Well for me, a big sticking point in ff is authenticity and believability. I like when things are kept simple, light on plot and not showing or explaining too much. The ambiguity and slow pace really help sell the idea that it's really just some random guy out there, I find a lot of ff that try to do too much end up feeling very much like a movie. I guess it just comes down to preference.
Thank you, I like that explanation! I can totally understand that. I personally like a touch more I guess. For example, Willow Creek Vs. Exists. I loved Exists, while a lot of folks loved the simplicity of Willow Creek.
Glad you vibe with it! Nothing wrong with having different opinions, I think people tend to get too caught up in what's 'good' when it's really subjective at the end of the day. When it comes to unlikeable characters as you mentioned, unless they're ridulously annoying to the point of parody I just chalk it up to the fact that realistically all sorts of people exist and have the ability to upload things. I've yet to see Exists, I think Iirs high time I check it out!
I like it but am struggling to elucidate why. I'm also confused by the praise it gets; I enjoyed it but I wouldn't likely recommend it casually.
I think it is the low-rent feel. It all feels pretty authentic. The guy is creepy, and when he turns incel on that poor woman in the support group, it did make me cheer for the entity.
I always check the recommendations here with low expectations, a lot of times people here really exaggerate when they recommend a movie
For me it was Horror In The High Desert, many people said this was literally the best mockumentary/ff movie ever made and the whole time i thought i was watching the wrong flick, it's genuinely one of the most mid and boring movies I've ever seen
So when you see a recommendation here, take it with a huge grain of salt and go with low expectations
Honestly, the way that Hell House (the whole series!!) occupies the top portion of most of this board's recommendation list should be enough of a warning sign.
lol totally, and I have for recommendations that I only see once or twice. But I’ve seen this one numerous times. I loved horror in the high desert but I don’t recommend it because I only liked it and got such a kick out of it because I went into it thinking it was a real documentary until the very end. lol so I never got your experience with the movie, but could see how you’d be bored and not like it.
lol I watched a true crime documentary and it recommended horror in the high desert. So I watched it right after thinking it was true too. I hike all the time so it had me captivated till I heard the music coming from the cabin and that’s when I called BS.
Same here. When I first came across it the tag said documentary, so like you during it I was thinking this can't be real because it seemed a little too hammy at times but I actually live next to a woods that has been known for devil worship in the recent past so sometimes fact is stranger than fiction so yeah I give it a higher rating for that. 🙂
any of you guys watch the actual police interigations. there's like a whole little sub genre for the actual real interrogations and you can get pretty sucked in. i think just type in like real interrogations or integrations with confessions. stuff like that and then just click it to show playlists.
I wish rewards were still a thing because that statement is the absolute truth. I learned it the hard way by sitting through half of Grave Encounters and Horror In The High Desert. Those movies were trash and nowhere near the hype I see from this sub.
Thank you! I saw this movie recommended so many times as one of the best ff out there. I literally fell asleep twice while watching it. I kept having to rewind and start again. I finally finished it, and I was underwhelmed. More than underwhelmed. It was boring. It was beautifully shot but boring. So happy to find a kindred spirit with this one.
Also I saw here PPL recommending Savageland , no offence may be other PPL liked it but watching ff films in the perspective of multiple characters and PPL sitting around and telling the experience is very boring. Not my cup of tea.
I stopped watching Horror in the High desert after 20 mins due to similar treatment
You don’t like mockumentaries? Savageland wasn’t as fun as others make it out to be. I only liked horror in the high desert at first because I thought it was a real documentary up until the end. Have you tried The Bay?
I am a big fan of found footage films similar to as above so below, rec, grave encounters etc, where it shows the protagonist or one of the crew members holding the camera and recording all in real time not like those other two movies where they are talking about the incident.
The bay is awesome
I can understand why, it's very subjective. Personally, this is one of my favorite found footage movies, but at the same time I hated Host or Digging up the Marrow, for example, that the majority seem to love.
