A well directed home-video

Rating: 6/10 (11 January 2010)

Now, let me be straight about this movie. It's hyped. Absolutely no doubt that it's hyped. I went in the movies this Saturday expecting another 'Cloverfield' or a 'Blaire-witch' and what I got was only a few minutes of goose-bumps. I am not saying that it wasn't scary. I totally agree that it was hell scary so much so that I didn't sleep that night after returning home. But that doesn't necessarily mean that it's a good movie. The movie's plot development is damn slow and I am not complaining about the pace either. But in such cases the director is supposed to cover that up with some 'genuine' drama and it is here that it fails miserably. The dialogs are so dull that they never come out from 'Please don't go in there Micah. You are not going in there. ' and for the most part of its 85 minutes running time nothing really happens.
Another problem with the movie is the camera work. Now I am not saying that it's hand-held camera technique made me dizzy(I actually love that stuff) but it's the camera positioning. I mean the camera stays over at one place in the bedroom where you actually get all the scares. Instead the director should have used it at various places. May be it was the part of their plan to develop that sense of Deja-vu that you have been in the bedroom for quite some time but they could have used it more creatively.
Another flaw that I noticed is that there are a lot of places where you would ask "Why didn't he just." and this isn't good for a movie especially a horror flick.
On the 'up-side' this movie was genuinely scary at places. The scene where the lady stands up staring at Micah for hours and hours was damn scary and the last 15 minutes or so also provided the best goose-bumps that stay with you even after you leave the theater. It's a movie that makes you believe that there are indeed such things happening somewhere. It expects its audience to use their imagination and completely relies on it. And that is the reason why there is so much of difference of opinion towards this movie. It seriously depends upon various factors such as the place or the time or even the people with whom you are watching this flick. If you are going in a theater room fully packed with kids or teenagers shouting from every corner then the movie might turn out to be outrageously funny! It does provide you with some terrific moments that might take you by surprise BUT they only come in bits.
It certainly deserves a 6/10 because it's just a well-directed home video that was 'I assume', probably shot by the director with an intention to scare his friends.
Somebody told me that you need to be 'strong-hearted' to watch this movie. I agree that to some extent but to me the movie requires you to be 'strong-minded' because it tests your patience for most of the time.