One of the best

Rating: 10/10 (27 November 2015)

This film is a masterpiece of the horror genre. It does its job of scaring the audience and then some. It's one of my favorite movies ever and for very good reason.
The film is excellent on all regards but in my opinion the thing that it does the best is its scares. It does exactly as it should, it scares the crap out of you consistently and effectively. Some of this is due to the excellent cinematography by Chris Norr. The opening shot of the movie instantly lets you know what you're in for and it does an excellent job of setting the tone for the rest of the film. The shots in this movie are all brilliant otherwise. Most of them are shot in dark gloomy areas where the film sets a personal, as the film is shot inside of the home for the majority, yet also a very distant, isolated feel as the viewer feels in a state of suspense as to what can truly invade their home. In this case, it's a lot. While the film has the ability to take something as tired and overused as a jump scare and turn it into great horror. The key is the images that jump out at you. Very similarly to Insidious, another great movie in the horror genre, the film contains absolutely terrifying imagery, from the ghosts and ghouls to the tape scenes and so forth. Overall the film is simply terrifying and has the capability of making the viewer jump at every small bump in the night for a while after.
I absolutely can't go without mentioning the 8mm film scenes. These scenes are some of the most terrifying, awesome, well done scenes ever put into any horror movie. And what a great idea to develop a story! Yes, I know it was sort of stolen from 8mm but this movie just did it so much better. These scenes are awesome and whether or not you like this movie I'd find it hard to believe for a human being on this planet to not at least appreciate these scenes.
The main villain is good, possibly the least effective part of this movie but still done very well. This particular boogie man's design isn't particularly scary, he sort of looks like the predator got a bad haircut. But the way that he's shot and the way that the director Scott Derrickson places him throughout the movie is brilliant and can really turn him into a much more threatening villain to our main characters.
The acting in this film is fantastic, aside from maybe the daughter in some scenes but she doesn't get very many lines so it's very passable. Ethan Hawke does his usual amazing performance as formerly successful writer Ellison Oswalt who is trying to regain his fame for reasons that are left up to the viewer as either selfish or to help his family stay happy and secure(Brilliant!). Ellison throughout the film, as he starts getting the picture of how serious of a situation he's in, really struggles with himself and has that inner conflict as the horrible events he sees on the tapes and in his home unfold. The film shows this wonderfully. His reactions are all just. When he shrugs something off it isn't because he's a clichéd movie skeptic like we've seen a million times before, instead he does it for his own sanity and to protect his family which he knows he might have put in danger. Vincent D'Onofrio, who isn't credited in this movie for some reason, is good as the professor. James Ransone does a pretty good job as Deputy So and so and can even get a laugh once in awhile. Juliet Rylance also does a fine job as Ellison's wife Tracy.
The plot for this movie is so well done, with situations that are always in motion and stuff going on to keep viewers constantly interested. There is certainly no phone checking during this movie! The Climax for this movie is also great, with a jump scare that made me poop my pants and a lot of creepy imagery to boot, this movie raps up really nicely.
Christopher Young, who always does a good job no matter how bad of a movie he's in, delivers with a fantastic score that really adds to the creepy atmosphere. It adds a lot to the movie and he clearly knows when NOT to use a lot of sound, which is very important.
Overall, wow! This movie really kept me on the edge of my seat (and up until three A.M.), and really gave me hope for the horror genre at least until I saw the sequel. Nonetheless this is one of the greatest horror movies ever and I would without a doubt recommend it to anyone who wants to hear a great score, see great acting, and of course get scared.