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The Feed (2010)
What if one of those ghost-watcher T.V. casts really encountered a malevolent force?
We've all seen those ghost hunter, basically fake paranormal investigator T.V. show on cable - all green night vision photography and mysterious off-camera bumps in the night. "The Feed" asks what would happen if the cast of such a program encountered a real evil force in the process of putting on an episode.
The Pulse T.V. show "Ghost Chasers" is hosting their annual live broadcast from a supposedly haunted old theatre in Pennsylvania. The episode starts with perfectly believable documentary segments about the theatre's history including murders and the death of the business' creepy owner in a fire. The show's cast then turns down the lights and goes in search of spirits. Just as in the real shows, things drag at moments, but shortly the ghosts start showing up and grow more and more threatening. No one is more surprised than the ghost chasers, who seem wholly unprepared for the challenge of dealing with real apparitions.
Made for just fifteen grand in Pennsylvania, this indie horror flick looks much more expensive and includes numerous clever moments and touches that make it well worth watching. Acting is solid with just the right cheesiness for a faux cable ghost show. Seth Drick, as the show's host Todd, and Brianna Healey, as the girl ghost chaser Amanda, are particularly good. The music adds to the whole affair and production values are solid for an inexpensive indie. The movie includes some genuine chills and a lot of fun moments. The ending is a little predictable, but the movie is fun and the fake-T.V. show premise is well done and entertaining in itself.
Overall - "The Feed" is a clever take on the moment when faux ghost chasers encounter genuine evil.
Diagnosis: Death (2009)
A truly strange but funny film
Watched this with some friends. Found it most useful for ridicule, a la MST 3K.
A teenage student (who appears to be 30) and a teacher for whatever reason agree to participate in a drug trial locked into a clinic with a confused doctor (Flight of the Concords' Bret McKenzie), an insane nurse, and, as it turns out, a family of ghosts looking for revenge. They experience hallucinations and explore the mystery of how the ghosts died.
The movie is laugh out loud hilarious with the three main cast member of Flight of the Concords popping in and out randomly. The mystery makes no sense. The sexual relationship between the girl and the teacher would be creepy were she not clearly about as old as he is. The climax is ridiculously artificial.
Basically, grab a beer and make fun of Diagnosis Death and you can have a good time. Take it seriously, and you'll be lost.
Rumor Has It... (2005)
A great idea poorly developed. Wait for the video.
The idea of a film based on the long extant rumor that The Graduate was conceived around true events in the life of a real family was a great one. So much the worse that Rumor Has It does such a poor job developing the concept.
Sarah Huttinger is a young engaged journalist completely dissatisfied with her life and filled with trepidations about marrying Jeff (Mark Ruffalo). She travels home for her sister's (Mena Suvari) wedding and is further depressed to find herself a complete outsider in her own family (hints of Dustin Hoffman completely intended). Her grandmother (Shirley MacLaine) lets slip a hint which leads her to discover that her family is the famed basis of the book, then the film, The Graduate. Further, that her mother may have slept with the man upon whom Benjamin Braddock was based (here called Beau Burroughs and played by Kevin Costner) at just around the time she got pregnant with Sarah. Suddenly, Sarah's lost-in-the-family feelings make sense, and she goes in search of Beau and possibly her unusual heritage.
As I said, it's a great idea. Unfortunately, the outcome is a ham-handed mess, entertaining and funny at some points, dull and rambling at others. The primary story, involving Sarah, her family and fiancé is reasonably interesting. Aniston does okay; Ruffalo gives a solid performance; and MacLaine steals the entire movie in her maybe 12 minutes of screen time. The problem is really in the sections of the film featuring Beau Burroughs. They contribute almost nothing to the through line of the movie, develop no relevant themes, and stop the story dead for long periods of time. My guess is that the character was conceived as a minor, though key player in the plot, but was padded and padded when star Costner signed on. I like Costner, but this creates a big bloated balloon of pointless plot stalling at the center of the film and it brings the film to a dead stop.
The Graduate is a beautiful film, developing its themes gently, ironically and with great style. Rumor Has It tries at moments to mirror the style of the original, but those scenes only serve to point out the weakness of the new version and its in-your-face lack of thematic style.
Not that it's a terrible film. The idea is clever enough to make it worth a rental on video, if only to consider how Reiner and company blew such a great opportunity. There are several good performances, notably MacLaine's, who may rate a supporting actress nomination for her effort. And the gentle climax set in a quiet kitchen is actually quite moving, mirroring Reiner's earlier work and pointing out what might have been had he developed the film from the beginning with no pressure from stars and the many co-producers listed in the opening credits. As it is, all we're left with is a weak film based on a really great idea.