The first time I watched this, I’m pretty sure I had my covers ready to pull over my eyes….just in case. I gave it a second viewing, and yup… I definitely still had to steel myself against any scares.
The Story: The footage follows the crew of a paranormal reality television program who lock themselves in a haunted psychiatric hospital in search of evidence of paranormal activity as they shoot what ends up becoming their final episode. (Wikipedia)
What I Liked: It’s a compelling story, propelled by the strength of their actors, who carried it. The characters are developed enough that it holds your interests. This is considered some of the better found film horror since the Blair Witch, and you can tell that from the beginning. It takes all the great parts of those ghost hunting shows that were everywhere on TV at the time. It has a medium, a host, and a film crew. It has a haunted hospital. And it has ghosts and plenty of scares. As the crew travels through the hospital, sometimes alone, every long hallway and blind corner holds a promise that something might be lurking. Given the first person point of view, you sometimes feel like somethings following you, and it’s exactly what makes these ghost hunting shows worth it!
What I didn’t like: The ethnic character doesn’t make it. This is not a spoiler. It’s a horror movie trope. Any viewer would’ve figured that out. It doesn’t take away from my verdict. Just stating a fact that I hope future horror films can debunk.
Ultimately, it’s tough to sustain this kind of first person pov. Because Grave Encounters requires a lot of stretches of every possible camera angle (and reminding us why they camera was always on), it wears thin some parts.
The ghost mystery isn’t really solved in a clear way until the very end, and in some ways it doesn’t necessarily fit but…
My Verdict: Who cares? This is a strong film either way. And like the Blair Witch, it has a following and begs to be watched. I dare you to watch it in the dark (as I did) and try not to flinch.