Apocalyptic

The found footage film continues to be the go-to-guy when it comes to low budget horror film-making. A lot of people are fed up with the sub-genre and it is easy to understand why as, aside from the shaky-cam being capable of inducing headaches, there is also a certain over-familiarity about a lot of them. I consider myself to be fairly forgiving of these types of films myself though and do think the general set-up is one which can result in effectively sinister films when approached correctly. It would probably be fair to describe Apocalyptic as a bit of a mixed bag though. As it never escapes from a certain predictability inherent in found footage and does wind up with the kind of ending that an awful lot in this genre have. But it was still nevertheless a film which was successfully creepy and did keep me interested. Set in Australia, the story has documentary film-makers travel deep into the country to meet up with a religious cult to make a film about them. As could be predicted, these people prove to be very strange and some troubling events follow.

As is common with horror movies, character decisions here are often somewhat illogical, with the film crew hanging around for longer than they should and letting some things slide which they shouldn't. But I guess this is part and parcel of these types of movies to some extent. What was more of an issue for me was the central figure of the cult leader, who unfortunately was fairly badly acted by David Macrae, ensuring that this pivotal character had no charisma at all. I think it was quite damaging, as this is a leader whose actions are so extreme that they require some charisma in order to explain others going along with them so readily, such as the nightly ritual in which he chooses a different woman to sleep with every night, including a (very) young girl. These creepy details, along with the odd behaviour of the women cultists and what is discovered in the woods in the dead of night, are the kinds of things that make this one stand-out though and ensure that it does make some impact. It's a bit too basic and limited overall to be regarded as anything great but it does still offer some off-centre elements and ideas, and it never outstays its welcome.

A skeleton crew of two are blindfolded and taken to the compound of a doomsday cult in the green backwoods of Australia. There they find the leader/embodiment of god, Michael, and a bunch of females from 8 years old to 80, from which group Michael selects his sleeping partner every night. After a few more left fielders they come to see that the doomsday is upon us O Lord!

It's amazing just how many so-called 'found footage' films there are these days. After the success of "The Blair Witch Project", many other independent filmmakers have also sought to make their mark with small budgets and films that supposedly consist of actual footage from real (and usually scary) events. The basic idea isn't bad but there is a problem with too many films trying to cash in on this style of picture. In other words, after a while the films start to have a certain sameness to them and few of the more recent found footage films are particularly watchable. This is my problem with "Apocalyptic", as it fails to break new ground and has an all too familiar ending.

An Australian journalist and her film crew are shown at the beginning of the movie attending an AA-type meeting for addicts. However, one of the participants talks about having escaped from a cult and the reporter smells a story. So, she and the crew get permission from the cult leader, Michael, to stay with them and record their lives. The cult, it turns out is very small--with about a dozen people in it. All are women apart from Michael.

At first the group seems odd but also quite happy. Sure, there are some weird aspects to the group--such as Michael claiming to have divine authority as well as his sleeping with most of the women. But the group still seems fairly normal. However, through the course of the film, Michael reveals himself to be a Jim Jones-type guy and he plans on a mass suicide. This final portion was not especially original--not only because of the famous Jonestown tragedy but because of another recent found footage movie, "The Sacrament", which pretty much recreates the Jonestown deaths. It also comes off as a bit exploitational and creepy watching all this at the end as opposed to being scary.

So is it any good? Well, the film work is pretty much what you expect from such a movie and you get the jerky camera, folks running and the like. But the story, as I already mentioned, lacks freshness. It's just a case of 'been there/done that' and the ending is clearly what most folks watching the film are expecting. It would have been a lot more interesting with some OTHER twist--anything but what the film seemed to telegraph during the first hour or so of the picture. I think everyone associated with the project tried hard and it's watchable, but nothing more unfortunately.

As usual, I went into this film with very little knowledge of it beforehand. No trailer, no synopsis, Nothing. What I got was a very basic, low budget, uninspired, clichéd and incredibly tiring film that is a prime example of why certain people are not suited to making movies. Making films requires technique, ability and a craft that is not possessed by just anyone, and simply because you have some cameras and a competent cast does not make you a film-maker. Found-Footage is a genre of film that, at its best, is effective and incredibly convincing. At its worst, as this film undoubtedly is, it shows that the writer/director has a combination of several things; a lack of talent, lack of budget, and a lack of knowledge in film composition. The worst offender of this film is that it does not even attempt to do anything original or new; it just retreads well-worn territory in a mundane and clearly artistically-limited way. This movie is one of those films that will be relegate to the annals of notoriety for not only being a bad movie, but for being a waste of time. That, in itself, is the worst offense. A bore from beginning to end. Complete and utter rubbish, and should not be given any time or attention.

In general, all found footage films require you to lower your expectations. The very nature of this method of filming is to eliminate the need for special effects, large crews and complicated staging.

"Found footage" is synonymous with "Expect less." That being said, the exercise in minimalism has a tendency to refine and strengthen plots and is more demanding on the actors. So there are strengths that arise.

This film shows few of those strengths. The acting is not abhorrent, it's reasonable, but still remained unbelievable. It felt as though it was trying too hard. My personal feeling is that the acting failed because the plot itself was unbelievable and didn't really hold it's own. There are simply too many holes in the idea. Tiny little questions that you end up asking yourself that pull you out of the illusion. "Why did he say that? Why did they do this? Why would ANYBODY do this?" Every found footage film's greatest challenge is a battle with common sense. If the actors don't behave in the way that any normal person would, then the illusion is destroyed. There are simply too many places where common sense doesn't prevail.

That and the predictability of the plot kept making me wonder why the actors didn't see it coming. It was fairly obvious which direction this was going to end up going.

And lastly, poor choices by the editors. Your movie can't appear to be real when the camera angles keep shifting but the SOUND doesn't alter.

It came off as weak. Or even worse, it was unremarkable.