Movie Thoughts Bundle (The 2000s) #3

In this collection of short reviews, we’ll explore a particular section of the 2000's where found footage horror was finding new and effectively unsettling ways to scare audiences and vampires were proving themselves to still being relevant. 

1. The Poughkeepsie Tapes - 9/10

Thinking back on my history of watching films since my early childhood years of venturing through Blockbuster Video, the most disturbing horror films that I occasionally came across seemed to have been the most tonally realistic. Here enters The Poughkeepsie Tapes which checks off all the right boxes in that regard with its high attention to effectively presenting a raw, visceral, gritty, and realistic enough atmosphere within the format of found footage. Having members of the FBI and police departments be highlighted as narrators of sorts throughout commenting on the incidents of the narrative worked exceptionally well and gave the situation a larger sense of importance. This is what gives The Poughkeepsie Tapes its historical, biographical appeal feeling like an archival documentary about a serial killer on the loose and the terrifying imagery that would follow such a frightening scenario.

The forensics and police work that's being focused on also worked effectively in grounding the situation as being more of a crime study as opposed to a simple torture-porn horror title. As for the actual scare factor, this is one of those extremely rare situations where I felt occasionally swayed to look away from the screen during certain scenes. Really the horror component leans more in the overall disturbing and tension heavy scenarios playing out right before your eyes with the individually victimized people. This is definitely one of those titles that will stay with me for a while due to its unnerving situations reflecting our real world's psychological horrors. 

But honestly, that's what I admire about it so much. It's hard to watch what this killer does to these helpless people...and it should be. The pseudo-documentary style being utilized in replacement of a generic slasher film presentation makes for a genuinely unsettling horror experience not suitable or recommended for everyone. With that type of description, The Poughkeepsie Tapes leans ever so slightly to being a modern "video nasty gem" for hardcore horror fans.

2. Noroi: The Curse - 7/10

After I posted my questionnaire on Facebook about the longevity of found footage horror movies, I was delighted to have gotten a few title recommendations in the comments section. One of those films being the 2005 Japanese psychological horror, Noroi: The Curse. I've honestly never heard of this one up until this point, so I was immediately intrigued to check it out as soon as possible. My original post was about the possibility of the found footage horror genre dying due to its current silence in the market, so being tossed an entry dating back to 2005 (a few years before the genre truly launched its game changing wave of influence) was personally appealing. And now that I’ve seen it, I can certainly say that Noroi is one of the more solid entries utilizing this format for various reasons. The performances are pretty decent and the horror-mystery component is strong enough to keep you legitimately engaged from beginning to end. 

The film immerses you into its pseudo-documentary format letting you know from the beginning that this is indeed an “official documentary” with all the bells and whistles to piece together a complete narrative. Because of this, you're never questioning why the person holding the camera would go above and beyond to catch something or why there's occasional moody music being inserted. Aside from that aspect, you have what I believe to be one of the most effectively carried out supernatural horror mysteries of this genre. The storytelling is pretty notable piecing together different characters from various corners of the film into one twisted tale. Unlike many other found footage horror films, I actually found myself genuinely attentive towards the revelations happening around the research component being carried out by the protagonist. 

Now, this being a horror movie and all, the big question here is "Is it scary?". My response to that would be that it's definitely occasionally unsettling and highly suspenseful. It's all about the unnerving storytelling journey slowly unraveling itself and not so much a constant collection of scares.

3. 30 Days of Night - 9/10

Still to this day, 30 Days of Night remains to be one of the top greatest vampire movies of all time. This modern monster movie boasts incredible visual direction giving its central snowy setting an atmospherically chilling feel. The character design of the vampires themselves are absolutely phenomenal making them effectively walk that uncanny line between looking human and supernaturally animalistic. The same can be said for the unknown language that they use to communicate with one another as well as their all-black attire giving them an old school clan of inhuman bandits aesthetic. There's an incredible sense of tension surrounding these beings when they eventually show up to this isolated Alaskan town to wreck genocidal havoc.

And with the overall solid performances and strong cinematography surrounding the hyper violent action ensuing, 30 Days of Night solidifies itself as being an enthralling vampire flick worth checking out. One way that I can describe this movie would be to call it a blend between the eerie, mysterious ambiguity of Stephen King's The Mist with the kinetic heart racing energy of 28 Days Later. If there was any concern surrounding the idea that vampires have now become either outdated or exhausted in pop culture, this is one of the few movies that can still confidently step in and boldly proclaim that this creature of centuries old storytelling can still legitimately shock and terrorize the likes of modern day filmgoers. All it takes is the right director and studio to be paired with the perfect story at their disposal (in this case the 30 Days of Night comics). 

The only nitpick that I have with this entire movie comes during the final act where our hero finds a way to fight off the lead vampire and things shift from exceptional vampire horror to solid vampire action. I'm sure the comics probably does this, but for my taste, I would've preferred keeping things more steeped in terror and mystery than transitioning to action. That's just me.