Keep that cam-corder running!

Rating: 7/10 (12 July 2008)

This film is pretty effective in accomplishing what it's trying to do. It obviously is inspired by Blair Witch Project in its "amatuer filmer involved in the action" approach, but is more adept in utilizing it to tell a story than Blair Witch was.
New York gets it again, as in all the films that this one "borrows" from. (Cliché alert: the decapitated Statue's head lands directly in front of our heroes?) A bunch of twenty-somethings are having a beer party, when they're interrupted by the Blair Witch--I mean explosions. The guy who's filming the party wisely keeps the camera going, and through the footage, we experience what's going on as the characters do, through their eyes.
The one glaring goof in the movie is that situations arise requiring the guy to put the camera down! Of course the continuous footage is intended to show the audience everything these characters experience, but only a retard would be handling a camera while having a fist fight with a creature in the darkness. The movie makers could have found a better way to solve this problem. The fleeting glimpses of the menace are cool and avoid showing the monster until the time is right; but again, that same unsolved problem: the person taking the footage "in real life" would make more of an effort to film this strange invader.
The characters, although we learn a little bit of their back story through old footage partially erased (a very clever idea for expository flashbacks), are neither interesting nor likable enough to be identified with. After enduring their endless arguments, dim-witted choices, knotted hair, irritating voices, etc., I was ready for the creature to squish them all. Also, nobody handles a video-cam this poorly, not even the very first time they use it. Was he busy with a can of beer in his other hand throughout this entire episode?
In short, I pulled for the invader to win. At least it had some creativity in its actions. And some intelligence.
Even with the minor pratfalls noted above, this is an interesting and entertaining film to watch. Note that the abrupt ending with many unanswered questions points directly at a sequel. I hope the guy filming the sequel actually knows how to use a cam-corder.