In Memorium

I consider myself a huge horror fan - I like everything from slashers to psychological thrillers. But I'm incredibly picky about what films I consider to be classics: The Exorcist, Rungu, The Mothman Prophecies, Session 9.

So when I was looking over the schedule for the International Horror & Sci-Fi film festival and saw this film's premise, it filled me with hope. I saw the screening, hoping the film wouldn't suck, and within the first 15 minutes all of my fears went away and I was left with an amazing experience.

I won't spoil anything but I'll leave you with this: This was one of the few films I've ever seen that made me grab my wife's arm in fear and - at one point - almost turn away from the screen. (Audition is the only other film to hold that honor.) The atmosphere and tension that the director creates is incredible.

If this film is playing at a festival near you, don't hesitate to see it. They haven't announced a DVD release yet but I'll be adding it to my collection as soon as they do.

I get what they were going for here, I think, but the reviews claiming this is wildly frightening or ingenious are nuts; this is an interesting premise executed by mediocre actors without having thought through the premise to anything intense or exciting. I watched it because I watch everything horror, but I wouldn't try to sell anyone who wasn't a hardcore genre fan. The main characters aren't particularly likeable, and the scares are fairly pedestrian without establishing either something viscerally or existentially disturbing. The only other point I'd make is that the "found footage" thing is a little goofy because SO MANY CAMERAS that it comes together as an edited film.

Good horror film about Dennis Wade who is diagnosed with terminal cancer and wants to document the rest of his life. He and his girlfriend sublet a house and install motion triggered video cameras throughout. When he moved into the house, Dennis wasn't showing any of the symptoms, but two days in, he starts to show bruises and nose bleeds. And the camera starts capturing creepy things at night in the empty room down the hall.

The result is an entertaining, but pretty clichéd horror film. The set up is pretty original though, but it's got the usual jumps and creepy noises. But at least it decided not to go the route of blood and gore.

In Memorium is a found footage film just like most of the others. Dennis is a newly-diagnosed cancer patient who moves in with his girlfriend Lily to a creepy house so that he may document the remainder of his days. He gives a guided tour of the house on camera, going through every room one-by-one. The only notable items are run-down swimming pool in the back and a creepy hallway with a "sitting room" at the end, which he does not enter. The rest of the movie is very predictable.

Throughout the film, Dennis begins to blood profusely out his mouth and ends up with some pretty nasty sores on his back and around his mouth. In fact, there is so much blood in the bathroom at one point, it could be confused with A Nightmare on Elm Street.

The actors playing Dennis and Lily weren't terrible. The dialogue wasn't even that bad. Dennis's brother Frank, however, was annoying (he was supposed to be). The scares weren't that scary. It was really the sounds that made the movie in this case. There was a sound near the swimming pool that made me wonder if I had actually even heard a sound. It was well done.

The story went from mildly boring to ridiculous toward the end when we figure out who is haunting the couple. The ending made me wonder why I wasted my time with the film to begin with. After the last 15 minutes of the movie, I don't think I would recommend this one to anyone unless they absolutely love the found-footage genre and refuse to take no for an answer and must watch every single one ever made.

I want to start by saying it took me forever to find this movie. Thankfully, I got to join a great torrent tracker that casually had In Memorium in their catalogue. I was very excited and watched it right away. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm a huge found footage fan. I know they can be a little slow or have a long build up. But in In Memorium, the tension it gets to create in many scenes, fells kind of short. Sort of messy ending, too. Things to watch about this movie are the acting, which is pretty great considering the genre, and the ending scene, although messy, it's more than I can say about other movies around the same tune as In Memorium. I liked the way Dennis' character was built, too.