Use of Budget
The filmmakers used their £1,200 (approx $2,350 US) budget mostly on DV tapes, food for cast and crew, props, and rehearsals. If you can’t afford to pay a cast and crew, it is always a good idea to have food and drinks (non-alcoholic, at least until after the martini shot) available for them. Very few people will continue to work the demanding hours required by an independent film without some sort of compensation. If they do, their sanity just might be in question.
Probably the largest issue in this film is the need for correction of the rendering flaws. Maybe it was caused by a glitch in the software or something along those lines. Such a glaring problem needs fixing, by re-rendering the transitions, purchasing new software, or re-editing the film. It appears money needed to be in the budgeted to purchase or rent a steadicam or another device to stabilize some of the handheld shots.
But when the tape begins to show
things that haven't happened yet...
...Neither one of them are prepared
for the consequences.
Lasting Appeal
This movie has a great psychological element to it. The combination of eerie music, whispering sound effects, handheld visuals, and its very unsettling concept, really gave me goosebumps. I would imagine that this film could easily find an audience among the fans of other psychological thrillers, such as Twelve Monkeys, or any one of M. Night Shyamalan’s famously creepy films.
Overall Comment
This film ties into one of our deepest fears – that of being watched, but it goes one step further. In this age where videotaped evidence can be damning, the fear of being falsely accused of something, particularly due to a misleading image, is a prevalent one. This film effectively combines these fears, with the psychological possibility that an image can control the future in some way, and perhaps not for the better.
The
author of half a dozen screen plays, two novels, and a proficient
camera-woman in her own right, Monika
DeLeeuw-Taylor is Microfilmmaker's lead writing analyst and
one of our top film reviewers. When she's not writing a critique for
Microfilmmaker, she's writing screenplays for Viking Productions.
