The Bay (2012)

My first thoughts when I started watching The Bay were: "oh no, not another found footage film", which was justified considering how many bad found footage films have been made over the last 5 years.

If anything, The Bay is more original and interesting than the other found footage films. The story centers around a small town coastal town located next to an inland bay. The towns folk start falling victim to a mysterious illness, that causes huge boils to form on the skin.  The plot is split between 4 perspectives of the crisis. One is the found footage of a woman trapped on the island and she recounts how everything started and how she came to be trapped. The other cameras mainly focus on the hospital and a doctor there who keeps in touch the local CDC office - keeping survivors to date on the situation.

The other storyline centers upon a family who leave the island on a boat just before the crisis starts who are unaware of the mayhem ensuing on the island behind them. The family return towards the end of the film to discover the town littered with dead bodies.

I like how the film has multiple focus points and storylines which is what makes it unique among found footage films - which usually have a single camera in one location. The special effects were good, with the boils on the peoples skins looking realistic and disgusting.

The flicking the camera  from location to location does make the film seem slightly disjointed at times, and the filming style tends to be more documentary-like rather then horror found footage style. That being said, not a bad effort, not brilliant, but one of the better found footage films of recent years. 

 

The Bay (2012)

My first thoughts when I started watching The Bay were: "oh no, not another found footage film", which was justified considering how many bad found footage films have been made over the last 5 years.

If anything, The Bay is more original and interesting than the other found footage films. The story centers around a small town coastal town located next to an inland bay. The towns folk start falling victim to a mysterious illness, that causes huge boils to form on the skin.  The plot is split between 4 perspectives of the crisis. One is the found footage of a woman trapped on the island and she recounts how everything started and how she came to be trapped. The other cameras mainly focus on the hospital and a doctor there who keeps in touch the local CDC office - keeping survivors to date on the situation.

The other storyline centers upon a family who leave the island on a boat just before the crisis starts who are unaware of the mayhem ensuing on the island behind them. The family return towards the end of the film to discover the town littered with dead bodies.

I like how the film has multiple focus points and storylines which is what makes it unique among found footage films - which usually have a single camera in one location. The special effects were good, with the boils on the peoples skins looking realistic and disgusting.

The flicking the camera  from location to location does make the film seem slightly disjointed at times, and the filming style tends to be more documentary-like rather then horror found footage style. That being said, not a bad effort, not brilliant, but one of the better found footage films of recent years. 

 

Black Spot - British Indie Short

Black Spot - 2D version from Faster Productions on Vimeo.

 

“Black Spot” – a new short thriller from Luther Bhogal-Jones – IN 3D!

 

This February the Sussex based film maker Luther Bhogal-Jones invites you to 6 minutes of mayhem, delirium and violence in the short roadside thriller “Black Spot.”

 

Paul is stranded on a lonely country road when his car fails to start. He walks through a melancholic landscape of missing person posters and floral tributes to roadside deaths, before chancing upon another car, but one which ironically is also broken down. Not only will this car provide Paul with salvation and suffering, but force him to face his own recent past actions and a provide him with a potential chance to redeem himself…

 

Shot on a miniscule budget, with a £28 3D camcorder a little larger than a Blackberry, Black Spot is another short, sharp shocking ride following the success of “Creak”, Bhogal-Jones’ previous horror short from 2012.

 

Black Spot was shot in one day in June at the bottom of the South Downs against an increasingly temperamental short lived camera battery life whilst also rallying against constant stop/ start rain showers. Additional shooting was done several months later at a flat in Brighton for the pivotal flashback sequence.

 

“I’ve always had a love of 3D films even though they’re tarnished with being gimmicky” explains writer/ director Bhogal-Jones “The red/ cyan 3d imagery is such an iconic image from cinema’s history - as well as related so closely with the world of horror and sci-fi - and I’ve always wanted to make a film with that classic look.”

 

With a relentless soundtrack from Brighton composer Mikolaj Holowko, Black Spot is a 6 minute aural and visual assault with an extra dimension which is sure to stand out from the horror short film crowd.

 

Black Spot can be viewed online now at www.vimeo.com/fasterproductions

 

3 versions of Black Spot are available to view – a 3D version requiring the classic red/ cyan 3D glasses, a stereoscopic 3D version for viewing on 3D tvs and a standard 2D version for those who cannot view the 3D – though Luther recommends a 3D version, as that was the main reason for making the film.

 

For more information on Faster Productions, please contact us at

 

fasterproductions@yahoo.co.uk

 

www.facebook.com/fasterproductions

 

@fastermovies

 

Raze (2014)

Raze is an extreme low budget horror with plenty of over-the-top violence. The film begins with Rachel Nichols being released from a cell in an underground prison. She meets another women in the brightly lit red corridor. The pair soon find themselves in a stone walled circle and it becomes obvious to them both what this area is for - its a fighting ring.

