The Flock

Oh my what a wreck. Natalie Hurt tries mightily, and Chris Thipen ain't bad.

The rest? Holycrap. Story sounds cool, and could have been a good one. Then someone tried to write. And then some worse people tried to "act" .

Don't waste 50 minutes like I did. (I couldn't make it any further. )

Whoever the hacks are that played the "God's Army" - ahem- 'MERKS!' are are beyond atrocious. A treehouse has less wood than these clowns.

Looks like someone went to a rehab or needle exchange for most of the cast, and then spent their remaining budget on some cheap Halloween Dementor robes and Wal-Mart grade cosmetics.

After recovering a series of videotapes, the exploits of a cult preparing to go through the motions in summoning a deadly demon that will bring about the apocalypse is featured while a local militia team targets the cult to put an end to a rash of disappearances tied to their hands.

This was a pretty solid and likable genre effort. One of the better features here is the overall structure of this one setting up the storyline as a multilayered series of scenes designed to focus on the individual segments separately before bringing them together. As a product of the found-footage format, the first half here featuring the cult members abducting the one kind before going around to the various spots undergoing the means of preparing for the ritual manages to start this nicely before turning into the scenes with the cult operating in the desert preparing for an upcoming mission serves this one quite well. That turns the second half into a quite fun found-footage Action film as the militia group raiding the compound becomes quite fun. This starts with the ceremony taking place in the earliest stages before being interrupted, the series of gun-battles, chases, and general mayhem that arises here is all quite enjoyable to see play out. As the action is accentuated by the series of confrontations here with the militia members confronting other demons and beings in the bowels of their coven home which is chaotic and frenetic due to the found-footage aspect, this brings about some great gore and some fine twists to end this on a high note. The film does have some issues that hold it down. The biggest issue here is the rather staggered pacing that leaves this one without doing much for long sections of the film. As we spend the entirety of the first two sections here either running around with the cult members escorting the guy to the ceremony or the preparations of those going on the raid, there's barely anything happening here until the finale which can make for a troublesome time here. The other issue here is the decidedly chaotic times throughout here where the found footage as the distracting nature of it all leads to the usual dizziness commonly associated with the style which all end up lowering this one.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.

The film is an interesting horror, devised with lots of cult members, unique mockumentary feel and weird editing skills. Very much got that Blair Witch feel to it however there are times where it completely misses off the grid.

Movies like The Flock and Robert Livings' Infrared do what found-footage style films should do: keep the whole film shot in a first person camcorder. By doing so, the film makes the viewers feel as if they are directly going through the experience with the characters. Besides the cinematography, I liked how The Flock uses real abandoned locations for the majority of the film. This not only helps with the immersion, but it increases the horror aspect as you don't know what's lurking around the corner.

As a whole, the film is well-acted, with the cult leader, Crow, being the best of the bunch. Patrick Liberatore really sold me as a crazy cult leader who tries to be the second coming of Charles Manson. Additionally, the kidnapped camera operator did a good job acting as the audience surrogate following V and Danny. He reminded me of Ethan Winters from Resident Evil VII in many ways, as Ethan, like the camera-op, was our introduction to the events of the story. On the side of the mercenaries, I liked Trinity's chemistry with Son. The two come across as having a sibling-like relationship that was wholesome.

What I wished the film did better is to have a more focused plot and main character or group that we could follow. The Flock has the viewers following two groups and I was confused as to which one we should relate to or sympathize with. Also, I felt that the plot was a bit unfocused, especially with the limited runtime. As the film went on, I had trouble discerning whether The Flock as a cult were truly evil. However, that is likely the intention of the film by making you question how bad they really are.

Despite a few flaws with the film, I can safely say that The Flock is another solid inclusion in the list of new found-footage style horror films. It does a good job in production design, acting and cinematography. Unlike a lot of horror films that rely too much on jump scares, The Flock feels more atmospheric, as if the feeling of danger was on the horizon. Combined with an effective and likable cast, we get both a frightening and engaging film!

I love found footage movies. My favorite genre by far when done right. Ive seen them all, literally. I was excited for the idea behind this one, but the execution was underwhelming to say the least. The effects were done well enough, and the plot was original enough to not feel like a re-tread. Unfortunately, the acting and dialogue killed it. Acting isn't necessary to pull off a movie of this type. In fact, it can add to the realism of the experience. But actors who pause and seem to have to recall every single line or deliver them in a monotone way with zero emotion, completely ruins the feel just as equally. If the dialogue comes across as if it were written by a child, it even further ruins the experience and the viewer's immersion. Having both a bad script being delivered by bad "actors" who sound like they just woke up when they should be startled or excited, or whatever the case may be, is completely unbearable. Great idea here, with decent enough effects, but everything else just falls flat on its face. Ive seen far worse with much less initial potential and that is what makes this one so hard to swallow. Unfortunately, the end product here is better off being skipped entirely.