Followers

Be warned, This film is the apex of contemporary horror mythology.

It will force the viewer to cross the rubicon, of pre- millenial, cyber anxiety towards the fear for neo- millenial dread.

The last word on the first world problem?

You decide???

Ho hum flick about a household of college students who are vlogging because one of them is an influencer. In the course of the frenetic kind of vlogging that influencers give and take it comes out that they are in a haunted house. Of course it all comes down to proving the ghost online in such a way that subscribers can be got. They discover a homeless man has been living in the place but, still, he is not behind the noises and music they've been hearing. They know because the sounds continue even after he is dead. So, time to prove the ghost. There is little to no sense or continuity of story.

Right, well as I sat down to watch the 2021 horror comedy "Followers" from writer and director Marcus Harben, I can't say that I was harboring any expectations. Why? Well, a movie about a social media influencer doesn't exactly cause me to be ecstatic.

But still, since I hadn't already seen "Followers" before, nor even actually heard about it, I opted to give writer and director Marcus Harben's movie a chance.

And what a waste of time this movie was. Sure, I didn't expect anything from a movie about a social media influencer, but the storyline told in "Followers" was just absurdly ridiculous and pointless. Talk about a massive swing and a miss.

Needless to say that I wasn't familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list here. Nor can I claim to be able to point anyone out for putting on a great or memorable performance. Now , I am sure that the actors and actresses were skilled enough, but I assume that it was utter lack of a properly written or interesting storyline that restricted the performers in doing their craft.

Visually then you're not in for a great spectacle of special effects if you opt to sit down and watch "Followers".

This is definitely not a movie that I would recommend you waste your time, money or effort on. Some of us suffered through this ordeal so you don't have to.

My rating of "Followers" lands on a one out of ten stars.

Moving into a new dorm, a social media star trying to get past a scandal finds a potential avenue to fix everything by documenting a series of hauntings within the house, but when they realize that something far more dangerous is at stake they set out to stop the hauntings before they continue.

This was a rather fun and likable if still flawed genre effort. One of the better features of this one involves the strong setup that provides a strong touch to modern influencer culture. Going into detail on how the build-up and eventual downfall of his social media career have gotten to him while also causing the introduction of the friends at school as he goes on the redemption angle, gives this a great start. This constant influx of his life and career through his videos and social media presence instigates his numerous attempts at generating fame with his antics either building or downgrading his presence which gives everything the touch of the modern flair that's required for this type of film. That goes a long way toward making the initial encounters and ghostly circumstances feel legitimately creepy and chilling. After starting off with the moving furniture or slamming doors which are all caught on camera, the shift into more overt danger as the scenes start to involve physical manifestations that others can feel or comment on brings a different tone and feel to everything. As the encounters continue and the events start to interfere with their personal relationships, this comes off quite fun as it starts to introduce all manner of extra personal into what's going on as the obsessed friend, the paranormal medium, and the finally observed truth about the helper who knows the truth who just wants to help. This is based quite heavily on the finale where it generates some intriguing twists that lead to a highly enjoyable finish for its good points. There are some big issues here to hold this down. Among its bigger factors is the seemingly bizarre lack of urgency throughout here as if the desire to prove ghosts are real isn't that big of a priority. Since most of the film is built off an undeserving and banal romance angle that no one wants and is so cliched it doesn't really register that much, it all comes off incredibly bland and lifeless while also failing so many found-footage rules due to who would film these scenes. It also makes so much of the adulation he receives for these antics feel so hollow as if that's the way the story is supposed to go without earning it so the jarring nature of the film is directly responsible for the approach featured. Even with nothing much in the way of action here, it still isn't very funny either which perhaps knocks this one down the most.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.

Once again, a hot mess found footage film.

Terrible location, bad casting, ridiculous "script," to name a few problems.

A lot of the plot feels tossed together in a random fashion. It's all over the place.

Oh, an aside..."Pete's" serious arm injury apparently disappears on a whim. Very sloppy continuity.

Honestly, I have no idea what this film is about. It lacks any sort of cohesion.

I have watched a LOT of found footage. And for those that I have actually finished (and I never feel obligated to do so), this is definitely the lamest.

Well, at least Daniel Cahill is pleasant on the eyes!!