The four stories of “The Dark Tapes” have some sharp payoffs with bloody reveals and kind of creepy creatures (made less creepy by cheap voice distortion). “The Dark Tapes” has a hard time digging itself free from this ‘over-explain everything with words’ mindset. The Dark Tapes is released on VOD services globally on 18th April. We don’t need believability bolstered by doling out exact numbers for human sight speed calculations. I’ll call it “quiet horror.” Too quiet, in fact. This exposes the core pacing issue right off the bat. We need character and atmosphere development that is engaging, without getting hung up on background bits. 6 – 1980-2000: Handover & Second Wave, The History of Hong Kong Action Pt. Just when “The Hunters and the Hunted” seems like it is a Cliff’s Notes rehash of “Paranormal Activity,” the story takes a turn that unexpectedly chills the tone in an effective way. This is effective, mysterious, and vibey millennial horror. After a pretty length dry spell, it’s satisfying to have another found footage horror that understands the genre and its inner workings. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about cinema - get access to our private members Network, give back to independent filmmakers, and more. Client Gerry is selected for a private session with Caitlin, during which they both see brief flashes of mutilated figures and dark imagery on their monitors. | May 5, 2017. By © 2020 Film Inquiry. If you're one of those people who think Christopher Nolan is overrated, he probably doesn't like you. It’s also different enough to stand on it’s own, which begs the question whether we have a genre on our hands? Besides one expertly performed moment of the titular character talking straight to the camera for a good few minutes, it’s the hardest of the four shorts to buy into. It’s undeniably ambitious, tackling a handful of intriguing ideas all at once, but the film struggles to balance them. David and Karen conclude it is their dead daughter Ashen. Up first in the anthology is “To Catch a Demon.”  Theorizing that fleeting shapes sometimes seen in sleep states are actually beings from a parallel timeline, a college professor conducts an experiment to capture evidence of these entities on video. It’s a terrifying final sequence making expert use of framing, sound editing and practical effects, but it’s the resolution of this tape that leaves your jaw on the floor when the credits roll. After the incident, Amanda begins behaving strangely, culminating several weeks later when she displays telekinetic levitation powers. While the other films are plagued by small issues, they each have a lot going for them. While exploring the house, Cameron is shocked to find Susan and Geoff brutally murdered. Amanda’s Revenge, the weakest of the four shorts, struggles to find a real identity. I maintain that the first-person frame is unique among conceits for presenting a fright film. My Campy Slumber Party: Xanadu, Muses, and Disco, Oh My! Not only does The Dark Tapes offer more knowledge of horror film making than every found footage film produced in the last few years combined, but it does so across four individual but quietly linked short stories. It’s one of the riskiest genres to experiment in if you want to make a name for yourself as a new director. Unlock access to all of Film Inquiry`s great articles. THE DARK TAPES (2017) Four “found footage” recordings document paranormal activity involving possession, murder, and inter-dimensional demons. Studio:       Epic PicturesDirector:    Michael McQuown, Vincent J. GuastiniWriter:       Michael McQuownProducer:  Michael McQuown, Nicola Odeku, Haldane Morris, Amon Zia Mahmud, Vincent J. GuastiniStars:     Cortney Palm, David Rountree, Matt Magnusson, Shawn Lockie, Stephen Zimpel, Jo Galloway, Emilia Ares Zoryan, Shane Hartline, Anna Rose Moore, Aral Gibble, Brittany Underwood, Jake O’Connor. All Rights Reserved. Caitlin eventually convinces Gerry to cut his hand before going further and compelling Gerry to cut his own throat. Your eyes dart around the screen every time something moves – it’s a brilliant piece of horror film making and the feature’s strongest short by a wide margin. After the minor disappointment of Amanda’s Revenge, though, The Dark Tapes pours everything back on To Catch A Demon (the only segment directed by another filmmaker- in this instance, Vincent J. Guastini) for an explosive finale – and boy does it go all out. The Previous Day – Tape #01 Part A – To Catch a Demon – Year: 2007 – While Jason operates the video camera, physics professor Martin Callahan and his student teaching assistant Nicole prepare an experiment to capture recorded evidence of entities who exist in a parallel reality on an asynchronous timeline. Looking away from narrative and style, the four shorts all have one other thing in common – superb performances. Besides the genre-defining The Blair Witch Project and the more recent critical and commercial successes of the early Paranormal Activity franchise, most found footage horror films tend to pass