Exhibit A

In this movie, a young girl videotapes her family as they get ready to move into a new house. Things seem pretty normal at first, but things begin to change bit by bit. At the beginning of the movie, I had a hard time sitting through it because I really disliked the characters (except for the girl filming). The second half of the movie is supposed to be cringe-inducing because of what begins to happen, so it was slightly easier to follow. However, some moments late in the film were almost too upsetting for me--the sort of thing that you wish you didn't have in your memory and makes you question what you seek out for entertainment. I was especially caught off guard because I missed the evidence tag that is shown just before the home movies start. I did like the fact that this was a found footage film written as realistic fiction instead of introducing supernatural elements, but the fact that something like this could really happen bothered me more.

A middle class family man doesn't get the big promotion he's been talking about for days, but now that his wife is ready to move to the dream house he promised, feeling she couldn't handle the truth, he tells her he got the job... which starts a hellish chain reaction.

I like that concept, one lie that starts an endless series of lies, burying the liar each time a bit deeper. Classic yet effective when it's well done, like here.

The main character is well written. He's an annoying unfunny guy who tries way too hard to be the party boy he's not, which we all find despicable in real life, so it feels good to see him sinking. On the other hand, he didn't mean any harm when he first lied, he was just scared of his wife's reaction and acted on that impulse, so you feel bad for him. You both hate and pity him, that's very clever.

It may not be a masterpiece but it's a good movie.

This is a found footage film that deviates in that there is nothing supernatural in the eeriness of it. Tale of a family with typical secrets except for the father who descends into his madness. What follows is a realistic depiction of mental breakdown. Slow burn to the end, and a sad end it is. I have nothing to do with this film or anyone with the production. Just a psychologist in America who happens to like these types of films.

The acting in this is terrific all the way around. Since most all FF films are acted out based on an outline and dialogue points to it, you see a LOT of cuts since the actors mess up their "lines." Not here. Other than the natural cuts from scene to scene, there is very little in-scene cutting, meaning the actors delivered and met their marks.

My only problems with the film are that I never really got a sense why the father fell so far from sanity. Many people have gone through financial struggles without losing their minds, and I never got the sense the father was on edge, mentally, to do what he does at the end.

And the ending simply went on too long. It was the one time when the film lagged when usually the end is when these FF films pick up and race toward the climax.

Overall, a really well done job all the way around.

Strengthened by compelling performances from its faithful cast, making extremely effective use of its camera to capture all the unfolding drama, and steadily escalating its gradually- building tension over the course of its runtime, Exhibit A is an excellent example of smart, gripping storytelling that also goes down as possibly the most underrated work of its genre.

Set in Yorkshire, Exhibit A follows the day-to-day activities of a normal family that is driven to the unimaginable due to the pressure of their current financial situation. We witness the whole set of events through daughter Judith's video camera, which are set in motion when her dad hides a secret from the family which ultimately leads to devastating consequences.

Co-written & directed by Dom Rotheroe, Exhibit A is crafted with thorough understanding of what it needs to be and the way each segment combines with the next to make road for the chilling finale is truly admirable. Another key aspect that this indie horror ends up nailing is something that most of its counterparts tend to skip over, and that's the attention provided to its characters.

The scripted characters are pretty much like your neighbours next door. The cast portraying them makes them all the more believable, with Brittany Ashworth & Bradley Cole impressing the most in their respective roles of Judith & her father. Where the former brilliantly exhibits the sensibilities of a worried daughter, the latter steals the show with his skillful rendition of a father undergoing a complete mental breakdown, which is unnerving to watch at times.

On an overall scale, Exhibit A is a first-rate example of escalating horror that implements its found-footage style in a riveting manner and is absolutely deserving of a broader audience. An edge-of-the-seat thriller capturing the disintegration of a normal family brought upon by financial pressures, Exhibit A is one of the best offerings of its genre that amplifies its tense ambiance amazingly well to culminate with a final segment that's just as heartbreaking as it is utterly disturbing. An underrated gem. Highly recommended.