While these films don’t genuinely freak me out, I do find them entertaining. I don’t consider them quality horror films, but they’re engaging enough. The brand appears to be running its course like any other moderately successful horror movie franchise.
Young teens Jesse (played by Andrew Jacobs) and Hector (played by Jorge Diaz) are on summer vacation and don’t have much to do. That is until the murder of their neighbor leads to certain developments that can only be classified as supernatural. After sneaking into the neighbor’s apartment, the two find freaky and bizarre ritualistic artifacts. One item included a journal with strange writings. As a result of handling the journal, Jesse himself begins to find these marks on his body. He follows it up with strange behavior that signals to his family and friends that he could be possessed.
What I liked:
It was fun and suspenseful. I enjoy that these films use relative unknown actors to give it a sense of “realness” if you will. And the effects with the found footage worked well. I appreciate that each film tries to connect with the earlier films to answer questions, however this requires that you’re a loyal fan of the franchise. If this is your first time seeing it then you’ll have questions.
If these films succeed anywhere, it’s certainly in the comedy department. It offers a healthy dose of comic relief, sometimes intentional, and sometimes not. Either way it’s no matter to me!
What I didn’t like:
It has its fair share of horror movie tropes. Certain characters make dumb decisions making it easy to root for something bad to happen to them. I’m also starting to wonder if this franchise is running out of ideas. One of the biggest motivations to make more is the sizeable return on investment that comes along with its relatively low budget. Dollar signs may fuel this more than creativity.
Overall: I think it was a slightly better film than the fourth, but in general I don’t hold these up to very high expectations. It should satisfy loyal fans, but I don’t imagine it will do more beyond that. There is another sequel in the works which will certainly be a test as to whether these movies are all out of ideas or not. I would like to see it go in a different direction, but it’s also difficult to want to change a tried and true formula. But hey, at least I’m curious.
Rating: 2.5/5