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samhain64819
Reviews
The Dark Below (2015)
The Slow Dark Crawl Below Expectations
No context given before we just jump into a slow slushy mess of a production. I am fine with breaking convention but this is just trash. The whole movie is one woman slowly dying of hypothermia as she's forced under the ice by her husband and has flashback that take up nearly half of the film. The pacing is so slow that Jack Torrance should break down the editor's door just to say "My miniseries felt shorter than this garbage! Let me show you how a real psychopath gets things done!" A 2 minute slow mo shot of a guy walking to the camera was the first sign I was in trouble on this watch. The movie is just padding and a few moments of story development. Not that the characters develop AT ALL, such a large portion of time passes through the flashbacks but there is no indication of the characters maturing or changing. The husband is the worst because he just becomes a crazed maniac with no explanation or progression.
People are overrating the mess out of this flick. It is not worth your time. You are better than this!
The Slender Man (2013)
Take A Closer Look!
The Slender Man from 2013 is a no budget, independent, found footage movie about a creepy pasta that a lot of people just don't appreciate. Yes, it has the common problems that found footage has. Yes, the acting and effects aren't good. GET... OVER... IT!!!
For all of the challenges these people faced the overall product is impressive. The story weaves three different perspectives and four different characters together in a fairly smooth and naturally progressive way. The camera is not just a gimic but a nessecary tool for finding the Slender Man that uses digital distortions in the audio and video like radar. The long periods in the pitch black out doors is creepy and unnerving because of the ambient sounds, periods of silence, and a few well placed distortions. Tension does actually build up well in some areas and the fact that the Slender Man appears at random and sometimes with no one noticing him makes it even more scary.
But the best part is that the film makers didn't just retell the story of the Slender Man or rewrite the lore but expanded it. The mythos is well known and easily found, what the Super Movie Bros. did is go further and darker. Incorrporating the idea of desparate parents kidnapping other children to get their own child back adds a new level of horror to the mythos. Imagine how much more sinister the Slender Man becomes when he holds children for ransom and his demands are the children of other people! This is an underrated gem that deserves recognition, 8/10. At the very least, it is a way better attempt than what Madhouse put out.