REVIEW: Blair Witch [2016]

“Lisa, I’m so sorry” It was only sixteen months after the release of The Blair Witch Project that Joe Berlinger‘s sequel Book of Shadows bowed in an attempt at striking while the iron was hot. The film that was ultimately released into theaters wasn’t his cut—whether this fact has any bearing on quality remains to be seen—and inevitably went on to get panned by critics and audiences alike. Any plans for more installments were scrapped and the legend of the Burkittsville monster was mothballed. So why then has a new…

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REVIEW: JeruZalem [2016]

“They say there are three gates to Hell and that night they found one of them” Is it coincidence that Google filed a new application to revive Google Glass on December 28th (despite halting production on the prototype in January) just weeks before Israeli-set horror film JeruZalem supplies a 90-minute adventure into Hell through those exact lenses (albeit a pair of fictitious knock-offs)? Yes. It’s most definitely a coincidence. But whether that technology was going to stay dead or be reborn has little bearing on Doron and Yoav Paz‘s latest…

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BNFF10 REVIEW: *Cemetery [2010]

“She was like a creature from under a bridge” Despite being a complete rip-off of The Blair Witch Project, I do think Elma native B.J. Stack’s film *Cemetery has a solid thriller within, unfortunately the finished copy shown at the Buffalo Niagara Film Festival is not quite it. A handheld docu-style movie, the story involves three kids—a brother BJ, his sister Katlin, and her boyfriend Brandon—out to find a hidden cemetery housing the supposed bodies of a local abortionist’s deceased patients and babies. Driving to the woods in Wales, NY…

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REVIEW: [Rec] [2007]

“Don’t you see my face is shiny?” Here we have another example why people can’t stand Hollywood. 2007 saw the release of the Spanish horror/thriller [Rec], and instead of its great success bringing it overseas for a theatrical release, America decides to create its own water-downed version called Quarantine. These Spaniards have a knack for the scary these days. Think a mix between The Descent and Blair Witch Project and you will get an idea of what [Rec] is. It’s all on a routine call to rescue a woman and…

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