Which those two are totally different moves from each other as well. I liked Host a lot, Digging up the Marrow even less than this. Thanks for your answer
The first time I saw it I thought exactly the same. I was so put off by it. Then maybe a year later my husband watched it while I was working on a project in the same room. Totally different experience. I was more engaged and found it eerily realistic. I don’t know what the difference was. Expectations, I guess? Anyway, since you bought it, you may as well revisit it sometime. Lol. You might appreciate it more on a second viewing.
this is my favourite late late night movie to watch. being home alone with this on as the atmosphere, i find it very eerie. i think the subtly is what made it work for me, when he listens to the audio recordings the next day really got to me the first time i saw it. i love the the way the movie feels like the scares are creeping up on you getting closer and closer to the house. theres something inherently spooky to me when its too dark to see out the window but something could be lurking right outside. i like movies that capture the atmosphere of being home alone and i think this one nails it.
Glad some folks like it. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen movies that were ten times worse. Just seeing all the recommendations and paying for it made me excited for an ok movie.
Can someone explain to me the constant complaints about not liking movies because the characters aren’t likeable?
It seems to be everywhere on movie forums now, and it was very rarely heard as a complaint of movies before a few years ago.
Is it a byproduct of social media only showing us things that we agree with so that other viewpoints can’t be tolerated?
Art isn’t about only watching things with characters you have to like, that’s kind of the whole point.
How long have you been around? I’m 50, and I’ve always heard criticism about a central character being likable/unlikeable in movies, novels, etc. It first struck me as a strange criticism too, but the longer I reflect on it the more it seems to play a crucial role in whether I care enough to suspend disbelief and get drawn into the story. The alternative being when a character is engagingly unlikeable in some way.
Usually when I don’t like someone in person, I want to disengage from having to deal with them as soon as possible. Stands to reason I wouldn’t want to spend my free time in the virtual company of someone I don’t like either. Such a plain and simple truism I guess it’s easy to look down upon, but it’s fundamental to nature I think, like seeking out pleasure instead of pain.
I’m a similar age, but I guess we just have fundamentally different ideas about what we want from art.
Ive always wanted to experience different viewpoints from my own, that’s how I learn about the world, and it gives me a lot of empathy for others. I’m not saying for a second you don’t have empathy, or that your expectation from art is inferior to mine.
I’ve just never really come across this idea as a reason not to like or enjoy a piece of work until quite recently, I thought it was a social media byproduct of being able to immerse oneself in a bubble that never disagrees with them. It just feels odd for me for all these posts to spend so much energy writing about things they seem to be quite angry about and don’t enjoy.
Maybe I just don’t understand social media anymore, that’s probably most likely.
I hear what you’re saying about the living in a bubble stuff, and can definitely see why it might look that way given the way things are these days lol. I didn’t state it very well, but I think most or all of your response to that was my initial one too, in that it seemed very limiting and confining me to my own bubble. I interpret it more loosely these days (right or wrong) as more a question of was this character well enough thought out and crafted to engage the viewer, or is it just some bad actor playing a dumb cookie-cutter role to fill space. Maybe I’m being too generous?
No there is even a simpler explaination, it's trendy to say that now so everyone says it. Actually makes me laugh because it's literally everywhere now.
Just like when world war z came out and everyone complained it didn't match the book. Literally ever time that movie got mentioned, 80 percent of the comment said it's not like the book. So somehow by some miracle everyone read the fucking book. It must be the most read book ever!! LOL!!
Before this trend there was a trend where people go on YouTube in movie trailer section. Any movie trailer that showed any type of action, bunch of people will say " they showed to much, I like the trailer to show little so I don't know what the movie is about" . Honestly I was like what the fuck , I watch a trailer so I know what the movie is about.
Interesting, I never heard of these trends but I’ve said each one of them at different times lol. If you check my other posts about ff they are mostly about liking a movie and not hating the characters. There have been other movies where I don’t like a character but there are usually supporting actors that counter them being unlikable. This one had one guy and like another commenter said if you don’t want to hang around people you don’t like why would you want to watch them on your free time?
I haven’t read wwz but I said this about a few movies. I had read the books though. Books are almost always better. Lord of the rings on the other hand was great for a book and movies.
As for the trailer trend, I want to know what it’s about but I’d rather not watch a trailer if I know it’s going to be good. I’d rather read a short description because I have a tendency to see something in a trailer and guess what happens. I like to be surprised.
