Shot in the same style as Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity (which is all the rage with young directors these days). This one is about paranormal investigators on a reality show called Grave Encounters. It starts with their opening sequence (which is a complete rip of Paranormal State -- I think they may even use the same lines), and then goes on with the asylum (which is suppose to be in Maryland but pretty sure they had Canadian accents) that they are going to be spending the night in. They get interviews with the owners and a couple of the crew that work there. Some of the stories they hear are real, while others they paid for. They hear stories about people getting pushed off of ladies, or seeing a bald man. They also hear about some of the tragedies that happened there such as suicide, mistreatment, lobotomies, and the murder of a doctor.
Once they are done getting a tour and interviewing everyone, they get locked in the asylum (House on Haunted Hill?) and start investigating. At first they are struggling to make the show compelling, but slowly they start capturing doors closing, wheelchairs moving, and one girl even feels like someone is brushing her hair. As they approach dawn (when they owner is suppose to unlock the doors) they realize that something is not right. One of their team members goes missing and while trying to find him the cameraman gets pushed down a flight of stairs. He has had enough, so when he gets back to the lobby he breaks through the front doors. But behind the doors is a long hallway. He goes to the end and breaks through those doors and yet another hallway. That's when they realize that they are trapped in the asylum and even though their phones and watches say its the afternoon, no sunlight is coming through and they are stuck in total darkness.
The film started off decent. However, if you're going to use an exact opening I feel like the whole movie should be a spoof. I thought it might be a comedy in the beginning because I watch all those TV shows so I felt like I was getting the references to the jokes they were making. Then they just stopped altogether. There were tons of things that made me jump in the beginning (though I wasn't paying close attention because I had to finish laundry) but towards the end it started getting hokey and over the top. The characters start disappearing, but when it comes down to the last guy it takes him FOREVER to wrap up the story. I just kept thinking "why isn't this over yet?". So, to sum things up. Good beginning but lost me at the end.
Rating: **
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