Greetings readers!
Around this time of year, Netflix always showcases a few
more horror movies to get you in the mood. This week I noticed a film that I
hadn't heard of, yet had a higher star rating than I’m used to seeing for indie
horror films. Turns out, this found footage film was produced by Bryan Singer
and it has a couple of notable stars you may find familiar.
Yes, this is a found footage film, but I personally don’t
have a problem with them as long as the context of the “found footage” is at
least somewhat believable. Of course, it’s horror so your belief should be
suspended a bit. That said, I always wait for when a particular horror film
will pull me out. The “buy out” is what I like to call it.
The Taking of Deborah Logan is a horror film surrounding
the events that occur during a documentary about Alzheimer’s disease. The main
character is going through the painful process as the small film crew follows
her in her various states of coherency. Things turn creepy quickly as evil
forces start taking advantage of the situation and the crew and Deborah’s
daughter (actress Anne Ramsay) are along for the ride.
The story is fairly solid and I found that I wasn’t
bought out as quickly as I thought I would be. Veteran soap and film actress Jill
Larson (As the World Turns, All My Children, One Life To Live, Young and the
Restless), does a fantastic job of creating a character that you feel sad for at
one moment and are terrified by the next. Anne Ramsay plays her daughter and
though she was familiar to me from “A League of Their Own” and “Mad About You,”
she played her role well enough for her fame not to be distracting from the
supposed reality feel of the found footage.
There were some fantastically creepy parts with Deborah
ripping off her skin, showing up in creepy dark places unexpectedly, ranting in
other languages in a demonic voice, and generally acting possessed. There were
also parts of the film that seemed to have incredibly high creep potential, but
for me were underutilized.
High points were:
- Larson’s great performance
- The decision of one camera operator on the documentary crew to do something not many do in horror films
- Shots of a possessed Deborah ingesting things she shouldn’t (see link below...)
- A creepy hypnotized child she takes with her for a little “walk.”
Low points were:
- Some of the actions and acting of the documentary crew
- A slightly convoluted storyline
- Underutilized creepy shots and potential scares
- An ending that was a little too long
All in all, this movie was solid and for those that don’t
mind found footage and/or possession films, you should enjoy this one. It’s
streaming on Netflix now.
The Taking of Deborah Logan on: IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes
Rating: 3 out of 5 Bloody Skulls.