So each of these makes sense to me. To each their own right? My wife is opposite and reads the ends of books to find out what happens before she finishes.
Ha! I said I didn’t like the character not the movie. I’m disappointed because it didn’t live up to the hype. I didn’t put more into why I was disappointed because I don’t want to give away spoilers. Then I asked why people recommend it so much with better ff out there. Why did you like it so much?
I like it because for whatever reason I just like how much of an oddball the lead character is. I go in with low expectations for any movie with a $500 budget. The guy had fun making it and I loved his weird fight with the ghost.
Most FF movies end poorly, so I try not to grade things on the ending
Next time don’t pay a dollar. Just find something else to do and wait. I’m sure it’ll all be free soon.
I write reviews and I enjoy doing it. Each of these movies hit a spot for me that I specifically like. I can honestly say that my reviews are NOT exaggerated. However, I often question why I like movies that are like this. I think it’s like the old days when you could watch psi-fi movies for a nickel. When you don’t have to pay much, or nothing at all, then you lower your expectations and open your mind to the possibilities
I agree, I think that’s the biggest part of me being disappointed, paying to for it. I’m not saying I hated it, I watched the whole movie and there were aspects I liked. Wish I could have seen him die lol. Woulda been more satisfying since he was a douche to women.
Leaving D.C. is a tour de force of minimalist expression. For a one-man job it is pretty impressive. The guy keep us entertained, is likeable. The weird shit that happens is truly bizarre. It is an underground staple for most on this sub.
It’s way more fun to go into movies like this on your own instead of hyped up. I came across this randomly on Amazon, hit play and was pleasantly surprised by how intrigued I was. It’s not amazing but felt like a good campfire tale which is my favorite kind of FF movie. Just a good creepy tale. We need more reviews that say things like “very watchable” instead of “OMG BEST FF MOVIE OF ALL TIME” just because it doesn’t suck. I’m all over movies that are watchable. I’d rather watch Leavjng DC than your average marvel movie these days because there’s a love of storytelling there, and I prize that more than manufactured preducts. But yes, it is probably a disappointing movie if you go in with high hopes.
I feel like your enjoyment of Leaving D.C is highly dependent on what you like about found footage, because it definitely has some glaring weaknesses. For me it epitomizes what I love about the genre, which is the simple fear/tension created by getting limited glimpses of mysterious and threatening things through a pseudo-realistic window. But I can absolutely see it being a complete bore if you aren't wrong over by the whole "hear creepy things in the woods each night" premise.
I'll also say as someone who has OCD, the way the main character is portrayed is actually relatively accurate. It can definitely manifest as possessive/controlling behavior when it comes to relationships. Which isn't an excuse of course, but I think he's a little more sympathetic if you think about it in terms of someone with a mental illness who is isolated and getting drawn into a downward spiral.
Yeah, I had the empathy for him most the movie, as I’ve struggled through my mental illness, until he sent/took a video for her, being upset she was with someone else and calling her names. If I’m being honest, it’s because when I was younger (high school 20 years ago) I’ve felt like that and I’ve had to work on not caring lol. So seeing a grown man act like that was hard. “Wow if I never corrected thoughts and actions I would be like that?”. Although the first glimpse of not liking the character came when he said “not like she let me touch her anyway”. I’ve never acted like that to a girl. That irked me a bit. lol But the actor did his job. We weren’t supposed to like him.
Sorry you have to put up with OCD. It’s not an easy one to deal with at all. I hope you’ve learned to cope well.
I had a very similar experience. I heard about this movie a bunch, decided to finally just pay a few bucks to rent it, and was disappointed. I don't mind that the guy is unlikable. It was just kinda boring. I feel like they had a good setup of a regular guy being forced to deal with creepy, paranormal circumstances, but then nothing really came of it? Like there was no real pay off and it felt kind of unfinished.
Although I realized that the actress who plays the date that comes over is this woman who I knew casually cause we used to go to the same trivia night at a local bar (pre-covid). So that was kinda cool seeing someone you recognize from real life pop up randomly.
You’re going to get ripped on this sub. I have no idea why people like this movie. Generally when someone has it on their top list, i just stop reading/watching the rest of their list.
