Written and directed by The Vicious Brothers. Starring Sean Rogerson, Juan Riedinger, Ashleigh Gryzko, Mackenzie Gray, Merwin Mondesir and Ben Wilkinson.
Plot: the crew of a ghost hunting show lock themselves in an abandoned mental hospital and – of course – they find out that the rumors are truer than they believed.
This movie is a remarkable found footage tale filled with amusing bits and frightening bits and we can’t watch it alone. We love horror because we love to be truly terrified and this terrified us.
The ghost hunting show is actually called Grave Encounters. It’s host is Lance Preston (Rogerson). With him are occult specialist, Sasha Parker (Gryzko), the tech guy, Matt White (Riedinger), the camera guy, TC Gibson (Mondesir) and the fake medium, Houston Grey (Gray). Funny thing about it is, none of them believe in ghosts. Nope. They just pretend. They even pay a landscaper that works on the grounds of the hospital to say that he’s seen a ghost there.
The crew laughs behind the scenes and scoffs at the truth in any of it. Still, when one of them goes missing and one of them is pushed down stairs by something unseen, they freak. They did nothing to prepare themselves for what could happen if ghosts turned out to be real. Amateurs. Because of this it was hard to like any of them at first. We kind of just wanted to smack them. Especially when one of them says, “This place is about as haunted as a sock drawer.” And to that we ask –
Why can’t sock drawers be haunted?!
It’s a marvelous script though. The acting is great. They have some of the best reactions to things we’ve ever seen. They were honest, believable, sometimes funny and sometimes heartbreaking. The end of the movie gets disturbingly realistic and altogether unpleasant. Suddenly the people we wanted to smack became people we wanted to shine lights on and say, “It’ll be okay. Come with us. We’ll take you somewhere safe and warm where you won’t have to debase yourselves.”
The worst thing about the film was that it had no rules. No simple way – or any complex way for that matter – to survive. But the effects were awesome and the direction was terrific. The Vicious Brothers know exactly what to do and when to do it to scare the shit out of me and DJ. We highly recommend you see this movie if you’re a horror fan who actually likes to be scared.
I suppose I could list my favorite movies here, but instead I'll give you a strange glimpse into what makes me TaraRomero.
1. I met George Romero. He was the kindest and sweetest man. He talked to me for longer than he should have with the line getting longer. He also held my hand. And when he noticed the ladybug I have tattooed on my wrist, he said he liked it and asked me it's name. Till then, it had not had a name. Now, I call him George.
2. I love stickers. All stickers. I just adore them. I even ask for stickers for Christmas! As a matter of fact, the birthday that just past, every member of my immediate family gave me sticker packs as gifts. Affordable and extremely appreciated.
3. I have never put much stock in astrology or horoscopes, but I LOVE the magic of the MBTI. Omg. I am an INFP and it actually sounds just like me. Introverted mostly. Creative always. Heart before head and not the most logical. Totally me! For better or worse.
4. It's no surprise I count horror so high up on the list of things that make me, me. However, it's so within my soul that I was part of the Horror Club in college. Interesting bunch. And even took a Horror Lit class as an elective. I got an A.
5. Coffee always makes me happy. Always. I'm particularly fond of caramel macchiatos. But I'll drink black coffee if it's the only thing available.
6. I hate shock for the sake of shock and endings that depress me. I always mention the movies Within (2016) and the Eli Roth produced, written and starred in, Aftershock (2012), as proof of this distate I have. I abhor the idea that just because I like horror, some people think I'd actually praise a movie that lets you think the "Final Girl" just made it through the night, only to slap her in the face with a tsunami.
7. We are big time animal people. I mean, if I could, I'd have an elephant, a bear, a zebra, a penguin, an otter and a meerkat, living with me. Seriously though. We have 2 dogs right now and 2 cats. Both cats we picked up when they each came to our front door hungry. And both dogs we got from 2 different sets of neighbors. Both who, unfortunately, don't know how to care for pets long-term. But they're happy and healthy now!!
8. Revisiting my love of horror, one of the above cats, my cat, is a little black guy named Church. Because Pet Sematary. His middle name is even Pascow. To give credit where credit's due, the name was DJ's idea. But he loves horror too!
9. I'm big into art. Along with movie posters and an Anne Frank quote, I have some actual paintings on my wall. I really think Dali paints beautifully when he wants to. And if I don't get to see Michaelangelo's Pieta in person some day, I will be very disappointed.
10. Lastly, I find Emily Dickinson's poetry intriguing. I took an elective course about her as well. But do you know I injected horror even there? I was given a poem to dissect and I picked one on death, of course. Then, I researched old "Death Photos" and even printed out copies for everyone in the class. They were so interested in looking at them that it stopped them from all looking at me, and I was able to deal quite well with my stage fright. Haha
View all posts by TaraRomero
BLOOD RED REVIEWS 