Simply Perfect

How sad is this?

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I really do believe that with a couple of rare exceptions that once you've seen one found footage movie you truly have seen them all.This is another that is presented in the form of evidence footage, it covers several different groups and there last moments on earth in the forest.What's after them you ask? Well, it's not entirely explained and like most movies of the genre you don't see all too much.So what do you see? A lot of average character development, a ton of shaky cam work and the usual screaming. Lots, and lots and lots of screaming.Sadly that's about it, very little happens and when it did it leaves you questioning why they even bothered.It's not the worst of its kind of seen, but it's still a mess devoid of entertainment value.The Good: The red eyes though ridiculous certainly are memorable The Bad: Very slow Usual clichés No originality at all Things I Learnt From This Movie: The whole found footage genre needs a reboot

I give this an extra star for creativity, but that's about it.The FBI computer interface emulation is pretty original, but putting the videos in a random order made the movie seem like it was taking itself too seriously. I really wanted to like this movie, but it makes the same mistake a lot of movies do - they make the dudes jerks to try to make them look "cool" so it's impossible for me to feel anything but contempt for their characters. The same goes for the girls who seemed catty and unapproachable. I don't think young people act like this, and if they do, I fear what the world is going to be like when they're in charge.I think the biggest problem in found footage movies is that people in real life generally tend to suppress their nasty sides in front of cameras; so footage movies made where the characters act like immature buttholes is very unrealistic to me.The werewolf thing is okay, but the problem is obvious - they could only show so much of the costume/prop or else it'd look fake. That's fine, but the scenes weren't suspenseful enough for me to care when it did.In the end, everyone dies, and I was happy that the movie was over.

THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT has a lot to answer for . It started a fad for what became known as " lost footage film " and you can think of a couple more off the top of your head . You also know how formulaic these movies are too and when you've seen one you've basically seen them all . You know , improvised realist acting that appears too wooden or too over emphatic to be real and video scenes that conveniently relay the whole story intercut with random scenes trying - and utterly failing -to paint a picture of a day like any other that ultimately ends in horrorEYES IN THE DARK continues the trend and yet for some reason I found myself enjoying this film much more than I did with the over hyped and overrated BLAIR WITCH and the big budget CLOVERFIELD . I'm not going to make any claims that EITD is some de facto masterwork of cinema because it's not and is merely a low budget horror film shot on a video camera being waved about . But what it does it does better than most films in its ilk and it simply does it by having the actors shriek and act terrified at some noises just out of sight . I found some of the scenes very creepy which surprised me since I wasn't expecting much from the film and perhaps that had something to do with it

In Bjorn Anderson's Eyes in the Dark, recovered video files discovered by the F.B.I. showcase the perilous story of a group of college students who while on a trip in a remote cabin, come face-to-face with a mountain legend that brings evil and ultimate death to all those it meets.Shot in POV (or as some like to call it, Blair Witch-style), Eyes in the Dark effectively uses the dark and the terrifying idea of eyes staring back at you from the black abyss to develop a story told through multiple media devices.The results are every bit as scary as they are uneven. The scary does eventually befall those patient enough to wait out the set-up. There are creatures in them there hills and their wolf-like howls are just as terrifying as their red glowing eyes.Shot on an estimated budget of $100,000 (source: IMDb.com), Anderson uses his limited balance wisely and keeps the reveal of the creatures until the final reels. Even with their identity shown to the audience, the camera angles are such that long detailed views are impossible. This can either work effectively (see Cloverfield) or can be utterly annoying and Eyes in the Dark walks the thin line between both.Unfortunately, the film is dragged down by some of the inferior acting of the small ensemble. Wayne Bastrup and Paul Eenhoorn stand out in their individual performances but the remaining cast seem at times uninterested in Bjorn's script or at the very least, unsure of how to deliver their lines. And a sub-plot storyline about jealousy amongst the young college co-eds just doesn't seem to resonate as anything of importance.Eyes in the Dark has played on the festival circuit with stops at Stiff 2010, Killer Film Fest, Local Sightings Film Festival and as an official selection at the 2010 Fright Night Film Fest.www.killerreviews.com