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As I stated before, crafting films involves a complex skill. Documentary and fiction are two genres that you need to blend. It is clear that it involves a film, therefore it has all the basic elements like the introduction, dramatic build-up, some action, and the ending. It is important to meet the expectations set by a film. However, for a to be effective, the filmmaker has to fulfill all the requirements. It is necessary to have an actual subject that needs to be documented, there has to be a cast of ‘filmmakers’ to operate the doc, and there has to be some level of expectation from the doc.
The benefit of choosing the fake doc style is that it provides an explanation for the camera to be active at all times. You are trying to capture everything since it is needed to present the events that occurred. This is why BLAIR WITCH works for me she loses her grip on reality and resorts to the movie as a defense mechanism. In the face of chaos and horrors, the world through a lens appears to be manageable and controlled.
HOWARD’S MILL is a movie presented as a documentary exploring the case of a woman who went out missing while treasure hunting alone with her husband.
The documentary is looking into the vanishing of the woman and her spouse who also happens to be the main suspect. The two of them were on an old deserted farmstead for decades where they were ‘treasure hunting’ with metal detectors. They go their separate ways to search the land and the wife just vanishes. As the filmmakers try to make sense of the case, they uncover other similar cases of disappearances on the property and suddenly the mystery isn’t just about one woman, but many and what it all means. After her husband joins the crew and they start filming, it becomes clear that what once seemed like a straightforward case of missing persons has turned into something darker and more complex.
I have to concede, that I was taken aback that I have not come across this and do not have any knowledge of it. However, it portrays a sore topic of discussion there are A WHOLE LOT of films available now and it is a found footage film on Tubi with The WORST movie poster, my gosh! but this is WAY better than you would anticipate.
They tackle the documentary aspect very well with plausible interviews as well as a style that reminds you of the crime docs that are so popular nowadays. On the other hand, when things do change and the greater mystery begins, we are also given too many theories that explain what ELSE could be happening in the area which, once again, represents the Everyone Is Nutty side of the docs. What they do is, quite masterfully, slowly peel away the layers of this story so that you start to understand that everything, and I mean everything, is completely different from what it seems to be.
Everyone does a wonderful job, which casts the film with believable characters and convincing storylines that are creepy and make some wonder if is this real. The documentary aspect is handled very well and they stick to it. The film does not stray away from the central premise nor does it try to be something it is not.
My big disengagement is that of the, quite literally, I guess there are mysteries, a lot of them, that are left unsolved.
It does the job, and I actually kind of enjoy it, but once you start asking too many questions, you will be pulling loose threads to a deeper mystery. Anyone expecting something more fast-paced, well, you will be let down. This is a more refreshing approach to horror where it slowly builds up and when you ponder over it by the end, it ensnares you completely.
Be attentive to the credits because there is one last thing which, if I must say, any seasoned film veteran would understand how it will come.
This is an excellent movie. My wife and I were a bit blown away at just how good it was. It is also a shame no one is talking about it because, despite the underlying problems with found footage films, it is one of the more solid found footage films, and done right.
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