Embedded

There are very specific types of movies I like watching while I'm on the treadmill, doing laundry, or dishes. Ones that aren't maddening in their awfulness, and not so great that it requires my full attention. Something just sort of ok. This is that kind of movie.

There was only one 'actor' to speak of, the deputy guy. If he had a better script, I could see him doing really well. The rest were bad enough to be called super amateur, but not bad enough that it was really distracting. I mean, if the story and script were better, the acting levels would have been distracting, so take that for what it's worth. The again, if the script were better, maybe the acting would have been, too. Probably not.

The jump scares are harmless fun, just how I like them.

The flying dog was entertaining, the taxidermied bear that was supposed to be freshly killed was pretty pathetic. It's not a good movie. But for some reason, it didn't piss me off.

If you need background noise and to forget you're doing some mundane but still be able to do the mundane thing, I guess this movie will do.

EMBEDDED tells the story of a war journalist duo, one in front and one behind the camera, who, on a seemingly banal assignment to cover the mysterious disappearance of cattle in Montana become embedded in a search party for a 12-year old who has gone missing. In the course of the search, they find more than what they bargained for.

The set-up of this found-footage film plays like a genuine mystery, and even provides a red herring in a humorous manner. The answer to the mystery is provided about midway through the movie, and from there it becomes a genuine horror film. I recently saw another good found-footage horror film, GODFORSAKEN(2020), which had a similar structure: a quiet mystery half followed by a more intense horror half.

EMBEDDED does a lot of things right where other found-footage horror movies falter: the production values are good; the shaky cam is not too annoying; there are some unexpected scenes which in afterthought make sense, and the camera actually shows the danger, as opposed to just hinting at it.

On the minus side, the newscaster character was a bit stiff, but I am not sure whether this was an intended part of his role or not. The movie did characterizations of at least some members of the search party, but I think it could have still done a little more. Finally, I would have expected that if such a large party (thirteen people) gets into trouble, the state or perhaps even federal government would seriously get involved.

Be that as it may, I think EMBEDDED is probably the best found footage horror movie for the particular kind of danger that the characters face (I am not naming the danger because I do not want to spoil the mystery).

I went into this movie with no prior knowledge of it, the story or actors. I was pleasantly surprised at how great the story was and even the camera work. I'm a big found footage horror fan and this one did not disappoint. The creature effects were actually quite good, not really any CGI, just good old fashioned actors in costume. If you're a fan of found footage definitely check this one out.

Oh my God! This movie was awful... It needed actors, a director, and an actual story. Biggest spoiler I could give on this movie? IT WAS SO GOD AWFUL THAT IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN EMBEDDED IN A HOLE SOMEWHERE INSTEAD OF MAKING ITS DEBUT ON DVD!!! No real actors here folks! Just a lame attempt at taking a shot at making a movie. Did they ask for volunteers from the local PTA or grocery store staff to be in this movie? ...because it sure does looks like it! I am not sure how anyone could give this movie more than 1 star rating, as I would have given in less if it were possible. There is a saying that 1000 monkeys with typewriters will eventually write a sentence... I don't think they had enough monkeys working on this script. Amateurish attempt at a movie at its best, a big waste of time, horrible, this is why children shouldn't play with video cameras.

As far as found footage bigfoot movies go, it is a crowded field with few contenders worthy of ever being made. The best of the bunch is Eduardo Sanchez' Exists. With this as a close second. The bottom of this ugly barrel is absolutely Bobcat Goldthwaite's horrendous Willow Creek, which is on my list of the 10 worst movies ever made by an actual household name director. Embedded succeeds partly because of the concept of a news crew going along on a hunt for a homicidal grizzly that turns into something far worse. It also succeeds due to no CGI, all practical effects. It's a reminder that things can be scarier by looking real, not generated. Recommended.