Conjuring Tapes

I have no clue as to what I just watched.

If 'Paranormal Activity ' had a special needs cousin, this would be them. It started out strong with the two friends and then went down hill from there...

There was no real cohesive thread that connected these stories aside from the same two actresses in (almost) each of them. The stories weren't good on their own much less thrown together in this mix of "What happened?" And "Did I have a stroke" moments.

Of course I had never even heard about this 2025 horror movie titled "Conjuring Tapes" prior to stumbling upon it and opting to watch it solely because it was a horror movie that I hadn't already seen. I virtually had no idea what I was in for here, so I suppose directors Robert Livings and Randy Nundlall Jr. Had every opportunity to entertain me.

Now, had I known that "Conjuring Tapes" was partly a 'found footage' movie, I wouldn't have given it the time of day, as I absolutely abhor the ridiculous horror subgenre that is known as 'found footage'.

I was not familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list. And that was actually something that spoke in favor of the movie, as I do happen to enjoy watching new and unfamiliar talents on the screen. The acting performances in the movie were okay for a movie such as this, though you're not going to find yourself witnessing award-winning performances.

As for the special effects in the movie, well let's just say that they weren't special.

My rating of directors Robert Livings and Randy Nundlall Jr.'s 2025 movie "Conjuring Tapes" lands on a two out of ten stars.

If you liked the anthology found footage film The Christmas Tapes from a couple years back, you're almost certain to enjoy this film as well.

It's from the same filmmakers and has a similar format to that one -- a series of first-person horror vignettes introduced as tapes being watched in a frame story -- but the haunting/possession theme and the decision to shoot the wraparound outside of the found footage style makes this distinctive.

The stories themselves are all enjoyable with zero duds which is quite an accomplishment for a low budget horror anthology. Personally I enjoyed the final story set within the world of a cult the best, but to each their own.

I try hard not to be mean with my ratings. I am sure that the people who made this "movie" tried their very hardest to make a good movie on what I must presume was no budget. However, the final product was pretty boring and not at all scary. This movie did not even have one good jump scare. The people who are supposed to be possessed look like teenagers who have applied their own makeup for a Halloween party at the local high school. The actors were not good enough to make up for a very poor plot and just terrible direction and production. I have to wonder how anybody actually watched this movie and gave it a rating over a 3?

Conjuring Tapes felt like a strange but intriguing watch. It had moments of suspense that kept me curious, but also left me a bit confused. At times, I even wondered if it was a short film or something based on real events. The concept felt new and different, which made it worth watching once, but the overall execution could have been sharper.