that. Yeah. But it made me laugh in an Evil Dead humor way. The film had a few moments like that where you can actually laugh so it didn’t kill the vibe. It’s weird yeah, and would’ve seemed blaringly out of place had things gone differently. But eh. It’s fine. It’s all fine.

Seriously this movie was a god send and I’m glad for it, I’m happy I own it, it was a gamble especially given the mehness of the last film, but in the end it paid off. It was well done, well structured and well shot. It had some seriously eerie vibes and moments spread through out and it scratched a demon itch I had in just the right way that I’d absolutely recommend it to people. Even if they kill a cat, and doggo. I am STILL knocking it down a star for that, but I still also recommend it.

So until tomorrow, sometimes dead, is better.