I liked it for about the first 30-40 minutes, but...
WHERE IS THE REALLY SCAREY STUFF ???
No, I'm not talking about cheese-ball FX, but rather something that does a head-job on your emotions.
BOY THOSE HANGING TWIGS WERE SCAREY!!!
or
THE KILLER PILES OF ROCKS!!!
I honestly thought that the filmakers took about half an hour to tie up some twigs and then hang them, because they were originally making a student film with no time or money to spend on creating better ominous looking props.
It was obvious near the end that they were running out of ideas, and figured they could end their magnum opus in an abandoned house that happened to be around.
OK, so how what would I do to make it scarier ?
First have the whole thing happen in one long unending night, where the main characters are pleading for daylight to end their suffering.
Next, drive both the characters and the audience mad with the screams of their missing friend being ruthlessly tortured without mercy... (This might be a bit much for the audience, but it would make the film more unnerving)
Next, have the main characters panic and run about in the dark, terror stricken, not knowing wheather they were running to or away from the unseen menace. This would hasten the eventual full breakdown of the main characters.
The filmakers really blew the opportunity to shoot some fly by the seat of your ass menacing chase scenes, where the characters are too afraid to stop running.
Next, change the little twig-bundle "present" from a piece of scalp, to a bunch of bloody teeth. (i.e. The Witch likes to do a little freelance dentistry on the side.)
Next, have their bloody, beaten, toothless (You might have to find an actor with false teeth to do this on the cheap!) friend return to their camp, and tell the others in mumbly words that they're all fucked, and that the night is young and that more fun is in store.
...Anyways, I could go on, but these are the kind of scenes that would have me cringing in my seat if they were pulled off in a realistic way.
Personally, I felt that I was sucked in by all the hype, and was hoping to be scared shitless by some new enfant terribles of the cinema.
As far a a recommendation for a better scarey movie, here's two that did it for me in the past:
"Cries and Whispers" by Ingmar Bergman
"Eraser Head" by David Lynch (Also made on a peanut budget at the time)
Also, some of the old "Night Gallery" TV shows were pretty freaky little numbers.
Slashdot Mirror
I can get into the shakey camera work...
I can get into the student documentary look...
I liked it for about the first 30-40 minutes,
but...
WHERE IS THE REALLY SCAREY STUFF ???
No, I'm not talking about cheese-ball FX, but
rather something that does a head-job on your
emotions.
BOY THOSE HANGING TWIGS WERE SCAREY!!!
or
THE KILLER PILES OF ROCKS!!!
I honestly thought that the filmakers took about
half an hour to tie up some twigs and then hang
them, because they were originally making a
student film with no time or money to spend on
creating better ominous looking props.
It was obvious near the end that they were
running out of ideas, and figured they could
end their magnum opus in an abandoned house
that happened to be around.
OK, so how what would I do to make it scarier ?
First have the whole thing happen in one long
unending night, where the main characters are
pleading for daylight to end their suffering.
Next, drive both the characters and the audience
mad with the screams of their missing friend
being ruthlessly tortured without mercy...
(This might be a bit much for the audience,
but it would make the film more unnerving)
Next, have the main characters panic and run
about in the dark, terror stricken, not knowing
wheather they were running to or away from the
unseen menace. This would hasten the eventual
full breakdown of the main characters.
The filmakers really blew the opportunity to
shoot some fly by the seat of your ass menacing
chase scenes, where the characters are too
afraid to stop running.
Next, change the little twig-bundle "present"
from a piece of scalp, to a bunch of bloody
teeth. (i.e. The Witch likes to do a little
freelance dentistry on the side.)
Next, have their bloody, beaten, toothless
(You might have to find an actor with false
teeth to do this on the cheap!) friend return
to their camp, and tell the others in mumbly
words that they're all fucked, and that the
night is young and that more fun is in store.
...Anyways, I could go on, but these are the
kind of scenes that would have me cringing in
my seat if they were pulled off in a realistic
way.
Personally, I felt that I was sucked in by all
the hype, and was hoping to be scared shitless
by some new enfant terribles of the cinema.
As far a a recommendation for a better scarey
movie, here's two that did it for me in the
past:
"Cries and Whispers" by Ingmar Bergman
"Eraser Head" by David Lynch
(Also made on a peanut budget at the time)
Also, some of the old "Night Gallery" TV
shows were pretty freaky little numbers.
- DG