Friday, October 3, 2014

Grave Encounters (2011)

They were searching for proof... they found it

I have to say I was worried about this movie as it has a very slow build, but it really surprised me in the end.  It also happens to be shot in one of my favorite movie styles, found footage! The movie is reminiscent to many paranormal shows I watch, especially Ghost Adventures. The similarities between Zak Bagans and Lance Preston is uncanny! But be warned the first 25 - 30 minutes seems to drag on for an eternity, just stick with it and it will be everything you wanted.

Grave Encounters follows a group of paranormal investigators who lock themselves in a haunted psychiatric hospital in search of evidence of paranormal activity.  This group is shooting the 6th episode of their TV show, Grave Encounters, which ends up becoming their final episode.  The investigators are comprised of all the usual suspects, the Host, the Occult Specialist, the Camera Guy, the Tech Specialist, and the Medium.  Unfortunately, they are all a bunch of phonies who wouldn't know a ghost if it etched 'Hello' onto their backs.  I'm getting ahead of myself now.

The movie starts to get interesting when things begin to move in the background, of course none of the characters see it until one of the ghosts acts up and starts playing with Sasha's hair.  They then start to see orbs and apparitions in the picture they've taken.  From there the movie starts its descent into madness, or at least the characters do.  People start to go missing, corridors start to change, food begins to rot, and Sasha gets 'Hello' etched onto her back.  Then the ghosts start to appear and people begin to die, from being strangled in mid air to disappearing in bath tubs.

Now down to 2, our Host and Medium, they travel underneath the hospital looking for a way out and reluctantly fall asleep. Unfortunately, a mist settles over and Sasha, our Medium, disappears, leaving Lance, our Host, alone.  Lance's mental state slowly spirals downward as he begins to eat rats and laughs maniacally.  He eventually stumbles upon a room where a doctor used to perform experiments on the patients of the hospital.  The movie ends with Lance signing off after receiving a lobotomy from the ghost of the doctor.

Not my favorite ending ever, but Zak's spiral into madness was done very nicely.  The movie featured a lot of good twists, like the entrance opening up into another corridor and a solid wall appearing where an exit used to be. Overall, I quite enjoyed the film and I'm curious to see if Grave Encounters 2 holds up to the first.  Tell me what you thought of the movie in the comments, on Twitter (@SilentToHughes) or on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SilentToHughes)


Hope you all have a great night!

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