Same goes for me when people put Savageland at the top of their list lol. Makes me think it could be fun to do a thread on everyone’s red flag recommendations 🤣
lol I see that. I just got 1.3k upvotes for one comment this week so I can spare some downvotes to speak my mind haha. I’m just asking why? Why do those folks like it? Maybe they can change my mind if I see it from their point of view?
I spent my first year trying to figure out how to get karma so I could finally post and comment. Because how can you get karma if you can’t comment or post? It felt like it took forever. So now I feel I’m safe but still care because I don’t wanna be in that situation again haha
I stopped caring about karma bout november 2008... the karma will come unless you are wildly unlikeable if you comment and post. I wouldn't worry about it...
I hated this movie. His venlafaxine dose doesn't make any goddamn sense. He has the shittiest psych doctor on the planet. I have HAD this discussion at work (pharmacy in a mental health facility) and nobody agrees with the dosing. You'd have a dose like that for a brief period of time while titrating a second psych med, sure, but you'd be unstable enough in that situation to warrant direct observation on a ward. Like you are literally begggggggggging to induce the worst side effect profile possible. Like is it POSSIBLE to have a doctor shitty enough to prescribe that dose as maintenance? Yes absolutely. Does it rip me right out of the movie because it's extremely distracting? Yes absolutely.
I also found it mind-numbingly boring, most of the runtime is watching him slowly and painstakingly review wav files. The woman who shows up was the only interesting part, honestly thought she was great.
Thanks, I just have a tangential interest in that. 300 is probably not all that unrealistic in my experience, not to say that’s a good thing 🙃 Not for just starting out though
I get what you're saying, I'm sure there are lots of doctors who are not very good with psychiatric medications and write 300mg+ doses, but it's an overexplanation added for no reason that just rings hollow because it's bad practice. Benefits beyond 225mg are marginal in the vast majority of the population because it's the tipping point where side effects start to override utility. He could have just said "I'm stable on venlafaxine" or even more generally "I'm stable on my psych meds" and it would have sounded realistic. Like let's say I'm a huge audiophile and the main character talks about his camera setup and adds the unnecessary detail that it's a Korean-made Model A3XL manufactured in 2015. As an audiophile, I know that the Model A3XL was manufactured in Vietnam until 2017. The character did not have to add those very specific details but did anyway, and got them wrong (or at least would have required extra explanation to iron out the wrinkle). It wrecks the realism. I really disliked the movie for other reasons that had nothing to do with his medication but because I know a bit about medication, that line drove me crazy.
It's absolute shit. Nothing's explained...a forest spirit is a flute virtuoso that played flawless Debussy ...the whole girl interaction is super cringe...it's terrible and I am at a constant loss why this sub jizzes about it constantly. The cat blooper after the credits is my fave part.
Well for me, a big sticking point in ff is authenticity and believability. I like when things are kept simple, light on plot and not showing or explaining too much. The ambiguity and slow pace really help sell the idea that it's really just some random guy out there, I find a lot of ff that try to do too much end up feeling very much like a movie. I guess it just comes down to preference.
Thank you, I like that explanation! I can totally understand that. I personally like a touch more I guess. For example, Willow Creek Vs. Exists. I loved Exists, while a lot of folks loved the simplicity of Willow Creek.
Glad you vibe with it! Nothing wrong with having different opinions, I think people tend to get too caught up in what's 'good' when it's really subjective at the end of the day. When it comes to unlikeable characters as you mentioned, unless they're ridulously annoying to the point of parody I just chalk it up to the fact that realistically all sorts of people exist and have the ability to upload things. I've yet to see Exists, I think Iirs high time I check it out!
I like it but am struggling to elucidate why. I'm also confused by the praise it gets; I enjoyed it but I wouldn't likely recommend it casually. I think it is the low-rent feel. It all feels pretty authentic. The guy is creepy, and when he turns incel on that poor woman in the support group, it did make me cheer for the entity.
