Missing Child Videotape

Going about his life, a man haunted by the loss of his brother when he was a kid takes an interest in a reporter's efforts to uncover the truth about the location, as it's a part of multiple similar incidents over the years, eventually leading him to the terrifying truth about the mysterious spot.

This was a generally enjoyable genre effort. One of the main elements to be had with this one stems from the wholly creepy and somewhat ominous storyline that works in some relatable elements alongside some outright creepy aspects. Opening up on the haunting guilt that the main guy has over the disappearance of his brother, relayed over a strikingly chilling home video recording of the fateful day when it happened, playing hide-and-seek in an abandoned building, the resulting quest to help out lost children as an adult feels quite natural and established. The guilty conscience and desire to make amends as he continues to do right by his brother make the desire to know what's going on all the more prescient as it ties into the series of disappearances that have taken place at the location, which no one can explain or seem to find. This haunted outlook on life makes for a more chilling exploration of things to come in the second half, when the revelation comes about involving the history of incidents that take place at the location. With a slew of background information readily available pointing to a sordid history of strange disappearances and unexplained encounters taking place on the mountain where it starts to evoke a series of outright chilling features, looking into the cursed location in the second half. This might be somewhat off-putting, with the majority of this section focusing on the legend of the location and what's happened in the past, influencing the current-day situation with more of a low-key dialogue-heavy approach than actually going for outright, overt scares. This can lead to a slightly dull experience if you want a more action-packed experience, but it's the main issue to be had here.

Rated Unrated/R: Language and Violence.

If you like movies like; Kairo (Japanese version), Noroi, Exhuma, The Wailing, Lake Mungo, The Conjuring, The Ring, Ju On... I would say to give this movie a watch.

There aren't any of those dumb, unnecessary jump scares in this, just a slow build up of tension with a super spooky atmosphere that layers the mystery beneath (which reminded me of Lake Mungo in that respect) I gave it an 8/10 because horror movies these days are less cerebral and more dumb/lazy with loud jump scares, and creating a truly freaked out feeling in the viewer through story-telling, atmosphere, pacing etc. Is something rarely experienced - one which this movie manages to achieve. There were scenes throughout where I was frozen in fear. I genuinely felt afraid, and that is a truly wonderful thing to experience from watching a horror movie.

Oh, and the acting was also top notch. Recommend.