Hello Everyone,
I hope that everyone out there had a great Christmas. I did; my in-laws and my wife got me every DVD that I wanted and I am currently trying to get through everything that I got, which will take me to the spring at least. I am currently cranking the newest Lady Gaga CD as I write this blog, which is of course totally unrelated to the blog topic..anyway..
On Decemeber 29, I acquired a copy of the mockumentary horror film Paranormal Activity and I just got around to watching it January 5Th. I was aware of the film when it was in theatres but did not get a chance to go to the theatre to see it. This was also the case with the other mockumentary horrors The Blair Witch Project and Quarantine (which I just picked up PVed for 7 bucks). I have no aversion to seeing these films in theatres, I just did not get to the theatre to see them.
I wholeheartedly enjoy these mockumentary horror films and hope to see more of them in the future. Some may say that once you have seen one of these types of films that you cannot really watch them anymore or they lose something because you are familiar with the technique of this neo-genre, however I disagree. As much as these mockumentary horrors are all shot on digital video, often used unknown or non-actors and have limited set locations (1-2 locations in total), there is something different about each one and I will explain what is different between these three films and what I take as a viewer from each one. First I will give a brief (haha...I have no idea no brief) rundown of The Blair Witch Project, and then Quarantine and then Paranormal Activity. SPOILERS WILL FOLLOW. BE AWARE. I DO NOT WISH TO INTENTIONALLY RUIN ANY OF THESE FILMS FOR YOU BUT IF YOU WISH TO SEE THEM AND HAVE NOT STOP READING!!!!
The Blair Witch Project came out in 1999 and hit film and more specifically horror film fanatics by storm. No one saw this movie coming. It cost approximately $ 60,000 and is estimated to have made roughly 248 Million Dollars worldwide, which I believe makes it the highest grossing independent film of all time or one of the highest grossing independent films of all time.
The Blair Witch Project, of course follows a documentary film crew who are shooting a documentary about an urban legend witch (called the Blair Witch...who saw that coming?). The film although not a lengthy film (approx. 81 min.) is rich in mythology and was fueled at the box office by the Internet website and Internet buzz (Many believe it to be the first film that was made as in money by the Internet buzz and chatter about it), word of mouth, deceptive missing posters featuring the three actors in the film which could be bought it some stores and finally what fueled my renting of said film was a sly and manipulative little documentary (really a mockumentary)which featured an introduction to the Blair witch myth/story and interviews with family members of the supposedly missing stars of the film. Myself and many others saw this on local cable and believed the story to be true, however we quickly learned once the film was out that it was simply a playful lie and that the stars of the film were alive and well and that the film was a mockumentary horror film. This film is very Hitchcockian, in that it does not show a witch or any creature in fact, but you believe that horror that the three people are enduring is real and you believe that they actually see something (one moment in the film, Heather is running out of the tent and she yells, "What the F^&K is that?"). This film does not scary everyone but I will admit that it freaked me out when I first saw it and when I do watch it it still creeps me out. The rich mythology, but more importantly the extremely significant box office profits lead to a second and very significantly weaker Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows film, which featured no use of 16mm or digital camera and is not shot from the actors perspective or the documentary style of the first.
The Blair Witch Project is a horror classic (although it is currently only 11 years old) and began a short-lived trend of documentary Horror films (see St. Francisville Experiment) ,which had just now returned with 2009's Paranormal Activity with I will discuss at the end, but next up is Quarantine.
Quarantine (2008) features a reporter and her camera and residents of a 3 or 4 story apartment building and deals with their plight as a super-rabies virus claims them all. Quarantine runs about 89 min, so it is slightly longer than The Blair Witch Project but these types of films tend to be somewhat slow in the beginning and build to a very tense last half an hour and run about 90 min at most. I cannot directly claim this film to be the rebirth of the horror mockumentary that began with The Blair Witch Project because it is actually a remake of a Spanish film called REC (as in record, clever huh?) which strangely runs 85 mins (whoa...I just blew your mind eh?). I have not see REC, but probably should it came out in 2007 and just last year was followed by a REC 2, so obviously it does not end the same way Quarantine does. I could say that REC was inspired by or is in the spirit of The Blair Witch Project, but Quarantine itself is just a Hollywood remake of a foreign film. There's Hollywood for you, quickly adapting filming techniques from independent movies and phasing them into the Hollywood mainstream.
