sapphirre Reviews

Horror in the High Desert 2: Minerva (2023)

An unexpectedly exciting continuation

[7/10 · 27 June 2023]

Having enjoyed the first film well enough and being aware that this one came out recently i finally gave it a shot, and I'm glad i did because it was really exciting! This movie expands on the mystery of the first in a pretty organic way, tying in other incidents that may or may not be connected to the tragedy of the first movie. I found this one more engaging than the first due to the abundance of in universe material to look at, though this does come at a price which is that the film's narrative is much less focused and controlled, which may be a downside if you don't enjoy storytelling that is slightly scatterbrained. Regardless this entry has taken me from ambivalent about the first to actively excited for the next. I'm totally hooked!

There are some negatives though, such as the film's overuse and abuse of musical stings and cues. This movie is slightly less scary than the first, though it has more scary material overall. I say watch if you liked the first one. 7/10.

Hollows Grove (2014)

Glad I ignored the reviews

[6/10 · 12 November 2022]

Look. This movie isn't great. It's not even good. But as a rabid found footage fan I actually enjoyed it quite a bit.

Contrary to the complaints in other reviews, the acting is only bad in a few places, particularly the very end. Elsewhere the acting actually ranges from slightly wooden but otherwise fine to genuinely good and believable (Matt Doherty being the best performer by a long shot). Your mileage may vary but I've seen plenty of films with far worse acting and I don't personally think this one is bad enough to warrant this many complaints.

Where this film really suffers is actually the scares, which don't have much of a rhyme or reason to them. If goofy trope-y scares turn you off then by all means avoid this film. If not, this film resembles Grave Encounters quite a lot and if you enjoyed that vibe you may also enjoy Hollows Grove.

Ultimately this film is not for people who aren't rabid found footage fans. If you don't normally watch this kind of film then don't bother, there are plenty of far better far more accessible FF films out there that deserve your attention more. But for fans of the genre like me, this is worth a shot.

Leaving D.C. (2012)

An absolute delight + one other thing

[8/10 · 9 October 2022]

I adore this film. Going into it I knew it would be a very small scale venture; the poster, the lack of people credited here on IMDB, everything about it screamed "Low budget! Low budget!" but none of this stopped me from checking it out as I have seen plenty of decent low budget found footage films before. I was not disappointed with this movie, and if you are willing to indulge me I would be happy to explain why.

This film is not heavy on scares. In fact, I'd say it's fairly absent of them. Depending on what you are looking for from a found footage film, this could either be a positive or a negative. I found it to be a positive, as the film takes a very domestic and suspenseful angle and the choices director and starring actor Josh Criss makes lend themselves very well to that direction. The only weak point in this movie, in my admittedly biased opinion, is the ending of the film.

Though I believe the film to be smartly directed and acted, that's not the only thing I enjoy about this movie. Another thing I want to point out here is that the film is almost revolutionary in the way it chooses to represent mental illness. The main character is said to have OCD, as he is in a support group for it, however his behavior is anything but stereotypical. As an autistic person I actually found his behavior to be quite similar to what I see in Autistic friends; he attempts to adhere to certain standards (i.e. Appropriate behavior towards a female friend who he is romantically interested in) without an accurate understanding of the why and how that these behaviors and standards are expected. Over time he begins to deteriorate as a direct result of the happenings of the film, but even then his behavior does not register as stereotypical. He even mentions some of his medications by name, and when I googled one of them that he mentions he's not supposed to drink alcohol while on I found that not only was it a real medication, but it was accurate that patients are not supposed to drink while on it.

While watching the film I had assumed that sensitivity readers had been hired to look through the script but upon learning that the project was primarily a one man band thing I switched to believing that Josh Criss had personal first-hand experience with mental illness. Not only is the depiction of a man with OCD incredibly respectful, but there is also mention of a woman with supposed schizophrenia who is not at all demonized or stereotyped for her mental illness. It is passingly mentioned that she was schizophrenic, but at no point is she (or the spirit that is supposedly hers) depicted as dangerous or scary. The film posits the idea that she is simply lost and looking for approval, a kind of grace that most horror movies do not bother to extend to mentally ill characters. I struggle with mental illness, and I feel like I appreciate this grace more than most other people would.

Overall I think this film is fantastic. The acting is quite good, the progression feels well-paced, and the depictions of mental illness are incredibly respectful and kind. I think anyone who enjoys found footage should watch this movie, and take to heart that not all people who are mentally ill have to be villains.

Evidence (III) (2012)

No vision for what it wants to be

[2/10 · 9 October 2022]

This movie is an identity crisis. It doesn't know what it wants, and it doesn't know what its viewers want either.

The poster IMDB uses makes it look like a ghost-hunting film, the alternate poster makes it look like a bigfoot film. Neither of these turned out to be accurate, but as I pushed on through the movie it became apparent to me that the inaccurate marketing is not the only thing that's wrong with the film and is actually indicative of a bigger problem: the film doesn't know what the hell it is or what it's trying to present to you.

There is a furry glowing-eyed thing chasing and hunting the characters. There is an unexplained military presence that at first tries to kill the characters but then later helps them. There's humans acting like zombies, there's a facility whose purpose is unclear, I could go on. It's not so much that the film refuses to explain that's the problem here; plenty of found footage does not bother to explain itself i.e. Cloverfield. The problem is that these elements do not work together, and the lack of cohesion causes the film to fail at claiming a specific identity or purpose. It's simply an hour and 20 minutes of what feels like random nonsense.

And honestly? I think that's a shame. The potential for an interesting film was there, the acting was quite solid and so were the practical effects, but it completely fails in execution. Even if you are a fan of found footage like I am, I implore you to skip this one. It's for your own good.

The Gathering (2002)

Better as a mystery thriller than a "horror" title

[7/10 · 4 February 2020]

I went into this movie (the cut dvd version, which bought for cheap) expecting a cheap horror film. What I got was... not horror. I enjoyed it a lot, given that I'm a sucker for quaint mystery thrillers in general, but I bought this expecting horror because it markets itself as horror. and this is a bad horror movie.

However, I can look past this because I'm a rather casual movie watcher. I found myself pleasantly surprised at this film's build-up to a sense of dread which hits at about an hour in. The mystery of the movie solves itself in a very satisfactory way, and clocking in at roughly 85 minutes, the movie doesn't overstay its welcome. Granted, nothing new is explored in this movie that hasn't been done better elsewhere. But for anybody looking for something quiet, short, and satisfactory to kill time with, this is a decent film to choose.