House At The Edge Of The Woods

When ever i am asked what physical found footage horror film you should pick up on DVD or blu ray, i have a list of at least 10 films that you really need to see. Horror films within this genre that are not only really solid, but for specific reasons of why you need to see these films. The positive about especially the genre known as found footage horror, is that a lot of films have interesting stories to tell, especially when it comes to some really talented director´s who can create fascinating story telling. Instead of going through a list of all of these 10 films, i decided to pick one of them and let you know why you should get a DVD copy. I am thinking about the 2013 found footage horror film known as Afflicted, directed by Derek Lee and Clif Prowse. The plot sounds faitly simple, two young men prepare themselves to travel across Europe to party and meet girls while filming everything like a travelling vlog. When of the guys, Derek, finds out he is seriously ill after a hospital visit finding out he is diagnosed with AVM, he feels even more inspired to travel. Just in case he doesn´t have much time left on Earth he needs to do this trip worldwide. After a couple days of travelling while going out in France, Derek is found in bed with strange flesh wounds after an evening with a mysterious woman. After this night something seems to be happening with him, as if he becomes more physical stronger than a human being while having other health isses. Afflicted really is a very different approach when it comes to found footage horror films, because this film is clearly inspired by vampire related stories which makes this film fascinating. Very well made found footage horror film from director´s Derek Lee and Clif Prowse. Im hoping we can see a blu ray special edition in the future of Afflicted, including interviews with people who worked on this film. I would suggest though that you pick up a DVD copy and experience this film, definetely worth a watch if you love this specific genre. Speaking of found footage hororr film, i usually try to check out at least a couple of titles within this genre every year, depending on what films looks interesting. I came across a review of the horror film House At The Edge Of The Woods on YouTube from the British film critic Screen Stars. Even if he had some things to say about the film, i did find the plot of this movie to be interesting. I decided to rent it on VOD to see if this would be something in my taste. Is this a must watch during autumn or should you skip this one and go straight to the 2013 horror film Afflicted instead?

Jeremy´s ( Josiah Miller ) father went missing after being seen on surveillance camera walking into the forest towards a shining light. No one knows where his father went, so Jeremy ask a team of paranormal investigators making a documentary about the disappearance of his father. They set up everything around his father´s house, looking into the areas around the house to see if they can find any clues of where he might have went. As the paranormal investigators dig deeper into this case, bizarre things start to happen.

One of the most important details regarding making a good found footage horror film, is making the horror scenes feel creepy, or some kind of disturbing atmosphere. If you manage to do this and tell a good story as well, you are on the right path to please horror fans of this genre. In the case of the horror film House Att The Edge Of The Woods i would say this film divided me a bit. What do i mean by that? I think there are parts of this film that i appreciate, especially the main story of the film and the idea of a team of paranormal investigators who are on this case. Basic set up for a story, but still interesting enough for a found footage concept. And then there are details i feel should have been done better than what the film offers. Before i get to the negative let´s go into the positive first. I think this film looks good considering the low budget, and they use the forest locations in a simple yet effective way that matches the story well. The acting in general is alright where i especially enjoyed the performance of actor Dulvlu Spa, except for one specific character called Jeremy ( played by actor Josiah Miller ) who i felt didn´t work that well. There are a couple of smaller creepy scenes that leaves an impact. And now we have to get into the negative for a bit. As i mentioned earlier in this review it is very important to make a found footage horror film with the right tools. And this is something that this film is missing in certain scenes, this film is not as scary as it should have been. There is nothing wrong with the plot, it´s just that director Brandon Hartsock didn´t make much effort into the horror scenes in this film, and basically just followed a similar path as many found footage horror films in the past with no big surprises. I think if you are going to capture the interests of the audience you need to make the horror scenes effective, or make you feel engaged at least. If you don´t pull this off then you loose a very important thread. House At The Edge Of The Woods is not a terrible found footage horror film, there are a few solid scenes that offers some interesting ideas. But without any really creepy moments or some really effective horror scenes, House At The Edge Of The Woods will not be one of the titles you will remember for any specific reason within this genre. I would suggest that you pick up a physical DVD copy of Afflicted instead, if you really want to see a really good found footage horror film.

Rating: DD