User Reviews

I think the marketing for this movie was GENIUS. They definitely fooled many media outlets with its convincing story. The movie itself is quite simple to be honest. Not that its a bad thing. So the story follows 4 friends (3 guys and 1 girl) who pick up a girl while they are out in their limo and bring her home. After a lot of partying and whatnot, they decide to do cocaine that they bought earlier that night.

Unfortunately, the new girl takes too much and dies of an overdose in the bathroom. Everyone flips out and now we have our story! The death itself actually doesn't happen until about halfway through. The whole half basically just shows them in the limo and in the apartment where they party. Whether you like the characters or not, you get a sense of how they are by the time the death happens. Once the girl dies it becomes incredibly intense. They start arguing about what they should do and it's kind of scary! It's one of those movies that makes you ask yourself, "What would I do in this situation?"

This movie isn't necessarily a horror movie, but it is scary because it's something very real and possible in the real world. How many times do you hear of people having an overdose in the news? This is basically a fictional first-hand account of one of those events. I think it serves as a lesson to our young generation of teens who need to be able to control themselves when it comes to peer pressure.

Like I mentioned earlier, it's a very simple premise, but I think that is an advantage of this movie because if it got too complicated, it might not seem as real. I think that was the goal of the filmmakers, to portray something very real and convincing. That's how Blair Witch Project was back in 1999, which is a movie I hear was a great inspiration for this movie. The story for that was incredibly simple. A group of 3 friends go into the woods for a school project and then they get terrorized by ghosts.

That movie, along with this, had an established "mythology" to back it up as context. Blair Witch had the "legend" and this movie had the publicity it got years back when a video was uploaded online showing the girl who overdosed. Although I don't know if this can be as successful as Blair Witch, it has potential if given the right opportunities. I wish the filmmakers the best of luck in the future because they think differently than most filmmakers who want to create a horror-esque movie, especially in the found-footage genre.

While the movie itself is not ground-breaking with the found-footage genre, the back-story definitely is and I respect all they went through to make this happen. If you like horror movies or found-footage movies, I think you should totally give this a shot! It's great that in the beginning they provide you with a timeline of everything that happened.

First off let me say I'm a fan of the found horror footage genre. Having watched not only the popular ones such as Blair Witch, Grave Encounters, REC, etc. I also really enjoyed watching the less well known Haunted Poland, Severed Footage, Exhibit A, etc.

Often I find the ratings of found footage films rather low as they are not to everyone's taste. However, with UPPER I couldn't understand what all the hype is about. At best I give it a 4/10 as I am a fan of the genre.

This film distinguishes itself from other such movies by its astoundingly shaky and out of focus camera. For instance, in the last third of the film, when they are driving towards Greenwitch, there are about 5 min of unfocused black screen with only shouting in the background. I was about to brush this off as an irritating feature due to the lack of night vision of the camera - when suddenly it is revealed that the camera does have proper night vision.

As for the plot, there isn't much. Basically it's obvious that something will go wrong. There was quite some tension among the "friends" to begin with that I was't surprised (contrary to some) that there would be a whole lot of arguing when something does hit the fan.

To be fair found footage films aren't famous for their plots, however the tension in them towards the end is always palpable. UPPER on the other hand left me rather board all the way through. I honestly can't find any comparison with for instance the Blair Witch Project, which towards the end got me very freaked out. UPPER is in the drama genre and weak at best.

My advice, watch this if you are a fan of found footage films, otherwise skip. Definitely not worth a second look.

Summary: The Upper Footage is extremely boring at times, but its impressive final act compensates for it flaws. 60/100 (C+)

If you are not a fan of the found-footage sub-genre, you will be disappointed with this flick. The Upper Footage is strictly for hardcore found-footage movie fans. It was quite boring and requires lots of patience. It relies on realism and it did a good job because everything looked very real, even though it was obviously fake. The dialog was repetitive at times, also the profanity was constant and annoying at a certain point. But the film boasts enough intense moments and drama to mildly succeed, most of it was in its third act. I watched the first half of the movie with my sister, she was bored, extremely bored. I was a bit disappointed with the first half of the film because nothing happens. However, the second half is impressive and the tension begins, although it is still somewhat slow.

