Found Footage 3D

As the title of the film might suggest, this is a critique of the found footage genre and makes some good points. Howeverost of the meta commentary comes at the cost of making an actually enjoyable movie.

There are some points that stand out but it probably would have worked better if they had leaned into comedy a bit more than drama. Satire generally works by lampooning its subject so trying instead to show what would happen in real life is a confusion that doesn't come across right. Clearly there are parts where they leave the camera behind because that's what would really happen, but it doesn't exactly make for compelling watching. Instead you could have used comedy to justify ridiculous circumstance and still have made things entertaining and self aware.

Overall this isn't a terrible movie, it just muddies its point and labours over trying to both saturise and honestly critique the genre to the point where it is less enjoyable than it could be. Probably best to be watched academically rather than for fun.

You've got your cast: jerk husband, wife, ingenue, dork, camera dude, and big bearded pig: who set out to make a found footage movie. Their hook is that their movie will be the first FF production to be in 3D. Simple enough, but confusing for the audience, as the title makes this movie sound like a documentary or even a class on making 3D found footage movies: and the actual movie itself is not in 3D (not the version I saw, anyway).

I'm no actor, and I know that it's easy to critique (tear apart) work that people have put effort into, BUT I'd have to rate this cast a 60%-70%. The jerk husband character can be too loud and showy and the ingenue is annoyingly young and innocent, but she's used sparingly so it's not really an issue. My teeth itch, however, when the jerk husband and dork director characters argue, and when the jerk husband later gets into a physical "fight" with the camera guy. That fistfight was so obviously staged it made me think of that scene from Napoleon Dynamite where he has to feed Tina the llama (for some reason). But the actors are all good enough, and this movie does feature a few legit scares.

There're some pacing issues: the scene where they go to the bar could probably have been cut, for example, but I suppose it adds tension. Found footage movies usually benefit from a slow build.

But the whole concept, and even title, hurts the film. The camera crew set out to make a found footage horror movie set in a cabin in the woods (yeah) and wind up, themselves, in an actual found footage movie. Right. Maybe the concept would work better if not for the title. It should've been called "The Specter Tapes" or something; I don't know. "Found Footage 3D" and the entire premise is too meta, too on the nose; leaves too little to the imagination. But I do enjoy this subgenre of horror, so I don't regret seeing it. So there.

Found Footage 3D is a breath of fresh air for the found footage genre.

My personal opinion is that the critical viewers missed the point of the movie. The film is supposed to break down the genre while adding in an element that in theory would make it worse. Yet, the joke is pulled off nicely and actually adds to the story. Granted, I haven't seen in 3D but those who have seem to think the 3D was a strongpoint of the film.

Something I worry about is that this may be the nail in the coffin for found footage films. Similar to how Scream was for slasher films, after the deconstruction was done, there hasn't really been a resurgence with the exception of Hatchet and a some select remakes.

I understand that the majority is sick of found footage, but I believe many films can benefit from them. I think of films like Cloverfield, VHS, and The Taking of Deborah Logan which were all great films and I don't think would have the same effect if they weren't found footage.

Read the reviews here and thought I would watch to see why all the reviews were all over the place on this film. First off, the first 30 min are soooo slow. After the second appearance of the entity I called it. Way too cheesy for this to be interesting for me. If they would have had nothing there it would have been watchable. Effects are bad. Really bad. Acting was pretty bad too for most of the cast.

This is a film very much in the spirit of "The Blair Witch Project", the low budget effort that can properly be said to have started the genre. Quite likely it has a semi-improvised script, at least it certainly gives that impression.

A small group of film-makers - professionals but far from A List - go out into the sticks to make the first ever found footage film in 3D. Almost from the very beginning, things start going wrong in their isolated cabin, leaving aside the fact that there are already certain tensions within the group, personal and sexual. The first question that must be asked is, this is a set up, right, most likely by the guy whose idea it was? Once that has been answered with a resounding no, things can only get worse, and they do.

Not a lot more can be said, except that the viewer can expect a gorefest. The people behind this actual film deserve A for effort if not originality. The special effects are thematic, but don't expect to come away either satisfied or comprehending.