Smile, You're on Candid Camera

Rating: 6/10 (26 October 2009)

Greetings again from the darkness. With an all out frontal assault on our fears of what happens while we sleep, writer/director Oren Peli, takes a page from Blair Witch Project and presents this as actual footage. Instead of a bunch of nausea-inducing, running through the woods holding a camera ... Peli gives us a slightly more controlled video package from our lead players, Micah and Katie.
Neither Micah nor Katie have any real acting ability, and I believe were cast because they come across as believable. Actually, as the movie went on, I found both a bit annoying and found myself rooting for the demon after awhile. Seriously, there are some very creepy moments which I won't give away and I did enjoy the approach of the stalking demon, instead of a possessed house.
As for a fright factor, I still rank The Shining and Poltergeist as far superior but these days, any horror film that doesn't involve major slashers has to be commended. And congratulations to the team for creating a huge film phenomena with very little money.