The first half was a total bore, the second half was a little bit more entertaining but quite slow too. Another problem is that the characters were not interesting enough to keep us entertained. There was not enough entertainment here, 60% of the film is people saying the F word like a thousand times... literally. I was like "meh" during the first 40 minutes, and some other parts in the second half. The entire movie was filled with people arguing about things that I did not care. It was just dull, but then I was shocked. The last 20-30 minutes were very impressive, the final act was very similar to The Blair Witch Project. It was shocking to me because I am a huge fan of that movie and this film was very close to it, in terms of realism.

Surprisingly, most of the characters in the final act became kind of likable, especially that blonde girl and the dude that was recording, they were quite smart and believable, the other guys were good too. I also loved a line near the end of the movie from the blonde girl: "I can smell her". If you have seen the movie you know what I mean. The payoff was good enough to me. There was a scene involving a chilling scream near the very end, it was pretty neat, well-done and brilliantly directed. In conclusion, the last act was a decent payoff. While most of the film is a total bore, the final act was impressive, refreshing and looked very realistic. Director Justin Cole has a new fan, I am looking forward to his new projects. (C+)

"The Upper Footage"

It wasn't just bad, it was annoying.

Had it been made prior to "The Blair Witch Project" and just a short film made by a group of friends with a good camera, it would be OK.

I want to state all kinds of negative one-liners but that's not being objective and will get ignored. s in the Found Footage genre were was, "The Blair Witch Project." Quite a few of my co-workers thought that Blair Witch was real. That was due in part to the multimedia campaign elements such as the website.

The Spanish film, ".REC" was great. It was engaging from beginning to end. Not that a real budget necessarily matters but it had about $1.8 million and the money was widely spent.

I found V/H/S to be better than this and that movie received poor reviews. It was crudely filmed but then so was The Blair Witch project but it wasn't dishonest.

I was misled by the list of positive reviews by Internet critics on the Vimeo site as well as the user reviews.

I'll stop short of accusing the film makers of using their own people as shills. For all of the dishonesty, lack of creativity and lack of entertainment value, I'm giving this a 4.

Only because the male anti-hero actors were good. Not being sexist. The females were just one dimensional.

If "The Upper Footage" entertains you then great. I can't stand Ranch dressing, avocados or curry but don't criticize others who do.

If you enjoy found footage films and never watched ".REC" have a look at both the Spanish original and the American version with Dexter's sister, Jennifer Carpenter. The American remake did justice to the original.

If you watched this on Vimeo, the Joss Whedon film, "In Your Eyes" is a better choice for your first Vimeo rental. A nice romance, low key, great acting with characters you liked.

Roger Ebert was the last of the educated and credentialed, objective professional critics. The rest have zero credibility whose one-liner reviews are from a copy/paste cheat sheet.

The best thing you can say about this film is that, like the Blair Witch and Paranormal Activity, the creators managed to create a very real sense of 'this is real; this all actually happened' around it and those comparisons seem to have been made across many reviews I've read.

However, that is where any similarities end.

I've read time and again that the 'found footage' genre is stuck in a rut and that it's all been done to death and should be laid to rest for our own good. On the contrary, I'm one of those heathens that actually thinks that, when done well, it still has bags to offer and can be very effective and often terrifying.

The Blair Witch and Paranormal Activity were nothing new - they just perfected the use of the 'shaky cam' and discovered footage techniques to create very subtle scares and truly play on the 'what you can't see is always scarier than what you can' and Paranormal Activity was so effective at this that it actually had my then girlfriend - now wife - in tears on the couch watching this.

Watching 'The Upper Footage' could well also have you in tears but not for the right reasons, as it's an incredibly slow, boring movie. Classed as a 'horror' (depending where you look), the only thing horrible about the movie is how the main characters treat other human beings.

I found this aspect very realistic, having spent time at university with a number of 'privileged' individuals who didn't care in the slightest about how their actions affected other people.

This appears to be the driving point of the whole movie - how young, rich socialites will - and can - get away with murder, literally, as a direct result of their actions and how they will go to real lengths to cover this up. All in all, this could've made for a real interesting movie but little happens for the first 65-70 minutes. Even when we reach the point where the movie should pick up, it still feels very underwhelming.

