Undocumented (2010)

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bewEws2-54

Director: Chris Peckover

Writers: Chris Peckover and Joe Peterson

 Stars: Scott Mechlowicz, Alona Tal, and Yancey Arias. Peter Stormare also makes an appearance but is masked throughout the movie.

 Synopsis: A small group of documentary filmmakers chronicle the trials and inequities faced by Mexican illegal immigrants. When they join a group of families illegally crossing the border to record the experience firsthand, their truck is pulled over and detained. What happens next plunges their group into unimaginable horror.

Review: While this is a horror film, it is something that could actually happen. I have to preface this by saying that it is extremely hard to watch. I don’t mean that it’s over the top gory or bloody and while there is blood and gore, it’s hard to watch because of how the people are treated.

Some documentary filmmakers decide to film some illegal immigrants crossing the border and get caught up in the middle of some very disgusting border enforcers who have their own idea of how to deal with the immigration issue.

While it was difficult to watch due to the human factor, this was an excellent movie that had all the elements that made it a winner. You rooted for the good guys and hated the bad guys or at least I did. I guess if you hate illegals then perhaps you might like the bad guys but I found them disgusting and despicable. With that said, this movie is quite shocking to watch and it won’t leave a good taste in your mouth but it’s one of the better found footage movies out there. It was well done and well-acted.

 Found Footage O Meter: This found footage movie gets a 9 out of 10 on the found footage meter. For one thing, it’s harsh yet realistic and hard to watch but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Megan Is Missing (2011)

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qolORalWZUw

Director: Michael Goi

 Writer: Michael Goi

 Stars: Amber Perkins, Rachael Quinn, and Dean Waite

 Synopsis: A loosely based fictional account of two teenage girls who meet an online predator and one becomes missing.

 Review: This is one of the most disturbing found footage movies I’ve ever seen. It starts out normal enough – even a little pedestrian but as the movie continues, it becomes something quite distressful and horrifying.

Megan and Amy are best friends. One is popular and the other isn’t but both enjoy each others company. They chat online, meet guys on the Internet, go to parties, drink, and engage in questionable activity for a 13 and 14-year-old. However, once Megan meets Josh online and starts chatting with him, things escalate quickly. Josh is supposedly a 17-year-old surfer who likes Megan but after she goes missing, Amy tries to find her.

This movie has a few brief moments of Megan and what happens but these images become ingrained in your head and you can never un-see what you’d seen. After Amy finds Josh, things go from bad to worse and you won’t be able to forget this movie no matter how hard you try. Let’s just say that you won’t necessarily want to pause on those brief scenes just so you can get a better look – take my word for it. I didn’t find it gratuitous either – just shocking and horrifying on a whole new level.

Found Footage O Meter: Like many of my favorite found footage movies, this one starts out pretty normal, if not mundane. However, it’s the ending or near ending that really raises the stakes and makes this something that would normally be a 4/10 movie into a solid 8/10.

Amber Alert (2012)

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Director: Kerry Bellessa

Writers: Kerry Bellessa and Joshua Oram

Starring: Summer Bellessa, Chris Hill, and Jason Wade

Synopsis: A group of friends on a road trip spot a car that matches the description of an Amber Alert and decide to follow it; things go very wrong with their decision in this found footage movie.

Review: Have you ever thought you spotted a criminal or someone who the police were looking for? What if you followed that person and took matters into your own hands after getting nowhere with the police? And what if that person really is bad and you’re in danger? I have to say that this film pleasantly surprised me.

First of all, I tend to like movies that are somewhat realistic. For instance, people argue in real life, people have normal jobs and normal cars, people do stupid things, and well – you get the picture. The people in this movie do all of those things and it’s refreshing in my opinion.

After spotting the car, the group argues over what to do and what turns out to be a very bad decision was what made this movie different from a few of the others. In fact, the ending is one that I won’t soon forget so without spoilers, let’s just say that it’s not your usual ending that ensures that you can sleep well at night.

 It seems that a lot of people hated this movie and I’m not sure why. Sure, there were some bad decisions but you never know what you’ll do in a situation until you are actually in that situation.

Found Footage O Meter: I give this movie an 8 out of 10 for a number of reasons. It’s realistic, the people are very normal, and the ending is quite shocking.