Followers

AKA Followed. Mate of mine lent me this on DVD, promising a "great" movie. Well, we obviously have different ideas as to the definition of that word. An annoyingly perfect Ken & Barbie social media couple, who film their every move - hence this is a found footage movie (yawn)- go camping in the woods. Not surprisingly this predictably turns out to be a bad idea. It does then turn into a found footage within a found footage movie, some credit for that. Sadly this film is incredibly slow & boring, despite a fairly short running time. The characters have no depth, they all just got on my nerves, and the end descends into something ridiculously bad. And if it's gore that you are after forget it.

I did hit FF a few times. Typical "girlfriend never been camping" and bad stuff is gonna happen story. Same scenario, interchangeable antagonists, insert actors here. Can't say I liked it and can't say I didn't. Useful as background distraction when doing something else.

Found footage movie- yes, another one. Just in case we were running low I guess. Peopled with incredibly annoying characters- I'm guessing deliberately so, no-one could hit that high a strike rate by accident.

Not entirely predictable- I'll give it that. Bit of a twist towards the end. But ultimately just more people running through the woods, shouting "run!". And you really have to admire the tenacity with which these people stick to their cameras and keep filming. If I was being chased by a knife wielding maniac I'm pretty sure the camera would be one of the first things to go.

Not the worst of its kind, but a fair way from the best. To be fair, I did make it to the end- can't always say that....

This movie has to have one of the worst ending ever. I was expecting more from it.

...I agree that it should've been a short film. The story could've been told in half the time and would have been way much effective.

I also think the film tries to do waaaay too much. However, I think its definitely a commendable effort with a smart script (apart from pacing and a few preachy moments). The way the film connects some of the events are kind of clever, but it ultimately serves no real purpose. But I appreciate that the filmmakers actually spent some time developing the characters. (They just spent way too long doing it.)

"Followers" is no where near the train wreck that others are saying it is. Unfortunately, the bloated pacing and the amount of story beats/plot points crammed in hold it back from being great. I know saying it should've been shorter and then saying it has too much going on might sound contradictory. If you watch it you'll understand.

Overall, I give props to the makers for trying to set their project apart from the rest of indie found footage. It just doesn't hold your attention or stick the landing.