To see a horror movie with a rating above '6' on IMDb is almost unheard of. Especially a found-footage one. That is reserved for the truly elite, so I'm a little surprised in myself that it took me this long to check out 'Grave Encounters'. But alas I did, and I'm glad I did. It's a very well made horror film.While it does follow a very similar formula to all the other found-footage movies out there I found it interesting to read in the trivia section that the director intended to differentiate his film by being less subtle. Whilst I've always maintained that 'Paranormal Activity's greatest strength was its subtlety I can understand why a film going in the opposite direction can also work. 'Paranormal Activity' was set in a family home, so being subtle and having things happen that could actually happen in any old audience member's house is always going to be terrifying. However when your film is set in an abandoned mental asylum I think you are implored to go the other way and actually show terrifying images in a dramatic way. Each film got it right with the direction they went in in my opinion.The film is very well paced and certainly will succeed in scaring audience members in certain spots. One of the only flaws I'd like to have seen them leave out was the opening scene. I'm of the opinion that when you have no idea how the footage was found or who's being shown it it is much more impactful. I believe there is a sequel to check out so I guess that will be one of my next stops. A good horror movie indeed.

Inspired from those awful & laughable ghost-investigation television programs, Ghost Encounters is a fine entry in the found-footage subgenre of horror when compared to its counterparts, for it makes good use of genre elements over the course of its runtime to carve a few scary & effective moments but still fails to leave a memorable impression once it's over.The story of Grave Encounters concerns the crew of a ghost-hunting reality television show who decide to lock themselves up inside a reportedly haunted & abandoned mental asylum for a night to document the paranormal activities on camera. But as the night progresses, they discover that the building is more than just haunted and encounter much more than they bargained for.Written & directed by The Vicious Brothers, the notoriety surrounding the mental asylum is quickly skimmed over and the main plot kicks into action soon after all the character are introduced. The filmmakers strictly adhere to the format of those paranormal reality programs by taking this story through the same route, however, unlike those episodes, things do get intense & interesting after a while.Also, unlike most found-footage features, the POV shooting does make sense here and the night vision camera-work & hand-held photography is properly carried out. Editing provides a good pace to the story but the change in direction that its plot later undergoes was uncalled for. As for the performances, the cast plays their part well but none of them ever manage to stand out.On an overall scale, Grave Encounters delivers some good scares and keeps them coming throughout its runtime but even though some of those frightening moments are downright chilling, they still carry a tone of familiarity, for it's something that most horror aficionados have encountered before. Not a bad start to their filmmaking career, The Vicious Brothers' directorial debut does get many things right but just not enough to set itself apart from the norm.

"Grave Encounters" was a cleverly done found footage film. In this case the found footage was professional unedited footage. "Grave Encounters" is the name of a reality T.V. type program akin to Ghost Hunters. Lance Preston (Sean Rogerson) and his team go from site to site trying to find evidence of the paranormal. Their final venture was to an old abandoned psychiatric ward which is storied to have ghosts.The way this movie is done is just right because Lance does this show but he's a complete skeptic. You can keenly see when the production team's skepticism turns to excitement, then to fear, then despair. The build up was superbly paced. It was scary enough that they were in a pitch dark old building without having freaky stuff happen right away. They did a good job just letting the setting soak in to put the audience on pins and needles. In found footage style the silence helps set the mood as opposed to music as is used in traditional scary movies.I think the acting was dynamite, especially from T.C. (Merwin Mondesir). You really felt that the entire ordeal was getting to him in a major way. I could see myself in his reactions.This was a spooky movie and everything lent to that; the setting, the lack of music, the acting and of course the events that unfolded. It's hard for me to rank this scary movie but it is a good 'un.

For Tribeca Films, The Vicious Brothers direct this horror flick about a group of paranormal-investigators trying to boost ratings for their TV show. Lead investigator Lance Preston(Sean Rogerson)is to the point of even paying for fake interviews and evidence. This sixth episode they are filming will take place in a derelict psychiatric hospital. Hoping rumors are true, they should be able to capture things that go bump in the night while the cameras are rolling. The film crew is disappointed that nothing has happened; that they know of. Soon the ghost hunters become the hunted and trapped by lobotomized spirits.The location(in Vancouver, Canada)is eerie, even with the lights on. If you don't scare yourself, there is enough atmosphere and creepy scenes to raise the hair on the back of your neck. Some of the characters get very irritating; but the stars of this reality show don't stay together for long. Surprisingly worth your time.The cast also features: Ashleigh Gryzko, Shawn Macdonald, Ben Wilkinson, Juan Riedinger and Bob Rathie.