"Exists", 2014 - Dir. by Eduardo Sanchez
Well, I like found footage films (oh stop rolling your eyes!) and I like movies about cryptozoology, AND I had heard some good things about this film, which was directed by Eduadro Sanchez, of Blair Witch Project fame, so I figured I would give it a shot.
Overall, I liked this film. It was a decent take on the Bigfoot/Sasquatch legend, and as found footage films go, it got a lot of the elements of the technique right, but we'll get to that later.
Our story centers around a group of five friends who decide to go camping at a cabin in the woods, which is owned by the uncle of one of the guys in the group. What he neglects to tell them is that his uncle claims to have had an encounter with Bigfoot, and he wants to see if he himself can capture any evidence of the beast on video, hence the multiple Go-Pro cameras he brings along on the trip.
While traveling to the cabin, (in the middle of the night, naturally), they hit "something" with their car. While investigating the accident, they hear a plaintive wailing in the woods, and decide the best course of action will be to just get to the cabin as quickly as possible. When they arrive, it becomes obvious that someone left the cabin in a big hurry.
Over the ensuing days, they hear more noises in the woods, and catch glimpses of something stalking them. Eventually, they encounter "the beast". I am not giving anything away (I hope) because I think by now everyone knows that this is one of the few "monster in the woods" films that actually shows the monster. What happens during their several interactions with the beast I will not share, but what I will say is that they grow increasingly violent, all leading up to a reveal/conclusion that I will comment on during the actual "review" portion of our show, which is up next.
Overall, I liked this film. It was a decent take on the Bigfoot/Sasquatch legend, and as found footage films go, it got a lot of the elements of the technique right, but we'll get to that later.
Our story centers around a group of five friends who decide to go camping at a cabin in the woods, which is owned by the uncle of one of the guys in the group. What he neglects to tell them is that his uncle claims to have had an encounter with Bigfoot, and he wants to see if he himself can capture any evidence of the beast on video, hence the multiple Go-Pro cameras he brings along on the trip.
While traveling to the cabin, (in the middle of the night, naturally), they hit "something" with their car. While investigating the accident, they hear a plaintive wailing in the woods, and decide the best course of action will be to just get to the cabin as quickly as possible. When they arrive, it becomes obvious that someone left the cabin in a big hurry.
Over the ensuing days, they hear more noises in the woods, and catch glimpses of something stalking them. Eventually, they encounter "the beast". I am not giving anything away (I hope) because I think by now everyone knows that this is one of the few "monster in the woods" films that actually shows the monster. What happens during their several interactions with the beast I will not share, but what I will say is that they grow increasingly violent, all leading up to a reveal/conclusion that I will comment on during the actual "review" portion of our show, which is up next.
OK, the review...
Overall, I liked the film. I thought the acting was very good for an indie film, and I thought that director Eduaro Sanchez and cinematographer John W. Rutland did a good job with the found footage technique. The idea that one of the members of the group is using Go-Pro remote cameras makes sense in the context of the film. However, there were two main problems I found with the technique as it was used here. One, the "shaky cam" during several action sequences made everything very had to follow. However, on the plus side, there is a sequence involving several cast members hiding in a camper that is astonishing. Two, there are times when the film switches from found footage to "standard" film making that I found a bit jarring. I understand why the did it, but when it happens, I found that it pulled me out of the film momentarily. For the most part though, I thought the camera work was excellent.
I mentioned the acting, which again is very good for an indie film. I got a good sense that the characters understood the peril they we in. I had some minor issues with the writing. When, oh when are writers going to stop having characters make stupid decisions? I admit I have no idea what the hell I would do if I was being stalked by a monster in the woods, but please.....I would like to hope that I would make better decisions than some of the people in these films.
I thought the story was actually pretty cool too. It's one of the better Bigfoot films I have seen. There is violence, but there is no "gore for gore's sake" as it were. The biggest issue I had with the whole film was the ending. I wasn't sure what was going to happen. Would it be a "lone survivor" film? Would it be a "no survivor" film, with people "finding" the footage later on? Well, I won't give it away, but what I will say is that while I understand what they were trying to do with the ending, ultimately it was a bit of a let down and a cop out.
I like the fact that they decided to show the monster quite a bit. I thought the makeup effects for the creature were well done. It would have been very easy for it to veer into "silly" status, and I don't think it did.
Overall I did like "Exists", and it is definitely worth a watch!
Overall, I liked the film. I thought the acting was very good for an indie film, and I thought that director Eduaro Sanchez and cinematographer John W. Rutland did a good job with the found footage technique. The idea that one of the members of the group is using Go-Pro remote cameras makes sense in the context of the film. However, there were two main problems I found with the technique as it was used here. One, the "shaky cam" during several action sequences made everything very had to follow. However, on the plus side, there is a sequence involving several cast members hiding in a camper that is astonishing. Two, there are times when the film switches from found footage to "standard" film making that I found a bit jarring. I understand why the did it, but when it happens, I found that it pulled me out of the film momentarily. For the most part though, I thought the camera work was excellent.
I mentioned the acting, which again is very good for an indie film. I got a good sense that the characters understood the peril they we in. I had some minor issues with the writing. When, oh when are writers going to stop having characters make stupid decisions? I admit I have no idea what the hell I would do if I was being stalked by a monster in the woods, but please.....I would like to hope that I would make better decisions than some of the people in these films.
I thought the story was actually pretty cool too. It's one of the better Bigfoot films I have seen. There is violence, but there is no "gore for gore's sake" as it were. The biggest issue I had with the whole film was the ending. I wasn't sure what was going to happen. Would it be a "lone survivor" film? Would it be a "no survivor" film, with people "finding" the footage later on? Well, I won't give it away, but what I will say is that while I understand what they were trying to do with the ending, ultimately it was a bit of a let down and a cop out.
I like the fact that they decided to show the monster quite a bit. I thought the makeup effects for the creature were well done. It would have been very easy for it to veer into "silly" status, and I don't think it did.
Overall I did like "Exists", and it is definitely worth a watch!