Area 51

I did not expect much going into this movie. I was hoping for a little better than Alien Abduction. That being the case, I ended up pleasantly surprised! The first 70% of the movie could have been condensed into about 10 minutes of plot actually necessary to understand and enjoy the movie. However, it was worth sitting through to get to the last 30%. The suspense was surprisingly effective. I even found myself tensed up and gritting my teeth a few times. Special effects, although not plentiful, we effective as well. I agree with a previous reviewer that I felt dissatisfied with the end of the movie. I think that, maybe with a bigger budget and a well thought out ending, it could have been much better. A pure horror fan will likely not appreciate it. On the other hand, if you enjoy SciFi/horror/suspense combo flicks, then it's definitely worth a watch.

A young guy obsessed with government secrets rounds up a gang to infiltrate a remote facility and uncover the dreadful truth.

Literal found footage - wait for the post-credits clip - and a voyage through the varying degrees of hand-held shakiness. I think it's well shot up to the 2/3 stage, then the jitters break loose and it gets a bit annoying.

The set-up is pretty much the tale of a depressed obsessive, and I enjoyed the characterisation. But they leave the impression he's a chosen one, which doesn't play out in the end. Also there's drama about bringing the girl on the mission, but she doesn't add to the climax.

Few sound effects - the editors very selective - and I don't think there was any music (apart from the party stuff).

Overall, it sets up well but falls short on spooks in its descent into Hardy Boys yarniness.

If you enjoy "The Blair Witch Project" this one will add something to the "found footage" genre :) I liked it, although I am sure that I watched it only because of the quarantine.

I love scary movies, and I really love "scary" movies-- from Blair Witch to Paranormal Activity, I've always been a huge fan of shaky cameras and found footage. Ghosts and aliens scare me, and classic terror tropes work wonders on me! Things jumping out from behind other things and unexpected screams are my idea of a fun movie night.

If you are looking for a scary movie with aliens as the focus, I would recommend picking up Dark Skies, or John Carpenter's The Thing... but not Area 51, because this is a terrible film. I put it on expecting to be shock-scared, or at least creeped out... but all I got was progressively more and more annoyed.

The first half of the film does absolutely nothing but establish that the viewer should lack empathy for the main characters-- they are vapid young men who enjoy drinking, planning ineffectively, and disrespecting professional entertainers.

The second half of the film is meant to heighten the viewer's anxiety and presumably scare us, but it falls disappointingly short in that respect. Instead it devolves into lots of running and flailing, lots of awful camera work, and terrible physical acting. When the end finally comes, it's more a relief than anything else.

The only positive thing I have to say about this movie is that the main characters' treatment of their female colleague was basically respectful, which is more than what I can say for most movies that are structured in the "x number of guys + 1 girl" model. Nobody grabs her breasts or calls her disgusting names or belittles her intelligence based on her gender. That's awesome.

The rest of the film? Really not so much.

The way this movie starts off with the sort of frat boy vibe to it, I didn't have much of an expectation. I found myself riveted to the tv about half way in and it was definitely worth it. It's a suspenseful ride and considering lower budgeted I was very surprised. It's not the movie of 2015 but seeing some of the other reviews it's a testimony for me that consensus is not always in line with ones taste.