The Cutting Room

Right, well I wasn't familiar with the 2015 movie "The Cutting Room" prior to sitting down to watch it. So I wasn't sure what I was in for here, aside from it being a horror movie.

And a horror movie it was. Well, not in the terms of it being a scary or frightening movie. No, not at all. But a horror in the terms of it being a ludicrous 'found garbage' movie and having a really laughable storyline, complete with dubious acting performances and characters that no one cares about.

Yeah, "The Cutting Room" from writer and director Warren Dudley was a terrible mess of a movie. I loathe 'found footage' movies with a vengeance, and had I known that "The Cutting Room" was one such movie, I wouldn't even have given it a second glance.

The storyline told in "The Cutting Room" was just utter rubbish, and I must admit that it didn't take me long before I had my mobile phone out and were doing stuff on the phone and only semi-paying attention to the rubbish on the screen.

Do yourself a favor and give "The Cutting Room" a wide berth, because this movie is not worth the time, effort or money. Seriously? Why waste time on something that is filmed with a handheld camera that is all over the place? The camera work in these 'found garbage' movies is so shoddy that it is just not worth the effort. I mean, my 11 year old son would fare better operating our digital video camera.

My rating of this 2015 'found garbage' movie lands on a generous two out of ten stars.

Darrlareviews.uk

Oh now come on! This is just the most unfair set of reviews on a harmless enough found footage horror I've ever seen.

Yes it's found footage so if you hate found footage you won't like it.

There's a massive hint given early on and it will only make sense at the end. Yes there's plot holes such as most people having more than one pair of shoes in their life and why was the killer reflected in a mirror at one point but the acting is fine, the script is meant to sound like townie college students and it does, the location is creepy, the twist is pretty obvious but still fun to find out.

There's many questions left in the air but that's a staple of British horror especially.

This one needs digging back up and reappraising as it's undervalued and underappreciated.

The Plot.

College students Raz, Charlie and Jess are about to start work on their end of year Media Studies project... unaware of a malevolent force lurking deep below their sleepy town.

A recent wave of apparent Cyberbullying and the disappearance of two local girls lead the group to an abandoned army barracks situated deep in the forests that surround the college. What they find there is a terrifying labyrinth of tunnels from which there seems no escape... and a dark figure hell bent on tormenting them.

Hunted, frightened and lost, Raz, Charlie and Jess must now escape the barracks or suffer the unspeakable fate that awaits them.

ZZZzzzzz.

One of the cheesiest movies I've seen in a long time.

Incompetently directed with the shakiest cam you have ever ever ever seen.

Literally NOTHING happens for the first 47 minutes! And the movie is only 73 minutes long and that includes the credits! A good portion of the film is out of focus too and the front and back songs during the credits are horrendous.

You will be bored out of your mind. Trust me. It really sucks. I'm not even all that sure why it's called The Cutting Room.

I really enjoyed this film and for ages after it finished, just sat open-mouthed in front of the TV with my heart banging against my rib cage.

The Cutting Room only cost £12,000 to make but nothing about it feels small budget. The cinematography is really impressive and you get this constant feeling that the characters are being watched. Many of the scenes are filmed underground in the disused army barracks yet the viewers is treated to all the gruesome bits in gory, vivid detail.

A lot of the film is "found footage" but the quality is so much better, in my opinion, than The Blair Witch Project. In that film, I found it pretty unwatchable but in this film it was of a quality good enough to enjoy the film while still getting the pants scared off you.

I really enjoyed the plot and the characters, who seemed believable in terms of English students. I'd definitely like to keep an eye on Lucy- Jane Quinlan and Lydia Orange in the future.

Definitely pay attention when watching the film and look out for the clues. If you don't, the finale is going to terrify you, as it did me. The final scenes take place over 15 terrifying minutes where the viewer is kept firmly on the edge of your seat. Watch out for the final, horrifying reveal in the last 15 seconds of the film.

This is a British found footage film and, as such, is similar to the template set out by the phenomenally successful 'Blair Witch Project'.

The three characters take time to like. Raz (Parry Glasspool), the sole male, is a cocky, good looking lad who will say inappropriate things for 'a laugh'; Lucy-Jane Quinlan plays Charlie, who spends most of the first half of the film frowning at Raz's antics, and Lydia Orange plays Jess, possibly the 'nicest' of the trio - while their very patient teacher Mark is played by TJ Herbert. He is openly ridiculed by Raz, particularly for his 'four stripe' trainers - a detail that is worth remembering during the closing shots.

It takes too long to get going, but during that time, I warmed to the three youngsters. Raz is a bit of a twit, no question, but he's often genuinely funny, if foolhardy.

The third act is where the scares finally come along, with the kind of stumbling confusion and terror synonymous with the found footage genre. The descent into dark, isolated tunnels is creepy and unsettling, and the final scene serves us with a good twist.