Leaving D.C.

I was very impressed by this "one man band" version of found footage horror films.

Josh Criss does a great job of keeping you engaged and slowly building suspense. It all feels real, which is key to a successful found footage film.

This is essentially a story about a troubled man, who moves out to the middle of nowhere to escape the hustle and bustle of city living, but becomes obsessed with the odd happenings occuring late at night in the woods surrounding his new home.

It's an intriguing film, mostly for its simplicity, but also for its understanding that less is often more when it comes to building suspense, and budget is not much of a factor or excuse anymore, when rating a film's quality. If Josh Criss can do it with a camcorder and no dough, why can't hollywood?

I don't like "found footage" movies. This is one of the rare exceptions that isn't formulaic and uninspired like so many. There is no action, no impressive special effects, no jump scares, or any of the usual trappings these offerings tend to produce. There is just a man, a camera and a good, creepy story. The first 10 minutes or so does not feel like a horror movie at all, I actually had to check the title to make sure I was watching what I thought I was watching. It also bucked tradition by avoiding the big typical "hollywood-esque" ending. I found this all to be really refreshing. Granted he probably didn't have the budget for these things, but showed they aren't essential components for a good movie.

Right after watching Leaving D.C., which was strangely entertaining I have to admit, I told my wife this looked like a movie that was homemade by a guy that has some knowledge of modern technology, filming, and sound editing. After looking it up on IMDb I see that's exactly what happened. The writer, director and amateur actor is Josh Criss, he basically did everything by himself, probably got bored one day and thought it would be a great idea to make a movie by himself. Handycam movies are normally really not my thing, they always look so amateuristic but in this case it wasn't that bad. Josh Criss, the main and almost only character, acts pretty good, even though is role was to act as normal as possible, but that's also acting if you ask me. There is some mystery, that makes you keep watching, maybe a bit too repetitive at times, but entertaining enough to stay interesting. I would have scored it with a seven if it was not for the ending that I found a bit disappointing. Overall it wasn't a bad job for a man alone, better than some big budget productions.

I love found footage films. They're just the best types of movies - and ironically they cost next to nothing to make, so we should have thousands of them. 'Leaving D. C.' is a great example of how effective these films can be. There's nothing more than a creepy concept and the thought in the back of our minds about what could be out there, and yet it is infinitely more scary than most of the big-budget horror being made today.

What you don't see is always more scary than what you do. This film understands that and it is a large reason why it works so well. Sure we see a little bit, but only ever enough to know that something is messed up, never enough to know exactly what it is.

Even at only 77 minutes it can get a little repetitive in parts. Also the ending is going to be a little bit of let down for some. It works, but it is very abrupt and kind of over before you know it. A little more of a drawn out final sequences would have been nice.

Otherwise though I had a great time with this movie. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and that is something I can't say about enough horror movies these days. 8/10.

I'm frequently antagonized by found footage films that tend to follow no logic and interrupt any significant action with electronic video interference. Leaving D.C. doesn't fall into any of those traps and presents a straightforward but interesting narrative about an average guy who moves out to the woods, where he's beset by what just may be supernatural phenomena. The film's mystery builds slowly and much of the interest involves simply observing star/director/writer Josh Criss doing his logical best to rise to the occasion of confronting a wave of spookiness. It's entirely watchable and Criss does a creditable job carrying the film as its primary on-camera presence, explaining the reasonable steps he's taking to identify and deflect the bizarre intrusions. While the conclusion could have used a little more oomph, the film is a good ride and an excellent example of what can be achieved with limited resources.