by relatively unnoticed. The film doesn’t shy away from humour either, there are a handful of effective one-liners throughout. I’d look for greater things to come from Mr. McQuown. An otherworldly entity appears in two separate instances, and takes control of Martin’s body during the second. Writer and primary director Michael McQuown is clearly fascinated with supposed facts behind his fiction, as evidenced by lengthy monologues everyone gives to preface upcoming action. SYNOPSIS: In this story, internet sex performer Caitlin comes to realize that her nightly blackouts have less to do with drinking and more to do with something else controlling her body. You must find out what happens next even when you don’t especially want to. Dark Tape #01 Part C – To Catch a Demon – After the Experiments – Year: 2007 – Martin, Nicole, and Jason recover from their encounter with the entity, but discover that they transported to the asynchronous reality in the process. You could be out of time. Dark Tape #01 Part D – To Catch a Demon – It All Ends Where It Begins – Year: 2007 – A dark entity appears and takes Martin. There are great jump scares, periods of elongated tension, slick editing tricks, jaw dropping plot twists, smart directorial flourishes and mesmerising performances. Then we transition straight into setting up the plot of the second story about a married couple in a haunted home, “The Hunters and the Hunted,” resulting in two consecutive segments of chatty introductions. Is this just like watching any of the versions of Paranormal Activity? The explanation for the twist might feel a little wordy, but it won’t stop your heart rate from skyrocketing. It’s … These stories are also compelling in a way that feels out of control like gambling, hooks straight into the part of your brain that gets addicted. Caitlin and Sindy suddenly appear in Gerry’s apartment, where it is revealed that Caitlin had been possessed by a demonic spirit who was offering human flesh in return for being rescued from archangel Raphael. Even though it's billed as a horror-comedy, Jim Cummings' THE WOLF OF SNOW HOLLOW is something other than a fang-fi…, Blu-ray/DVD New Releases - October/November 2020. The best resource for genre movie reviews and horror pop culture. It’s a possibility. While perhaps a little rough around the edges, Michael McQuown‘s The Dark Tapes is a successful found footage anthology that boasts solid scares, palpable tension and a plethora of first rate performances. It’s a universally well performed film – one of the strongest casts assembled for a horror film in years. Cameron is suddenly attacked from behind. A lot of the film’s missteps can easily be dismissed as inexperience and I’m filled with confidence that his films will grow in strength with every release. Ryan has a degree in Film & TV Production. Starring Emilia Ares Zoryan, Danielle Baez, Katelyn Bailey. As it is, low-budget and all, have a couple of drinks, turn off the lights, and let The Dark Tapes give you some terrible thrills. 4 – 1960-1980: New Wave, How to Analyse Movies #8: Putting It Into Practice, How to Analyse Movies #7: Iconography & Realisticness, How to Analyse Movies #5: Lighting, Sound & Score, MPAA, Studios Fund 12-Step Programs For Women Directors (PARODY), Weinstein Scandal Should Affect The Outcome Of The EEOC Hollywood Probe (THR Guest Column), The EEOC Gender Probe: I Don’t Regret Starting the Fight, Women Directors & The Farce of Networking Programs, FARGO Season 4: Thematically Ambitious But So All Over The Place, THE HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR: A Spooky & Heart-Aching Gothic Romance, WE ARE WHO WE ARE Season 1: An Immersive Gen. 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Found footage horror is hardly the most respected nor acclaimed film making style on the market. but not a single member of The Dark Tapes‘ cast is off key. To even hint at how the film connects its stories would verge on spoiler territory and, trust me, you don’t want this spoiled for you. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The constant shaking up of horror sub genres prevents the film from ever going stale, retaining your interest from the first frame right the way through to the last. Much like the solid V/H/S from 2012 and the borderline masterful V/H/S 2 from 2013, The Dark Tapes is an anthology feature. Digital is the enemy. It’s not that “The Dark Tapes” is a poor film. Amanda explains to Ryan that during bouts of sleep paralysis, she is repeatedly visited by otherworldly beings that perform experiments on her. In early scenes, he takes the time to allow characters to question whether they should acknowledge the camera and generally look uncomfortable around it. Using inventive initial ideas, McQuown and his co-director, noted special effects artist Vincent J. Guastini, bounce on a springboard for doing something slightly different with “found footage.”  Their film just can’t overcome iffy acting and getting caught up in factual grounding that isn’t as intriguing as the screenplay wants it to be.