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Brilliant marketing strategy: Make a low-budget horror movie, put it out in extremely (like, ridiculously) limited release, let word of mouth create buzz for you.
Not-so-brilliant marketing strategy: Let some idiot call it "The scariest movie of all time" and stick that all over the commercials. How quickly we forget The Exorcist. How quickly we forget The Shining. (Or Jaws. Or Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Or Alien. Or Poltergeist. Or....) Nothing ruins a movie faster for me than that kind of overselling.
( ::I can't guarantee against (minor) spoilers, so this covers my ass:: )
If the movie does nothing else, at least it gives us a crystal clear view into male/female relationships: He becomes increasingly alpha male the worse the situation gets, and she just wants him to pull over and get some damn directions. And stop playing with his high-tech toys for one minute.
For what it is, a movie made in a week on $11,000-$15,000 (depending what you read), it is EXTREMELY effective in scaring you. Like one review said, it would have been even more remarkable if Blair Witch Project hadn't already happened. There are one or two scenes that seem to have something invisible in the room, but all the other "effects" were literally just lots of noise and things happening off-camera, simple but scared the crap out of me. Like Blair Witch, I found myself straining to peer into the dark to try to see something. I jumped in my seat, I grabbed at Tery's knee. It was my very favorite kind of horror, psychological, not a drop of blood anywhere.
Will it hold up to repeat (and DVD) viewings? I'm not so sure. Although looking around online I learned there were about seven alternate endings (all of which sound better than the one they went with), which might warrant a purchase if they're included and the price is right. If you do watch it at home, make sure that subwoofer is cranked up. And throw out any ouija boards you've got lying around.
Not-so-brilliant marketing strategy: Let some idiot call it "The scariest movie of all time" and stick that all over the commercials. How quickly we forget The Exorcist. How quickly we forget The Shining. (Or Jaws. Or Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Or Alien. Or Poltergeist. Or....) Nothing ruins a movie faster for me than that kind of overselling.
( ::I can't guarantee against (minor) spoilers, so this covers my ass:: )
If the movie does nothing else, at least it gives us a crystal clear view into male/female relationships: He becomes increasingly alpha male the worse the situation gets, and she just wants him to pull over and get some damn directions. And stop playing with his high-tech toys for one minute.
For what it is, a movie made in a week on $11,000-$15,000 (depending what you read), it is EXTREMELY effective in scaring you. Like one review said, it would have been even more remarkable if Blair Witch Project hadn't already happened. There are one or two scenes that seem to have something invisible in the room, but all the other "effects" were literally just lots of noise and things happening off-camera, simple but scared the crap out of me. Like Blair Witch, I found myself straining to peer into the dark to try to see something. I jumped in my seat, I grabbed at Tery's knee. It was my very favorite kind of horror, psychological, not a drop of blood anywhere.
Will it hold up to repeat (and DVD) viewings? I'm not so sure. Although looking around online I learned there were about seven alternate endings (all of which sound better than the one they went with), which might warrant a purchase if they're included and the price is right. If you do watch it at home, make sure that subwoofer is cranked up. And throw out any ouija boards you've got lying around.
