Trace

I liked the set up, and the ideas were pretty good, but I don't think the execution was there. I know EVP is something horror films are covering now, and even though EVP itself isn't a good theory. It's a great theme for a horror, and the beginning of the film is right it was studied in Russia during the Cold War.

I liked the fact they were meant to be students studying sound. It was a nice touch.

The actors weren't that good, I wasn't really drawn in, or find it remotely scary and the ending was a bit boring. It's certainly no Banshee Chapter which covers a similar theme but it's much scarier. It had potential, but it didn't quite reach it.

So, you're having a few beers with your mates, and start to talk about studies etc. One of you says what about EVP, ghosts etc, and as you don't have an ouija board handy, you try out some audio stuff instead. Luckily, the house you're in has a recording studio in the basement, which makes most other basements look stale and musty. So, you trot on down, and then do some recording, think its all for fun, until the next day.

Yep, its a similar story line that a lot of demon type horror films tend to have. Also, think Final Destination, in the way that both films play out. Still, its an interesting concept, the EVP.

Also, word to the wise. If you hear a sound in your apartment/house etc late at night, please tun on the lights. I guarantee the intruders will leg it, or you can see nothing is there. Why, even in this day and age, do people in films hear a noise, and creep around in darkness, asking if anyone is there, when the only residents of the house are calling out that phrase.

First off, this movie isn't scary. It doesn't have any suspense leading up to the kills, a dreadful atmosphere, or a eerily told story. If you're looking for gore, there is none here. Nothing in this movie is gory. If you're looking for suspense, as I said, it's not here. What is here in abundance is bad acting. Throughout the movie I kept saying, "God, that's some terrible acting." If you want to watch a movie filled with actors who aren't any better than you then by all means watch "Trace."

Another thing I didn't like was the swaying cam. That's where the camera isn't shaking but not steady. It kept jarring me out of the movie because it was painfully obvious the cameraman was tipsy. I don't like watching scenes with people lying in bed and the camera is swaying constantly. But that's the type of stuff I saw. The camera was still for less than 30% of the time. I couldn't get into the movie at all.

Lastly, the kills were too abrupt to be scary. That's what I don't like about modern horror. There's no suspense leading up to the kills where you're tensing up, thinking, "Oh, this douchebag is gonna get it." Instead, they victim just gets stabbed out of nowhere and the impact of his death is too sudden to feel any emotion about it. In this movie, some of the kills are off-screen and the ones that are on screen aren't original, innovative, or surprising. The characterizations are so lame and the kills so boring that I couldn't even muster up the strength to say, "Meh." when someone got killed. All in all, there's no point in watching this movie. No suspense, no gore, no nudity, no interesting characters, nothing.

This film should have been called Straight to DVD instead of Trace or Straight from Hell. It is the usual death-fest with a banal twist that is not fully explained. At the end of the day it is predictable and tedious in the extreme.

Sure, it's a bit Banshee Chapter meets Final Destination, but that said it's solid. Good production values, decent cast, and a plot strong enough to keep a jaded horror fan like me entertained for an hour and a half. Certainly worth a watch for those who like their horror supernatural. Give it a chance.