Grave Encounters (2011)

User Review

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  TheMovieDiorama

  5 / 10

  Grave Encounters made the grave mistake of encountering viral status. When a film is so popular online, with word-of-mouth seemingly marketing this as "the scariest film ever", well expectations will subconsciously rocket higher than an insane asylum patient. Suffice to say this horror hasn't aged well and clearly garnered positivity during the height of its hype. A paranormal hunting TV show entitled "Grave Encounters" attempt to stay the night at a supposedly haunted asylum, only for the crew members to slowly lose their minds. The spoofing of typical ghost hunt shows like 'Most Haunted' is what captures your attention. It almost feels satirical in nature as the host pays civilians to tell false encounters and psychic mediums smelling of pure fakery. You smell that whiff? The similarities to Derek Acorah are uncanny. It sets the tone, doesn't take itself seriously and feels fresh. Then they enter the asylum and are locked in til morning. Dark, eerie and creepy hallways act as a labyrinth that will test the mental strength of this sceptical crew. Suspense is well crafted with subtle ethereal sound effects and ridiculously dark rooms. Then, predictably, the ghosts start getting confident and show themselves in their full visual cheapness. And naturally that's where the film falters. Horrifically executed with a messy illogical plot (seriously, logic makes no sense) and leaves you questioning "how did the producer get the tape for episode 6?". The lack of logic to convey mental instability didn't particularly work, with specific characters going from mentally stable to insane in a minute. The acting though was forcibly cheesy and it works for the most part, although several characters who constantly curse and shout do become irritating. It's a low budget scarefest and The Vicious Brothers knew this. A suitable film to watch at a sleepover or with friends (with pizza...and a Diet Coke), but still a somewhat tame experience that was overhyped by the Internet.

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