Not even the girl that gets picked up near the beginning gets any sympathy from me, as she allows herself to be the entertainment for the rich kids, and as her face is pixelated the entire time she's on camera, it's even more difficult to relate to her in any way.

All-in-all, a pretty poor attempt at a different sort of 'found footage' movie, with little to recommend it.

Blake, Taylor, Devin, and Vlogger Will drive around New York City looking for cocaine and women. Devin finds a young woman, Jackie and all five of them go back to Blake's apartment and an accident happens.

I know this is a very brief overview on the film, because I think it is far better to know as little as possible going in and then after the film look on the internet at the marketing and recent issues. If you wish to know more a quick Google search should give you a wealth of information.

I first saw an article about Upper on Bloody-Disgusting almost two years ago and was intrigued. The marketing campaign was top notch and left me wanting more. I finally have got to see the movie and I was really not sure what to expect. The first half of the movie is a little on slowish side, plus I knew what ultimately was going to happen because of the marketing, but it does a fine job in establishing the young adults for what they are, rich and only worried about drugs, hooking up and themselves. After watching the movie the next day I talked about it with co-workers and wanted to talk even more but I did not want to give anything away so I just encouraged them to view it. It has been two days since I saw the film and I am still thinking about it, which as far as I am concerned is the definition of a good film, to make you think and keep thinking after the film is over. Upper is not an easy movie to watch nor is it an easy movie to review. The best bet is to watch it and decide for yourself. The ending of the film left me angry over what had transpired because these rich spoiled young adults had not taken responsibility for their actions. The film is a commentary on the socialite/"Upper" society and media. It might be a love it or hate it film, but love it or hate it the film should spark some great discussions.

The Upper footage is a movie that blurs reality and fiction. It reminds us the monsters are not always scary men lurking in dark shadows, nor are they the creatures of childhood nightmares, more likely they are the people we may think we aspire to, who maybe we all could too easily become. It is a riveting story of an all too familiar reality, that is so believable director Justin Cole was able to use the real media to help further blur the lines we cling to in order to feel safe as we sit back and get our fill of our favorite genre.

The film is billed as being an edited 90 version of 393 minutes of found footage covering the events of one night in the lives of a group of affluent young socialites. It is a story of privilege, money and affluence gone horribly wrong. We watch as this group shows their colors, in overindulgent petty behaviors that eventually lead to an accidental death and that's where things get really interesting.

So many things about The Upper Footage are done incredibly right. Justin Cole starts with a story that we have all heard, and gives us an all access pass to the entire event. That in itself wouldn't mean much if the acting was flat, or if the dialogue felt scripted. Somehow, everyone comes together to make this feel very organic, lending incredible believability to the film. The marketing is another point that needs to be mentioned as Justin Cole effectively used our ceaseless desire for dirty news via tabloid TV, getting shows like Entertainment Tonight to bite on the "leaked footage" resulting in a blurring of the lines between art and reality. He further plays into that gray area, by not naming any of the actors involved in the film and has even pixilated his own image on the net, giving a true air of mystery to the entire production, and leaving you questioning what you just watched.

I found that all of this played together beautifully well. I was beyond impressed with The Upper Footage and would highly recommend you take the time to check this film out. The film shows how effective the found footage genre can be. It pushes boundaries, and our sensibilities by taking it to the ugly but real conclusion. This film had me literally shaking with anxiety for a moment at the end, I have never before had such a reaction to any film I have watched and I promise there have been a lot. I am already looking forward to what Mr. Justin Cole has in store for us next!

