Beckoning the Butcher

Beckoning The Butcher is a bare bones, low budget Australian gem, that while obvious of its budget, didn't stop director Dale Trott from using all the resources at his disposal to create a successful found footage horror movie.

In the US the film was released under the title The Butcher Possessions, and can currently be viewed on Amazon without additional charge for Prime members.

Beckoning The Butcher is the story of Chris Shaw (Damien E. Lipp), a social media personality who performs rituals he finds on the web. Wanting to increase his viewership, Chris invites four friends to a weekend gathering in a desolate countryside home where together they will participate in a ritual called Beckoning The Butcher.

For the ritual, participants must write their name on a piece of paper, dab a drop of their blood next to their name and then burn the slip of paper while chanting a Latin phrase. The completed steps are said to then conjure the butcher.

With two video cameras recording at all times; one set up in the house and the other carried for POV, Chris's hope of capturing even just a small moment of paranormal activity becomes more than he bargained for when the butcher shows up with a plan of his own.

The main moments of Beckoning The Butcher are bookended with a backstory via sit down interviews by a family member, a psychic and a sheriff-all of whom add a well rounded linear structure to the narrative.

Beckoning The Butcher (or The Butcher Possessions, depending on where you live) is the perfect party night or Halloween night scary movie.

Fairly standard found footage horror film with a few pluses and minuses. For starters the cast is exceptionally good. Great chemistry and acting. Very believable which serves to make t even scarrier. Poor audio makes it one of those you keep having to crank up during the quiet parts and then down again during the loud parts.

The movie isn't too long and doesn't take forever to get going. All in all a good movie for what it was.

Coming into Beckoning the Butcher, I was expecting nothing. I wanted to like it being from Australia, but I had my hesitations. But I am glad to say that it wasn't a waste of time, in fact, it was quite entertaining.

What I liked about this little movie the most was the low budget approach. Now, I know this is out of the hands of the director and if he had his way, I am sure it would be a bigger budget, but for Found Footage, the whole idea is to make you believe that its an amateur found footage. With a higher budget, the authenticity of the whole situation is lost in translation.

The way Beckoning the Butcher is made, reminded me of the Blair Witch Project. While not as good as TBWP, it still had the slow burn atmospheric grip, unlike films like Paranormal Activity, which relies on cheap jump scares. Beckoning the Butcher takes its time and it gradually becomes scarier, which is what I appreciated the most.

If you are a die hard fan of this sub genre, then definitely check this one out. If you are only a casual fan, or a fan that is fed up with the amount of Found Footage stuff coming out, give it a miss, but I am definitely happy I have it in my collection!

An interesting find footage movie. some parts you can see lights from houses or equipment and the scary scenes with the ghosts are very edited. the idea behind the movie is really interesting.

I liked that they nestled found footage into a documentary with interviews. The film was entertaining and eventful, which can't be said of many other films in this sub genre.