Quarantine, unlike The Blair Witch Project features known, but not big actors Jennifer Carpenter (Showtime's Dexter), Steve Harris (TV's not forgotten The Practice), Marin Hinkle (2 1/2 Men) , Jay Hernandez (Friday Night Lights..the movie not the show, although the show is great as well) and Greg Germann (Fox's 90s hit Ally McBeal). So as you can see using TV or former TV actors means this movie was paid on the cheap, although Jennifer Carpenter probably got thrown a bit of money (just watch Dexter, it's great). The reporter and residents collectively the help of a vet played by Germann figure out is a rapidly acting form of the rabies that infects humans. No until almost the end of the film do we discover throw yellowed newspaper articles pasted to an apartment wall that the virus is tied to a terrorist group and that group has a scientist created a 'doomsday virus' and wouldn't you know that scientist lives in this apartment building, has not been seen by the super for a month, and appears in his apartment to be infected and quickly kills the reporter and her cameraman.
Although the infect have rabies what comes to mind is zombies from George A. Romero's Night of The Living Dead and the rage virus infect from 28 Days Later and the surprising quite good 28 Weeks Later. Quarantine seems to be in the spirit of those two films while at the same time using the techniques of The Blair Witch Project, although not shot on 16mm but on digital video both give a home video feel to the look and sound of the film. Just in case you were wondering Quarantine runs 89 mins ; just under my 90 min limit. Although the reason behind the human rabies virus is eventually shown to the viewer there does not seen to be much of a mythology or backstory there, which is fine, it just does not lend itself to a franchise or to any kind of bleed over to other mediums; specifically books or comics. I will not discuss Paranormal Activity.
Paranormal Activity (2009) was made for approximately $15,000 and has made approximately 107 million in the North America as of Decemember 13Th, 2009. This film features unknown actors; Katie is working now, but Micah does not have anything in the works right now. Both the actors first names are used as their first names in the film, very Blair Witch of director Oren Peli, who is slated to be writing Paranormal Activity 2 slated for 2012...if we make it...haha. The film runs 86 min but the extended edition runs 99 min, but I am going by the theatrical cut's length, so the film is again under 90 min. The trailers for this film made you believe that the house was haunted but it turns out as you watch the film that you discover that Katie is actually being pursued by a demon (i would call it a poltergeist cause poltergeists can movie things but they are powerful spirits of dead humans, whereas a demon is a powerful entity that was never human). A psychic who comes to the house tells her, after she explains that she has been 'haunted' before that this entity is after her and will pursue her if she flees; this is not escape. This tells you that the whole coarse of the film will take place...you guessed it....in their 'haunted house'. Like The Blair Witch Project nothing is really seen, save for shadows, however doors are slammed, voices are heard and tense, screaming behaviour from the terrorized couple ensues. This film begins the rebirth of mockumentary horror that started with The Blair Witch Project, so hopefully you enjoy this type of horror cinema because you are going to see more of it...so get read...change your underwear...turn the lights down and get ready to scream.
All three films (The Blair Witch Project, Quarantine, and Paranormal Activity) take themselves seriously and are presented as truth, however the artifice (artificial nature) of Quarantine is more noticeable because of casting known actors in the film. The Blair Witch Project stared the first cycle of mockumentary horror films (see also St. Francisville Experiment) which was somewhat short-lived. Quarantine was evidence of a rebirth in interest for mockumentary horror but did not go all the way like Paranormal Activity did with their unknown actors and home video style shooting technique. These mockumentary horror films started with The Blair Witch Project, an independent American film, were somewhat brought back to the surface by modestly priced (1.5 mil)small studio Spanish film REC, which Andale Pictures remade and have been resurrected with the low budget sleeper Paranormal Activity. I am hoping that this cycle last longer than the other one cause I can only say with certainty that The Blair Witch Project, The St. Francisville Experimnet and Session 9 truly belong to this first cycle.
I highly recommend all the films that I have mentioned and hope that you have seen them or will take the time in the future to see them
Sincerely,
FANBOY Dave
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