The other women, Sabrina (Zoe Bell), launches a vicious attack on Rachel Nichols, knocking here to the ground and hitting her with punch after punch until her face is nothing more then a bloody mush. The scene is very disturbing especially the wet pounding noises of the punches.

The fact that the best a most well known actress in the film dies within the first 5 minutes, is the biggest let down and most ridiculous part of the film. The rest of the film basically involves scene after scene of the same extreme fight violence, in which Sabrina must fight against the   many other imprisoned woman.

Their captures tell them that the last remaining women left alive in this gruesome fight tournament will be set free. The film is basically one gory fight after another with little meaningful dialogue or character development in between. If pure violence and gore is your thing then this is the film for you. Overall though Raze is a poor effort with a completely predictable ending.

Raze (2014)

Raze is an extreme low budget horror with plenty of over-the-top violence. The film begins with Rachel Nichols being released from a cell in an underground prison. She meets another women in the brightly lit red corridor. The pair soon find themselves in a stone walled circle and it becomes obvious to them both what this area is for - its a fighting ring.

The other women, Sabrina (Zoe Bell), launches a vicious attack on Rachel Nichols, knocking here to the ground and hitting her with punch after punch until her face is nothing more then a bloody mush. The scene is very disturbing especially the wet pounding noises of the punches.

The fact that the best a most well known actress in the film dies within the first 5 minutes, is the biggest let down and most ridiculous part of the film. The rest of the film basically involves scene after scene of the same extreme fight violence, in which Sabrina must fight against the   many other imprisoned woman.

Their captures tell them that the last remaining women left alive in this gruesome fight tournament will be set free. The film is basically one gory fight after another with little meaningful dialogue or character development in between. If pure violence and gore is your thing then this is the film for you. Overall though Raze is a poor effort with a completely predictable ending.

You're Next (2013)

You're Next is part of the "Mumblegore" sub-genre of low budget indie horror. Recent additions to this increasing popular sub-genre are House of  the Devil , The Innkeepers and VHS. The best way to describe this "Mumblegore" (ridiculous name) is a mix or art house  and old school horror.

Anyway lets talk about the film. The Davison Family decide to have a family reunion at their huge mansion in the country. Tension run high among the siblings and arguments soon breakout during the lavish banquet the family gather for in dining room in the evening.

The stormy reunion is soon interrupted when a group of men wearing animal masks break into the house and start terrorising the family. The masks look really creepy and include a Lamb,Wolf and a Fox.

As the Davison family clan gets picked off one by one by the intruders, one of the family decides to fight back; Erin, the wife of one of the families son's who apparently grew up on a Survivalist Compound (convenient), puts her survivalist skills to use using survival tactics, and setting nasty traps for the masked killers.

When only a few of family remain, a huge plot twist is revealed, at twist that makes Erin's survival even more difficult. The the bloody deaths that Erin inflicts on the intruders are original and grizzly, the best of which involves a food blender being stuck into a mans head.

I loved the whole feel of this film. It was perfectly paced with lots of tension, creepy scenes and atmosphere. Ti West's is quickly becoming one of my favorite horror directors, and You're Next is his best effort so far. Sharni Vinson's performance as the final girl, Erin, was superb, as were the performce from the rest of the mostly unknown cast. 

You're Next is a well written violent gore-fest with some truly memorable kills involving axes, nails, meat tenderizers and of course the infamous food blender scene, and is one of may all-time  favorite survival horrors.

You're Next (2013)

You're Next is part of the "Mumblegore" sub-genre of low budget indie horror. Recent additions to this increasing popular sub-genre are House of  the Devil , The Innkeepers and VHS. The best way to describe this "Mumblegore" (ridiculous name) is a mix or art house  and old school horror.

Anyway lets talk about the film. The Davison Family decide to have a family reunion at their huge mansion in the country. Tension run high among the siblings and arguments soon breakout during the lavish banquet the family gather for in dining room in the evening.

The stormy reunion is soon interrupted when a group of men wearing animal masks break into the house and start terrorising the family. The masks look really creepy and include a Lamb,Wolf and a Fox.

As the Davison family clan gets picked off one by one by the intruders, one of the family decides to fight back; Erin, the wife of one of the families son's who apparently grew up on a Survivalist Compound (convenient), puts her survivalist skills to use using survival tactics, and setting nasty traps for the masked killers.

When only a few of family remain, a huge plot twist is revealed, at twist that makes Erin's survival even more difficult. The the bloody deaths that Erin inflicts on the intruders are original and grizzly, the best of which involves a food blender being stuck into a mans head.

I loved the whole feel of this film. It was perfectly paced with lots of tension, creepy scenes and atmosphere. Ti West's is quickly becoming one of my favorite horror directors, and You're Next is his best effort so far. Sharni Vinson's performance as the final girl, Erin, was superb, as were the performce from the rest of the mostly unknown cast. 

You're Next is a well written violent gore-fest with some truly memorable kills involving axes, nails, meat tenderizers and of course the infamous food blender scene, and is one of may all-time  favorite survival horrors.