Noctem

I've watched a *LOT* of horror over the years - obviously, if I came across this. And I've seen *WAY* too many found footage films in the genre. So tired of them, I can't even describe it. However... this film really did do something new in using a cell phone camera. What that did...? In addition to tight, dark indoor sets, it allowed for a buildup of tension and scares which worked incredibly well.

I'm also a sucker for alternative religious (meaning not Satan, not possessions) and this really was a decent story. But the way it was filmed is how I have to give it the most props - the ending was... meh. Don't expect an amazing ending, but the ride until you get there? Well worth it. It takes a lot for me to be positive, much less highly positive, on a contemporary found footage horror flick - this one gets my rave recommendation. Well worth your time to check it out.

This movie is the worst kind of found-footage film; you can tell that the creative team wanted to save as much money as possible, so they skimped on everything from the special effects, to even the work that was supposed to be done in post. The acting is serviceable, for the most part, but the cast (especially the males) are so annoying, you just want them to disappear. The story has been done before, so their is nothing to write about that, but the execution is so poorly and shoddily done, I am really surprised anyone gave funding to complete this. I would have asked for my money back and shelved the project, never to see the light of day. It just doesn't do anything good enough to warrant even a curious viewing. Avoid it and forget it. It's just bad in every possible way.,

An eerie movie with sinister and horrifying atmosphere by means of shaky camera and videotape . This so-so movie is a terror story with plenty of ghastly scenes , suspense , restless horror , and in documentary style . Film itself takes place from point of sight from cameraman . It packs tension , shocks , thrills , chills and lots of astonishing scenes . Well worth seeing if you like shaky cameras , like ¨Blair witch project¨, ¨28 Days/Weeks¨ ,¨Cloverfield¨ or the classic ¨Cannibal Holocaust¨ . It deals with Adrián (Adrián Lastra) and Basty (Esteban Piñero) have been missing for a year. The police are at an impasse despite having found his belongings on Cozumel, an island twenty kilometers from the Riviera Maya. Álex (Álex González) , a mutual friend of both, manages to get hold of his mobile phones, and he gives the mobiles to a computer expert (Diego Ingold) who he uses to start a parallel investigation. Despite the fact that his friends remain unaccounted for, Álex has other concerns.

The approach is relatively original, but already seen in many other films ; resulting to be a mix, taking the best, of "The Blair Witch Project" and "Rec", and the recent ¨Verónica" possibly the three horror movies that have mostly terrified the general public in the last decades . The film is mediocre but passable at times with such a twisted script and such a nice editing full of disconcerting sounds and images . To this is added a music and a sound that pushes you to not be able to avoid the worst. The picture brings to life the legend of the fallen angel ¨Arakiel¨ , also spelled Arâkîba, Araqiel, Araqael, Araciel, Arqael, Sarquael, Arkiel or Arkas, is a fallen angel, the second mentioned of the 20 Watcher leaders of the 200 fallen angels in the Book of Enoch, who taught the "signs of the earth" (which suggests geomancy) to humans during the days of Jared. Arakiel is also called Aretztikapha (meaning "world of distortion") in Chapter 69. His name is generally translated as "earth of God". Stars Adrián Lastra, Esteban Piñeiro and Alex González, interpreting themselves in an absolutely natural and believable way and then, more in their characters, completely believable again in the anguishing situations they experience. Second feature film directed by Mallorquin Marcos Cabotá after the comedy Amigos. The film was shot in various locations such as Mallorca , Cancún or Madrid, Cabotá spent a year looking for the actor who played Adrián, the leading role, until he finally came across with Adrián Latra (Cousins, Brain Drain 2) and knew it had to be him. Co-stars Alex Gonzalez (El Principe, Combustión , Orbita 9) and other unknown actors providing functional interpretations .

The motion picture was middlingly directed by Marcos Cabotá. He's a good writer, producer and filmmaker .He has made shorts, documentary such, as : 11M , Real la pelicula, and I am your father. His movie debut was ¨Amigos...¨ this one resulted to be his comedy's first feature film and it was winner Siver Bizinaga Audiencia Award. And following : this horror movie ¨Noctem¨ that failed at the box office . Rating : 4.5/10 . Only for Spanish terror fans.

Sadly to say, Noctem didn't do it for me. I very much appreciate the Spanish cinema, but they don't do so good on the horror part as they manage to succeed on great thrillers. Of course one might argue that REC1,2 are masterpieces and I would have to agree, but overall they do far better on productions such as Julia's Eyes, Timecrimes, The Orphange and so on.

So, why did Noctem failed? Well first of all, it kinda looks like a mess. It tried to cover many layers at once and I do believe overall it just confused the viewer a lot. It had an idea, a plot yet its execution clearly wasn't the best. For a found footage movie it had a lot to live up to, because we expect something better, different after so many other such movies but this was not the case. We are given an mediocre execution and very few aspects that deliver.

Thus all in all I would not recommend Noctem because it really is one of the weakest Spanish horrors I've seen lately. You can clearly swift in another direction.

Cheers!

The idea sounded very interesting, not exactly new but enough to make one want to see it. The cover looked quite eerie. Also wanted to see how the use of cellphones would fare. So saw 'Noctem' with genuine interest and wanting to at least sort of like it even with many problems.

Seeing it, well 'Noctem' certainly did have many problems. The bad news was that there was not an awful lot good, let alone great, about it, so it was difficult for me to sort of like it, the little that's good being far overshadowed by the bad. Having prepared myself to do that, that was disappointing. Not a terrible film or without redeeming qualities, and there is far worse out there of the genre and overall. Liked the concept for 'Noctem', the execution was just wanting.

'Noctem' at least didn't insult my intelligence. It at least didn't make me angry watching it. Despite giving it a low score and negative review, it even didn't make me regret watching it altogether.

It started off quite promisingly in an unsettling sort of way and the film didn't look too bad considering the type of film it was, not high art which wasn't expected but not amateurish as was feared. The setting was quite spooky at times as was the lighting.

Unfortunately, 'Noctem' did lack tension and suspense and the infrequent creepiness was never that eerie and rather obvious. The script is stilted, the direction tends to be static and there is a lot of overacting from particularly the male cast.

Was let down by the story. Conceptually interesting and wasn't too bad starting, at least too there actually was one, but the dull pace, due to some very uneventful stretches in particularly the middle, and trying to do too much which caused the film to become muddled structurally cheapened things. The characters are flimsily developed and bland even with the overacting. It can feel vague and while nothing is intelligence insulting there is both ridiculousness and trying to take it too seriously.

Summarising, weak but not a catastrophe. 3/10 Bethany Cox