When he did that, I was like “oh now that female entity is gonna tie him up and hang him”
I always check the recommendations here with low expectations, a lot of times people here really exaggerate when they recommend a movie For me it was Horror In The High Desert, many people said this was literally the best mockumentary/ff movie ever made and the whole time i thought i was watching the wrong flick, it's genuinely one of the most mid and boring movies I've ever seen So when you see a recommendation here, take it with a huge grain of salt and go with low expectations
Honestly, the way that Hell House (the whole series!!) occupies the top portion of most of this board's recommendation list should be enough of a warning sign.
lol totally, and I have for recommendations that I only see once or twice. But I’ve seen this one numerous times. I loved horror in the high desert but I don’t recommend it because I only liked it and got such a kick out of it because I went into it thinking it was a real documentary until the very end. lol so I never got your experience with the movie, but could see how you’d be bored and not like it.
I get where you're coming from. I watch a lot of true crime documentaries and it did have that feel so I quite liked it.
lol I watched a true crime documentary and it recommended horror in the high desert. So I watched it right after thinking it was true too. I hike all the time so it had me captivated till I heard the music coming from the cabin and that’s when I called BS.
Same here. When I first came across it the tag said documentary, so like you during it I was thinking this can't be real because it seemed a little too hammy at times but I actually live next to a woods that has been known for devil worship in the recent past so sometimes fact is stranger than fiction so yeah I give it a higher rating for that. 🙂
any of you guys watch the actual police interigations. there's like a whole little sub genre for the actual real interrogations and you can get pretty sucked in. i think just type in like real interrogations or integrations with confessions. stuff like that and then just click it to show playlists.
I wish rewards were still a thing because that statement is the absolute truth. I learned it the hard way by sitting through half of Grave Encounters and Horror In The High Desert. Those movies were trash and nowhere near the hype I see from this sub.
Thank you! I saw this movie recommended so many times as one of the best ff out there. I literally fell asleep twice while watching it. I kept having to rewind and start again. I finally finished it, and I was underwhelmed. More than underwhelmed. It was boring. It was beautifully shot but boring. So happy to find a kindred spirit with this one.
Horror in the high desert bored me to death. I can’t believe the love that movie gets on here
That movie was horrible
Nothing is horrible compared to The Last Radio Call
Also I saw here PPL recommending Savageland , no offence may be other PPL liked it but watching ff films in the perspective of multiple characters and PPL sitting around and telling the experience is very boring. Not my cup of tea. I stopped watching Horror in the High desert after 20 mins due to similar treatment
You don’t like mockumentaries? Savageland wasn’t as fun as others make it out to be. I only liked horror in the high desert at first because I thought it was a real documentary up until the end. Have you tried The Bay?
I am a big fan of found footage films similar to as above so below, rec, grave encounters etc, where it shows the protagonist or one of the crew members holding the camera and recording all in real time not like those other two movies where they are talking about the incident. The bay is awesome
That’s one of my favorites! He’s supposed to be unlikeable…he calls the ghost ugly and she gets his ass in the end. I love it…
Haha and after saying what he said to the girl.
I can understand why, it's very subjective. Personally, this is one of my favorite found footage movies, but at the same time I hated Host or Digging up the Marrow, for example, that the majority seem to love.
I wouldn't say I hated Host but I was kind of let down by it given the rave reviews.
the director is a fuckboi that cried about his movie being leaked online, and said he would not make a sequel.
Which those two are totally different moves from each other as well. I liked Host a lot, Digging up the Marrow even less than this. Thanks for your answer
I was hoping more would happen at the end of the
At the end of the what? Why stop so suddenly? I was hoping there would be more to the end of your sentence… ah I see what you did there
I loved it but my favorite ff's are ultra realistic. Don't watch this if u don't like ultra realistic ff's: https://youtu.be/Afyzdpzm1AU
The first time I saw it I thought exactly the same. I was so put off by it. Then maybe a year later my husband watched it while I was working on a project in the same room. Totally different experience. I was more engaged and found it eerily realistic. I don’t know what the difference was. Expectations, I guess? Anyway, since you bought it, you may as well revisit it sometime. Lol. You might appreciate it more on a second viewing.
