Zone 51

I believe this movie has been mis-labeled. It is by no means a "horror" film. It is, however, better classified as a "sci-fi thriller".

I enjoy the found-footage genre, for the most part. When it's done correctly, which this film is. Everything that's filmed makes sense given the context. Quite a few times, my adrenaline was up while watching and I was genuinely concerned about the main characters.

That's one of the things I liked about this film was the character development. Unlike a lot of thrillers, where the characters are hackneyed and cliched, these characters were actually written like people and you can genuinely understand where they're all coming from.

So I do recommend this movie, just not as a horror flick.

Oren Peli is now officially a one trick pony after his latest found footage flick called Area 51. Again, similar to the first Paranormal Activity, there is a lack of story and realistic actions by characters in Peli's latest. Additionally, characters are weak, having little to no back-story and often times unlikable. Even with Peli's out used hand-held style of filmmaking, there is a particular originality to the film based on the alien side story. There are creative imaginary thoughts and well done shots of cinematography with this film. It almost seemed the film steadily managed to save itself as the film progressed. By no means would it be a film I recommend to people looking for the latest and greatest of 2015 but it's not a total waste, even when I wanted it and expected it to be.

A young guy obsessed with government secrets rounds up a gang to infiltrate a remote facility and uncover the dreadful truth.

Literal found footage - wait for the post-credits clip - and a voyage through the varying degrees of hand-held shakiness. I think it's well shot up to the 2/3 stage, then the jitters break loose and it gets a bit annoying.

The set-up is pretty much the tale of a depressed obsessive, and I enjoyed the characterisation. But they leave the impression he's a chosen one, which doesn't play out in the end. Also there's drama about bringing the girl on the mission, but she doesn't add to the climax.

Few sound effects - the editors very selective - and I don't think there was any music (apart from the party stuff).

Overall, it sets up well but falls short on spooks in its descent into Hardy Boys yarniness.

I definitely had higher expectations for Area 51, especially given that Oren Peli had written and directed and reinvigorated the "found footage" genre with Paranormal Activity. I'm a fan of the genre, a fan of the Peli, but this was absolutely abysmal from the very start. The concept could have been extremely engaging and given a unique twist, but it performs and plays out as expected- completely typical and utterly predictable, very poorly acted and nonsensical most of the time. I would have been disappointed even if it were a Direct to DVD or On Demand release. I guess the merits of this film like wholly on "From the writer and director of Paranormal Activity!" However, don't expect the competency which the latter film was delivered. There is very little entertainment value, lines are cut off mid-sentence, and somehow, despite being allegedly filmed with one camera, it switches angles regularly without disrupting other dialog. It places it's weight on technical talk, the late night AM radio conspiracy chatter, but does nothing to actually give the viewer anything to grab on to and immerse themselves in the adventure of these three hormonal boys.

If you'd like to reduce your IQ level or waste your time while sick and just need to say you've seen it, you're better served by searching online for conspiracy videos, which provide far more interesting concepts and, despite being rather extraordinary, manage to entertain, which Area 51 fail to do.

First, I must say that most of the low ratings for this movie say "not scary!" The movie may have been sold to audiences as a pure horror movie, but false advertising shouldn't take away from the movie for what it is: A found-footage movie about a group of friends (one way more than the others) who go to great lengths to break into Area 51 that should be classified as a suspense sci-fi movie; definitely not horror.

A great portion of this movie is about the set-up of these guys (and a girl) getting ready to sneak into the lower levels of the base, which I can see how the average movie-goer could scoff at. If you go into this movie hoping for action, I'm sorry. Though it isn't what many were expecting, it is still very interesting to see their plans unfold.

The third act is where it really surprised me. Oren keeps with the golden rule of good horror: waiting for the unknown is a lot scarier than finding the unknown. You see very little of the aliens, which could be a let down to those looking for a monster movie. But watching the shadow of the aliens walking down the hall, or seeing an alien slowly slide from the darkness is truly creepy. There were many times I was very tense and on the edge of my seat.

The ending isn't as bad as many people are saying, for I kind of liked it. With some slightly better writing/imagination towards the ending, it could've made this movie a true diamond-in-the-rough. The acting, despite what many say, is tolerable and, for the most part, believable. The main character does have these moments of awful, goosebumps- inducing acting, but the other elements of the movie made me forget about it.

All in all, give it a shot. Its streaming on Netflix, and I'd say its well worth a shot. Worst scenario, you lose an hour and thirty minutes of your day. Or you could walk away with a pleasant experience. Just remember to keep your mind open to what the movie wants to be, not what you want it to be. Have fun!