These days anyone with an iPhone and a laptop can make a movie, but how many filmmakers can claim to have created a phenomenon? It's happened twice in the found footage subgenre; firstly in 1999, with Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez's peerless no-budget chiller THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, and eight years later with Oren Peli's spiritual follow-up, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY. These are films that have had a profound impact not only on horror cinema, but on cinema itself, and their fingerprints can be found all over director Justin Cole's scary found footage exposé THE UPPER FOOTAGE. While the extent of the influence Cole's film will ultimately wield remains to be seen, there's no denying that it already represents a genuine postmodern pop culture phenomenon. A full account of the film's turbulent history, written by Cole, is available online (seek it out, it's fascinating), but it boils down to a desire by the filmmaker to perpetrate a convincing and self-perpetuating media hoax capable of transforming a found footage thriller into a real-life snuff movie sensation involving Hollywood celebrities. It's a fascinating conceit, and speaks to not only our fame-obsessed culture, but to the role both social and 'legitimate' media play in constructing our everyday reality. Cole's venture was a rousing success, and what started as an unsubstantiated rumour soon became urban legend, then established 'fact,' reported on by the likes of Entertainment Tonight. Cole was so successful, in fact, that he found himself the target of campaigners outraged (not unreasonably) at the notion of a young woman's death being exploited for commercial and artistic purposes, and a long and clandestine struggle against the powerful parents of one of the actresses in the film, who took umbrage at the content. The fact and fiction surrounding THE UPPER FOOTAGE have become so blurred that it's difficult to know what to take at face value, but it certainly appears that some kind of conspiracy is dedicated to hampering the film's prospects. So there you have it – a textbook example of how to make a movie that stands out from the crowd, one that so thoroughly transcends its own limited trappings that the actual film is almost irrelevant, it's the media ripples that count. But when you strip away the hype and subterfuge, the conspiracy theories and Chinese whispers, what's THE UPPER FOOTAGE actually like? Just as Cole has found himself a victim of his project's runaway success, so does his film. While most genre offerings are at least moderately predictable, dealing in familiar tropes and well-worn clichés, they also pride themselves on their twists and turns, the story elements we didn't see coming. THE UPPER FOOTAGE isn't like most films. There's barely a story to speak of, and, given the extensive media coverage it's received, you probably already know exactly what's going to happen. As such, it's hard to recommend THE UPPER FOOTAGE to anyone whose priority is an action-packed roller-coaster ride, or who's looking for a casual afternoon's viewing. But for anyone who takes their cinema seriously, or has an interest in either the film's history or the wider relationship between the media and 'real life,' it's a different story.

I've long lamented the preponderance of unlikeable cretins in horror films (for convenience of categorisation I'm calling THE UPPER FOOTAGE horror, although convincing claims could be made for a variety of genres). I don't think I've ever watched a movie populated by such irredeemable monsters as those in THE UPPER FOOTAGE. Again, however, the film is an exception; the fact that its characters are soulless, amoral abominations is very much the point. It's as damning an indictment of directionless, hedonistic, moneyed youth as you could possibly hope to see, a drug-fuelled collision of the best of Bret Easton Ellis with the worst of MY SUPER SWEET 16. Cruel, sneering and without a single saving grace, these are horror movie villains of the scariest kind – those that actually exist. Cole holds up a mirror to Hollywood society, and what it reflects is sickening.

As a rule, found footage fails to convince. Cole is as meticulous about his filmmaking as he is about creating a believable backstory, resulting in a finished product that's entirely persuasive. He avoids all the usual pitfalls – a reliance on rigid scripting, use of incidental music, too-good-to-be-true framing, multiple cameras, ostentatious editing – and even manages to circumvent the thorny question of why they continue to shoot after tragedy strikes. The dialogue is largely, maybe entirely, improvised, and the long takes and awkward angles cement the sense of verisimilitude. It's easy to see why so many industry professionals were fooled – THE UPPER FOOTAGE really does look like the real deal.

In the end, of course, it's impossible to strip away the hype and subterfuge, the conspiracy theories and Chinese whispers. Gone are the days when movies were just movies – now they're multimedia franchises, websites, twitter accounts, t-shirts and actions figures, fan fiction. No-budget horror films from unknown directors can't lay claim to such grandiose marketing strategies, but, as Cole has proved, with a bloody good idea, an insider's understanding of entertainment media, and balls the size of Godzilla's, even the most modest of found footage productions can be elevated to near-mythical status. It's impossible to divorce THE UPPER FOOTAGE from the furore surrounding it, nor should we try. It adds an extra dimension to the experience, a spice you just don't get from watching a common-or-garden horror movie. Slow, meticulous and grotesquely authentic, THE UPPER FOOTAGE is a glimpse into a morally vacuous world of excess and casual barbarism, a world where no one thinks of anyone but themselves, and celebrity is a licence to get away with murder. It's not an easy film to watch, and it was even harder for Cole to make, but nothing worthwhile is ever simple. Cole claims to have already planted the seeds of his next project, one he describes as 'a bit riskier.' The mind boggles...

