I watched this movie last year in October on Netflix as part of my Halloween horror watch-fest. It had some flaws that occasionally grated on me, but I was struck by its unique concept and surprisingly effective use of found footage.

Found-footage movies have a central flaw in that, without a traditional camera, characters must pick up the slack, absurdly filming events far past believability. The best found-footage movies work around this in some way. This movie is less innovative than some, but it its making-of style feels less forced than usual, and I think that’s helped by its slower pacing.

The plot mostly focuses on a group of friends investigating various haunted houses for their documentary, following up on rumors of haunted houses becoming more and more extreme to cater to modern audiences. Although the editing can be sporadic and choppy at times, this feels like an intentional decision to keep the audience off balance and uneasy, much in the same way that the haunted houses they feature do. Its narrative strength comes from their previously completed real documentary about haunted houses that they used as a foundation on which to build this movie. However, that does leave the ending feeling a tad rushed.

The biggest flaw lies in the characters. They’re not the worst I’ve ever seen in a horror movie, but like many before, the men are portayed as horny, sex obsessed, and immature. Sometimes the presence of their sole woman lead, Brandy, feels like a way to have their cake and eat it, too. They can include things like going to a zombie strip club and use her irritation as a shield. “See? We’re commenting on the guys’ behavior. We know it’s not okay.” Thankfully, as the plot begins to unfold, they tone a lot of that down and the characters become a bit more sympathetic. I just wish they had used Brandy more effectively rather than for cheap tension building, such as being cornered in the bathroom by a group of gropey hillbillies.

With 5 main characters, it’s easy for one or two to be under served by the narrative, and this is far from the only horror movie to indulge in this type of writing, but it was disappointing to see nonetheless.

The climax and final sequence are really well done and very effective as the group finds themselves in over their heads. While not one of my favorite movies, it’s enjoyable and unique and a fun one to pop in around Halloween. The ending, in particular, is chilling and probably why I favor this movie in spite of its flaws.