Blue Hour: The Disappearance of Nick Brandreth

And unfortunately this just doesn't have it. Really unique premise, but the acting just kills it. Poor acting is an absolute death sentence for found footage as it just rips us out of the story. You don't need the best actors, as proven by many found footage movies, but just natural dialogue. This you could absolutely tell was reading from a script. Really great use of vintage footage, fun edits and overall concept. Was really hoping to like it, but 30 min in just lost me and wasn't picking up the pace fast enough. More discerning editing and better actors would highly enhance the movie to the next level.

This Faux Documentary could have been so much better than it was. The story is quite exceptionally interesting and had so much potential that was sadly mostly wasted. The majority of the actors are really vary good and believable. But a few are so bad it ruins entire scenes. The special effects are not bad at all. In fact, they are actually quite impressive for a low budget Faux Documentary. It was way too long for what it was. It could have easily been twenty to thirty minutes shorter and nothing important in anyway would have been left out. I became so bored that I was thinking about other things and at one point I almost forgot what I was watching. Luckily, that was when it picked up and got very interesting. It left me feeling good about the ending. Hence the 6 star rating. In my opinion, it is definitely worth the watch, as long as you go in knowing there are a few almost intolerable scenes.

This seems like a very lazy premise for a film. And a way to sneak the film past viewers. I'd like to have seen this as fiction. But to open your heart and mind to a situation, only to learn it's a lie? That feels like a cheat. The premise is not even sufficiently novel to sustain its fictional underpinnings. It's a David Paullides gone missing story, draped with mystical sorcerer underpinnings. Happily, I picked up on the mock tone quickly, and granted I rented it while in pain, but I wanted a documentary. What I watched didn't sustain my interest as fiction, and I felt cheated out of the documentary I sought.

I love that it was a different kind of horror film. It invites the viewer to be a part of the story.

'Blue Hour' is an intriguing mystery that feels believable and spooky.

It was not about buckets of blood or gross effects that many do for shock value. Instead, it has talented main characters and a supportive cast that is engaging and entertaining. The cinematography looks great, with camera angles that embed you in the environment and help convey the overall bleakness of hope they may have of finding what happened to Nick Brandreth. It is very well-directed and smartly paced. I hope to see more like this.

This is a movie where I found myself staring at the screen in awe as events began to unfold. The first third establishes a disappearance and some general digging by our documentary crew, but the last two thirds are unlike anything I've ever seen, deliered in a way I never expected. This is shot with a high production quality like Horror in the High Desert or The Unbinding.

The documentary itself is compelling enough to feel real and when it takes off, the shock is such a superb experience. Once that wore off, I was left with an intriguing mystery that l'll have to have a second watch to truly understand.