Runtime:
86 minutes
Directed
by: Nigel Bach
Starring:
Nigel Bach... and that's it
From:
Not surprisingly, Nigel Bach Productions
What a movie I only first heard about last night; talk about micro-budget:
Wait, so this ISN'T a parody of found footage horror?
I literally first heard about the film a half hour before I decided to watch it; it was because (you guessed it) of discussion in a horror thread on a messageboard. The tenor of the talk was that this was “so bad it's good” and as this (and its two sequels! Actually, it's a prequel then a sequel; I understand those don't have the charm that this did) are available on Amazon Prime if you are a member... note that in no way this could be considered a quality motion picture, but even if by accident it is pretty darn funny at times.
The important thing to know is that it is literally a one man show here: a random middle-aged dude named Nigel Bach did everything... then again you only see him on camera in the entire film and what isn't “home security footage” is filmed from his iPhone, and for what he says was only a 300 dollar budget! I won't rip on this guy as hey, he has made movies that made its way on a service where anyone can see it (and some can for free); that's more than what I've done. Whether or not that's an indictment of the genre or what Amazon accepts for streaming, that is up to you to decide.
Bach is Tom Riley, who purchases a house at auction and he wants to flip it. I have to wonder, in New Jersey do they really sell abandoned houses with all the s*** still in it, and do they not actually disclose the house history unless you ask? It's New Jersey, so I actually don't have a hard time believing it... anyhow, spooky things happen and you'll likely be reminded of Paranormal Activity. Now, the movie is pretty funny for unintentional reasons. For example, Riley-after witnessing the lo-fi special effects-has an interesting reaction to realizing his situation: he gets mad. Even more so than Micah in Paranormal Activity, he's all “F*** you, ghost! Up yours, demon!”, to paraphrase. I laughed at how he cursed often, made random non-sequitors and how he did not always logically react how a normal person would in this predicament.
It doesn't sound great by making the statement, “Oh, at least Bach has some sort of clue as to what he's doing,” but honestly I've seen incompetence by productions with much larger budgets. Riley does ask existentially why he's still filming if he was only filming the house for the sake of being an aid to flip the house but now there's the whole evil spirit thing; it's not a question he answers. A few times there are things in the periphery and other times there are more obvious sightings. Even if he is copying other films at least this has a logical structure and isn't baffling like The Room, to list an obvious example.
In these modern times, it is now easy to make a film using a smartphone or even what is known as an action camera. Those can be found for relatively cheap and can film in 4K, although image stabilization only goes up to 1080p. The movie should look nice if the lighting (natural or not) isn't bad, but it can't help if the content is atrocious. Bad Ben-the title is explained in the final act-is at least watchable and is not a punishing sit... although not necessarily for the reasons that Nigel Bach intended.
Wait, so this ISN'T a parody of found footage horror?
I literally first heard about the film a half hour before I decided to watch it; it was because (you guessed it) of discussion in a horror thread on a messageboard. The tenor of the talk was that this was “so bad it's good” and as this (and its two sequels! Actually, it's a prequel then a sequel; I understand those don't have the charm that this did) are available on Amazon Prime if you are a member... note that in no way this could be considered a quality motion picture, but even if by accident it is pretty darn funny at times.
The important thing to know is that it is literally a one man show here: a random middle-aged dude named Nigel Bach did everything... then again you only see him on camera in the entire film and what isn't “home security footage” is filmed from his iPhone, and for what he says was only a 300 dollar budget! I won't rip on this guy as hey, he has made movies that made its way on a service where anyone can see it (and some can for free); that's more than what I've done. Whether or not that's an indictment of the genre or what Amazon accepts for streaming, that is up to you to decide.
Bach is Tom Riley, who purchases a house at auction and he wants to flip it. I have to wonder, in New Jersey do they really sell abandoned houses with all the s*** still in it, and do they not actually disclose the house history unless you ask? It's New Jersey, so I actually don't have a hard time believing it... anyhow, spooky things happen and you'll likely be reminded of Paranormal Activity. Now, the movie is pretty funny for unintentional reasons. For example, Riley-after witnessing the lo-fi special effects-has an interesting reaction to realizing his situation: he gets mad. Even more so than Micah in Paranormal Activity, he's all “F*** you, ghost! Up yours, demon!”, to paraphrase. I laughed at how he cursed often, made random non-sequitors and how he did not always logically react how a normal person would in this predicament.
It doesn't sound great by making the statement, “Oh, at least Bach has some sort of clue as to what he's doing,” but honestly I've seen incompetence by productions with much larger budgets. Riley does ask existentially why he's still filming if he was only filming the house for the sake of being an aid to flip the house but now there's the whole evil spirit thing; it's not a question he answers. A few times there are things in the periphery and other times there are more obvious sightings. Even if he is copying other films at least this has a logical structure and isn't baffling like The Room, to list an obvious example.
In these modern times, it is now easy to make a film using a smartphone or even what is known as an action camera. Those can be found for relatively cheap and can film in 4K, although image stabilization only goes up to 1080p. The movie should look nice if the lighting (natural or not) isn't bad, but it can't help if the content is atrocious. Bad Ben-the title is explained in the final act-is at least watchable and is not a punishing sit... although not necessarily for the reasons that Nigel Bach intended.
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