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After reading most of the other reviews, I thought I was in for one of the scariest movies I had ever seen. I couldn't have been more surprised.But something about it just kept falling short for me, and I don't really no why. Creepy atmosphere? Yep, extremely creepy, but just not filmed in a way to maximize it.Jump scares? Yes they were there, but for some reason they just weren't really scary. Perhaps they were telegraphed to the point that I knew they were coming.Creepy ghosts? Yes, but once again they just fell short of being scary for me.I wouldn't say this is a bad movie, because the acting and everything is pretty solid, it just wasn't really scary. All the right elements were there, between the location, sound, etc., it just didn't really do it for me.***Minor Spoiler Alert*** In fact I found myself picking out spots in the movie that WOULD have made great places for jump-scares and surprises, but they just didn't get used for that. Ex: it's a horror film staple these days to have the camera on a particular character, pan away from the character, then return to them a moment later with a ghost/monster right behind/next to them. It's cheap, but it works well. This movie had TONS of places where that would have been fantastic, but I don't recall seeing that technique used even once.There were all kinds of long, dark hallway shots that would have been perfect for showing a ghost/spirit in the background, but it never happened. The movie was filled with shots of the characters roaming the dark halls of an abandoned mental asylum, walking blind into dark/creepy rooms, so I was waiting for them to round the corner and have something scary right there in your face, but that never happened either.I'm not saying all horror/scary movies should follow the tried-and- true techniques all the time, but this movie could have really been well-served to use a few of them.I'm giving it a 5/10 because although it wasn't a bad or poorly produced movie, it just wasn't really scary for a horror movie. Plenty of other people thought it was though, so by all means check it out if you're so inclined.

I like the cheesy start, which wasn't overdone, although maybe some indication as to what happened to the team could have been added. Were their bodies found, did they disappear forever, etc? You'd think that would be the main points for that choice of intro.Some good laughs starts the film off nicely and then you are unnerved in small increments as creepy events accumulate. When Sasha gets her back slashed off screen you know sh*t is getting serious.The endless hallways, time slips and how the building's corridors and tunnels all led back in on themselves was a really good tension builder. Of course the "let's split up" thing never goes well in a horror movie, but sticking together didn't work out so good for these guys either.There were definitely enough cameras involved, (it is a found film type of production BTW), to give the viewer multiple positions to see what was going on. It's always hard to show the scares convincingly when the character should be running full-tilt away from the monsters and yet still be 'with it' enough to hold a camera on the subject.Very good addition to the genre and a great late night movie. Be warned, you'll be jumping at any noises you hear in your house for quite some time afterwards.

Ghost Adventures is foreplay. Grave Encounters is satisfaction.One of the best found footage films made... genuinely fun, with an interesting script, solid pacing, very creepy and unsettling... Part 2 has some problems, and I'm hoping the final installment in the trilogy rights the ship. I think my favorite line of the first Grave Encounters film is when Lance is so excited that they caught something, and he's just sent Houston to take Sasha back to the lobby, and he says to TC, "If we get that kind of thing again man, we are making MILLIONS!" He sounds so much like the happiest little kid, it's great. I laugh every time. Timestamp: 34:30