While the Found Footage Horror sub-genre has had its bouts with both failure and outright amazing hits and select cult followings, nothing quite like 'Upper' has been done before. Sure we have had Horror films deal with snuff and the hardcore limits that surround it (such as in 'A Serbian Film' or 'the Poughkeepsie (sp?) Tapes', but not like 'Upper'. The realism behind the camera is almost *too* real, and while we don't get much in the form of character movement or insanely huge plot twists we do get ferocious paranoia and an insane lack for personal disregard.

The film starts off with a couple sentences surrounding the background of the case and how this all supposedly got started (I say supposedly because as of this time it has not been confirmed whether or not this is in fact a real death or a well-played Blair Witch Project hype-up). From there it goes into a quick montage of images and voice overs until we get to the footage itself. Slowly but surely things get started as two of the main characters go in search of drugs. From there it all goes downhill as the partying turns from a fun relaxing night into a careening downfall of regret, fear, and paranoia.

Even the closest of friends and the tightest of circles can be broken down sometimes, and all it can take is one brief misunderstood moment in time to set things in motion. 'the Upper Footage' is definitely THE movie to see for those enthralled with the Found-Footage sub-genre, however if you don't like constant shouting and shaky cam then sit this one out because no one wants to hear you bitch in a review about how you couldn't stand it. You should know that by now, figure out what you like! :)

when i first heard about the movie, i was immediately hooked to the idea and followed it all the way to the recent release. i followed the ups and downs with all the news on the film and to finally see it, there's a great sigh of relief and accomplishment the whole time, i was at the edge of my seat. it was definitely worth the wait, and the amount of publicity this movie gained was just awesome. I'm not going to lie, it had me going the whole time with the plot that bordered the line of fact and fiction. UPPER was like a mixture of The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield. it was great! hopefully one day, i can watch this one the big screen to better enjoy this movie to its full potential.

The Upper Footage is a movie that blurs reality and fiction.It reminds us the monsters are not always scary men lurking in dark shadows, nor are they the creatures of childhood nightmares, more likely they are the people we may think we aspire to, who maybe we all could too easily become. It is a riveting story of an all too familiar reality, that is so believable director Justin Cole was able to use the real media to help further blur the lines we cling to in order to feel safe as we sit back and get our fill of our favorite genre.

The film is billed as being an edited 90 minute version of 393 minutes of found footage covering the events of one night in the lives of a group of affluent young socialites. It is a story of privilege, money and affluence gone horribly wrong. We watch as this group shows their colors in overindulgent petty behaviors that eventually lead to an accidental death and that's where things get really interesting.

So many things about The Upper Footage are done incredibly right. Justin Cole starts with a story that we have all heard, and gives us an all access pass to the entire event. That in itself wouldn't mean much if the acting was flat, or if the dialogue felt scripted. Somehow, everyone comes together to make this feel very organic, lending incredible believability to the film. The marketing is another point that needs to be mentioned as Justin Cole effectively used our ceaseless desire for dirty news via tabloid TV, getting shows like Entertainment Tonight to bite on the "leaked footage" resulting in a blurring of the lines between art and reality. He further plays into that gray area, by not naming any of the actors involved in the film and has even pixilated his own image on the net, giving a true air of mystery to the entire production, and leading you questioning what you just watched.

I found that all of this played together beautifully well. I was beyond impressed with The Upper Footage and would highly recommend you take the time to check this film out. The film shows how effective the found footage genre can be. It pushes boundaries, and our sensibilities by taking it to the ugly but real conclusion. The film literally left me shaking with anxiety for a minute at the end, a reaction I can honestly say I have never before had from anything I've watched, and believe me I've watched a lot! I am already looking forward to what Mr. Justin Cole has in store for us next!

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