The Door

When at the beginning I saw the 'Reality' footage added in, I thought immediately that I was NOT going to like this (I HATE 'Reality Shows' and most 'Found Footage' films) But, I must say, that it was actually used very judiciously throughout the movie.

I don't usually care for Dallas Roberts that much either, but I must admit that he did a decent job in his role. Every time I see the guy, I get this eerie feeling that John Ritter has been resurrected! DAMN! Also, as you actually get to see the real people here involved in the 'True' case, it does have a sneaky way of drawing you into the film.

With such a simple concept, the way it was done was decent and moderately effective. When I saw the REAL guy I truly felt quite sorry for him, especially when they show the credits at the end (not to give anything away) I really just felt bad for him.

I think the thing that I appreciated most was that the way it was put together and the way it was put across, you never get the feeling that the film makers are exploiting the idea like so many other 'True' stories. Especially with the footage of the real guy, you get a strong sense that they are honestly trying to portray events as they actually 'happened'.

A surprisingly interesting and mildly effective film that somewhat surpassed my earlier expectations...

I really liked this, first thing is its not a gore/blood fest ( which is a good thing) its more a creep/freak you out movie, I watched it about 2am on my own in the dark and it freaked me out, I thought it was a cool original quite scary idea, with some great writing and ideas and some great acting, it would of been easy to make this feel cheesy and cheap but it doesn't the main character does a superb job of portraying the sceptic to believer, its a shame it has a low score which will instantly put people off this movie as recently especially in this genre it's rare to find something original and so well done, I hate to admit after watching it I actually turned the light on to go to sleep lol I can't remember the last time a movie had that effect, well worth watching just don't expect a slasher or make you jump movie it's more one that freaks you out when thinking about it, which you will do

This is a very solid little horror film that does a great job of combining mock-documentary footage and a straight narrative. Also, the filmmakers have seeded the film with subliminal word messages hidden in a few quick cuts and blurry images, which is kind of funny and amusing. It's individual words sprinkled through the film o spell out: NOW YOU WILL SEE THEM TOO!!! I really appreciate this little touch and would love to read or hear about this choice. I watched it on VOD, so now I'll have to pick up a copy of the DVD or blu-ray to see if they talk about this at all.

I am a sucker for a good ghost story, and while this isn't "ghosts", it is creepy and made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end more than once. It also reminds me of my college days of staying up late and listening to Art Bell on his spooky AM radio talk show.

If you like creepy, slow-burn horror you should defiantly give this a watch.

When people who make movies go out of their way to tell the audience that their movie is based on actual events, they set themselves up for criticism from people who want historical accuracy. "Shadow People" is another movie that unnecessarily chooses to go that route. This movie was plenty scary, and could easily have stood on its own merits without having to play the "based on a true story" card.

I am reminded of two other movies that did this: The Fourth Kind, and Phantom. Both went out of their way to tell the audience that their stories came from factual history, and both received a hefty backlash of negative reviews from audience members calling the movie makers out on their claims. Any of these movies would have been better if presented purely as fictional entertainment.

If you can put aside this aspect of "Shadow People", you will be in for a decent flick, both chilling and eerie.

What was enjoyable about this movie for me was that the (HD?) camera work was clean and nicely composed, the direction and acting was entirely competent and the editing was cool too, in what I imagine was a film with a relatively modest budget. A pleasant change from average Hollywood. It was made by people with a real feeling for film. Mariah Bonner as the librarian was a bonus who definitely did not hurt the eyes. Shame she was an early victim.

The story wasn't great, though it exploited common enough fears of things that are half-seen (or were they there at all?), and move in the night (as opposed to go bump in the night). And the placebo effect is undoubtedly real, though whether it's killed anyone is questionable, I'd say, certainly in Western cultures.

I did once see a shadow person in bright daylight (or did I?). I was about three at the time, and lying in bed. The shadow of a figure ran across the wall, flowed into a shallow recess, slid behind a wardrobe, came out the other side, and vanished. It was more scary than Shadow People, and as you can tell, I haven't forgotten it. However, the good news (for anyone who's worried) is that it hasn't reappeared since, and 70+ years later I'm still here.