Paranormal Asylum

I was warned - but I still watched it.

Plot ruined by terrible acting, terrible effects, terrible dialogue and character interactions. They could have foregone the badly animated effects, particularly the ghost on the train track which looked like the Pilsbury Dough Man without a head, and spent it on better actors. Having a ghost at every turn could be replaced perhaps with long pauses where the viewer's imagination creates a sense of something. The two main characters, film-makers, had no discernible relationship as friends, the one with darker hair was just angry all the time and completely ignoring the fact that his friend had seen ghosts even though he was setting up cameras to find ghosts. There are other emotions in life. Perhaps they should have been two less emotional college friends studying film. The taller one was also not a very good film-maker anyway as he didn't seem to film anything.

The camera filter was also odd, sort of dark-edged, not either good quality and saturated or just hand-held home camera. The sound was also strange as if it had been dubbed, the position of the source didn't seem to match where people were standing sometimes.

I also think that the makeup artist hired to turn the main female character into an angry spirit thought that she was preparing Marilyn Manson for a gig.

After an unsuccessful experience as screenplay writer, Mark (Aaron Mathias) comes from Los Angeles to New York invited by his former college friend Andy (Nathan Spiteri). Andy lives with his girlfriend Michelle (Laura Gilreath) and the aspiring filmmaker expect to make a documentary about a patient of an abandoned hospital called Typhoid Mary. They investigate her case and interview people connected to her expecting to find the truth about the internee. Soon they discover that Mary was an outcast daughter and probably a guinea pig in the asylum where her father interned her. When Michelle performs a séance, she is possessed the spirit of Mary. Meanwhile Mark learns that Michelle, Andy and his life are in danger.

"Paranormal Asylum: The Revenge of Typhoid Mary" is an awful horror movie with a messy screenplay, terrible action and laughable dialogues and situations. This is one of the few movies that has practically unanimous opinions about. My vote is one.

Title (Brazil): "Atividade Sobrenatural: A Vingança de Mery" ("Supernatural Activity: The Revenge of Mery")

I was afraid to start watching it and not for the scary parts if they were involved but for the title. It contains the word Paranormal and of course you are immediately linked to the Paranormal Activity franchise. And when it is written on the sleeve Inspired By True Events then you know you have to be carefully.

The first 15 minutes you start to know the main leads and it works but of course the activity is already there and it didn't look convincing. It is even done like the original franchise with Day 1 and Day 2 so you also know that it is going to be a slow movie. In the beginning the activity is done by sound. Later on the activity becomes more active in lights going on and off, windy area's, shaky cam shots. You have seen it all before but I kept watching to see more. Then the activity takes place in the camera itself and slowly it did lose my attention.

The ghost on the rail track was a bit ridiculous. And from there on it's clear that it was a low budget flick, where were the effects? The acting should show the possession but that just doesn't work that way. Here and there we had the fast movement of the possessed girl but after a while the movie fast forwarded too, I pressed the button on the remote. To be honest, the best part was after 65 minutes when Michelle (Laura Gilreath) was walking around in her underwear...and her face changing into a fake Goth, well it wasn't intended to be funny but it was.

Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 1/5 Story 1,5/5 Comedy 0/5

While Paranormal Asylum benefits from a wonderful concept, that of searching for the true story of Typhoid Mary, it suffers from three major problems.

1 - a ridiculous back story of the film maker trying to get out from under his girlfriend's family.

2 - filming quality that, while the coloring is lovely, it looks either like a college graduation film or a commercial for local TV.

3 - terrible acting. Across the board, terrible acting. No one in this film was even Disney level quality. While good looking and in great shape, while they had nice hair even, the range of their dramatic skills covered the gamut from a to b.

On the positive side - when the film sticks to the found footage genre (which I love!) it is above average. Unfortunately, it only uses found footage techniques for about 15-20 minutes total. This is unfortunate, because the tricks used in those scenes are excellent.

Ultimately, I was left dissatisfied with the movie, knowing that it could have been so much more which is a shame, because I enjoy most found footage movies. I give it a 3 for the few minutes of found footage techniques and the twists employed therein.

If you like watching movies like Grave encounters and come across this movie, DON'T WATCH IT!!!!!! It is absolutely one of the worst movies that I have EVER SEEN IN MY FREAKING LIFE!!!!!! The actors are HORRIBLE, the lines are so lame, the filming looks like you are watching freaking "Days of our lives", and there are no parts that I enjoyed. There are no twists in the movie, there is no suspense, and it has absolutely terrible special effects, which especially disappoints me considering the movie was made in 2013,this year, and I would highly recommend that you do not EVER EVER WATCH THIS HORRIBLE MOVIE!!!!!! I am begging you, DON'T WATCH THIS MOVIE IT SUCKS SO MUCH!!!