Camera Obscura

The actress portraying Claire in the film is untalented and unattractive making it a two-fer. And things get worse from there.

The plot isn't too bad (haunted camera) but film was ruined by mediocre to terrible acting by the leads. You just never believe the protagonist and his girlfriend are really couple or that his problems are really driving his motivations. They just seem to "show up" stand around and repeat their lines,

I rented this RedBox which is how I would advise people to watch , if they care to. Better yet...see if you find it on a streaming site and watch it there. It's not worth a purchase if you looking to do that.

Saw 'Camera Obscura', being fond of horror regardless of budget (even if not my favourite genre) and being intrigued by the quite creative premise. Being behind on my film watching and reviewing, with a long to watch and review list that keeps getting longer, it took me a while to get round to watching and reviewing it.

Giving 'Camera Obscura' a fair chance with being interest and apprehension, it turned out to be far better than expected. Won't say that 'Camera Obscura' is a great film because it isn't and the potential, while not wasted, is not fully lived up to. Considering the large number of films seen recently being mediocre and less and wasting potential, was expecting worse and was relieved that while wanting in a fair few areas it was actually one of my better recent low-budget viewings.

Starting with the positives, generally the production values could have been much worse. There is a real sense of eeriness, foreboding and a decently stylish atmosphere, and it makes the most of the confined and at times effectively claustrophobic setting. The music is also suitably haunting and manages to not be too intrusive, likewise with the sound not being too obvious (a bugbear of mine with low-budget viewings recently).

There is tension, suspense and genuine creepiness. The acting is better than average, particularly from the leads and the direction is assured in the first half while slackening later.

Would have liked however more tension and suspense in the second half particularly and for some of the scares that become more prominent in the second half to be more creative and less trying-too-hard to the point of cheesiness, particularly when it becomes more prominent in the action. The dialogue is cheesy and awkward generally.

Found that the story could have been executed better too. Too many parts are uneventful, the narrative structure is not always coherent and it can feel padded, not to mention an ending that perplexes in its anti-climactic and muddled convolution. The mystery and psychological elements needed more focus, the latter was underexplored and muddled somewhat at times. There are exceptions to the better than expected production values, the effects are shoddy and the editing could have been tighter.

Overall, better than expected but didn't blow me away. 5/10 Bethany Cox

The movie reminded me (as mentioned in the movie itself), of R L Stine's Goosebumps' Say Cheese and Die. It was more like a mash up of the Japanese movie Premonition (2004), The Dead Zone, and Dexter. Either way, I did not hate it. It was somewhat unique in its own way and entertaining. Also, what made the movie stand out was the unique soundtrack.

I saw the world premiere at the 2017 Florida Film Festival and was very impressed with the idea of the film - its presentation - and impact.

Jack Zeller, played very effectively by Christopher Denham, is a psychologically damaged photographer back from Afghanistan. He is evidently suffering from PTSA and is trying to get back to doing what he loves - professional photography. As an encouragement, his fiancé, Claire, buys him a vintage (WW II era) camera (naturally made in Germany.)

One chilling aspect of the camera is that a camera repair store announces that "this camera is not capable of taking photos."

Nevertheless, Jack gets a gig working for her real estate company and takes 10 rolls of film of various settings and properties with this "unworkable" camera. When the film is processed, there are surprising photos which I will not describe (you can imagine since this is a horror film.) How he reacts and tries to deal with these photos is the tension in the movie. The plot is different, well conceived and exciting.

The music and sound effects add measurably to the feel of the film and effect of the events being portrayed. Overall it is an excellent effort from first time director Aaron B. Koontz. I look forward to future efforts by Mr. Koontz. If you get the chance to take in "Camera Obscura," please do - very worthwhile.

'CAMERA OBSCURA': Four Stars (Out of Five)

An indie horror flick about a veteran war photographer with PTSD, that sees future deaths in the photos that he takes (on a vintage World War II era camera). It was directed by first time feature filmmaker Aaron B. Koontz, and it was written by Koontz and Cameron Burns (Koontz and Burns also served as producers on the film). The movie stars Charlie Denham, Nadja Bobyleva, Catherine Curtin, Chase Williamson and Noah Segan. It's a very creepy and disturbing little indie horror flick.

Jack Zeller (Denham) is a professional photographer, and war veteran, who's dealing with some severe mental issues (due to his time in Afghanistan). To help him get through these mental problems, his fiancé, Claire (Bobyleva), buys him a vintage camera at a work auction. She then gets him a job taking photos for the real estate company she works for. When Jack gets the photos developed though, he starts to see images of future deaths in them. When those deaths start to become a reality, Jack becomes even more mentally unstable as he tries to figure out what to do about them.

The movie is extremely creepy, and it only gets creepier as it goes on. Denham gives a great performance in the lead, and he really makes you feel what it's like to go mad. You keep wanting the character to stop doing the things he's doing, as a result of his madness, but he keeps doing them anyway. It's a really disturbing and dark movie! Very effectively directed, and written, by Koontz and Burns. If you're a fan of really dark horror flicks, you should definitely give this one a try.

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