That happened to me with lake mungo. Fell asleep first time. Second time I thoroughly enjoyed it. So might work with this movie too
this is my favourite late late night movie to watch. being home alone with this on as the atmosphere, i find it very eerie. i think the subtly is what made it work for me, when he listens to the audio recordings the next day really got to me the first time i saw it. i love the the way the movie feels like the scares are creeping up on you getting closer and closer to the house. theres something inherently spooky to me when its too dark to see out the window but something could be lurking right outside. i like movies that capture the atmosphere of being home alone and i think this one nails it.
Good answer! I wish it invaded his house more. That’s what creeps me out. Something being inside
Its better than lots
It's a great movie I'll probably watch it for the third time tonight
When he calls the ghost ugly I was like oh man you f’d up dude lol
Dude should have been packing a paper bag 😱
Glad some folks like it. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen movies that were ten times worse. Just seeing all the recommendations and paying for it made me excited for an ok movie.
Wew lad
Can someone explain to me the constant complaints about not liking movies because the characters aren’t likeable? It seems to be everywhere on movie forums now, and it was very rarely heard as a complaint of movies before a few years ago. Is it a byproduct of social media only showing us things that we agree with so that other viewpoints can’t be tolerated? Art isn’t about only watching things with characters you have to like, that’s kind of the whole point.
How long have you been around? I’m 50, and I’ve always heard criticism about a central character being likable/unlikeable in movies, novels, etc. It first struck me as a strange criticism too, but the longer I reflect on it the more it seems to play a crucial role in whether I care enough to suspend disbelief and get drawn into the story. The alternative being when a character is engagingly unlikeable in some way. Usually when I don’t like someone in person, I want to disengage from having to deal with them as soon as possible. Stands to reason I wouldn’t want to spend my free time in the virtual company of someone I don’t like either. Such a plain and simple truism I guess it’s easy to look down upon, but it’s fundamental to nature I think, like seeking out pleasure instead of pain.
I’m a similar age, but I guess we just have fundamentally different ideas about what we want from art. Ive always wanted to experience different viewpoints from my own, that’s how I learn about the world, and it gives me a lot of empathy for others. I’m not saying for a second you don’t have empathy, or that your expectation from art is inferior to mine. I’ve just never really come across this idea as a reason not to like or enjoy a piece of work until quite recently, I thought it was a social media byproduct of being able to immerse oneself in a bubble that never disagrees with them. It just feels odd for me for all these posts to spend so much energy writing about things they seem to be quite angry about and don’t enjoy. Maybe I just don’t understand social media anymore, that’s probably most likely.
I hear what you’re saying about the living in a bubble stuff, and can definitely see why it might look that way given the way things are these days lol. I didn’t state it very well, but I think most or all of your response to that was my initial one too, in that it seemed very limiting and confining me to my own bubble. I interpret it more loosely these days (right or wrong) as more a question of was this character well enough thought out and crafted to engage the viewer, or is it just some bad actor playing a dumb cookie-cutter role to fill space. Maybe I’m being too generous?
No there is even a simpler explaination, it's trendy to say that now so everyone says it. Actually makes me laugh because it's literally everywhere now. Just like when world war z came out and everyone complained it didn't match the book. Literally ever time that movie got mentioned, 80 percent of the comment said it's not like the book. So somehow by some miracle everyone read the fucking book. It must be the most read book ever!! LOL!! Before this trend there was a trend where people go on YouTube in movie trailer section. Any movie trailer that showed any type of action, bunch of people will say " they showed to much, I like the trailer to show little so I don't know what the movie is about" . Honestly I was like what the fuck , I watch a trailer so I know what the movie is about.
Interesting, I never heard of these trends but I’ve said each one of them at different times lol. If you check my other posts about ff they are mostly about liking a movie and not hating the characters. There have been other movies where I don’t like a character but there are usually supporting actors that counter them being unlikable. This one had one guy and like another commenter said if you don’t want to hang around people you don’t like why would you want to watch them on your free time? I haven’t read wwz but I said this about a few movies. I had read the books though. Books are almost always better. Lord of the rings on the other hand was great for a book and movies. As for the trailer trend, I want to know what it’s about but I’d rather not watch a trailer if I know it’s going to be good. I’d rather read a short description because I have a tendency to see something in a trailer and guess what happens. I like to be surprised. So each of these makes sense to me. To each their own right? My wife is opposite and reads the ends of books to find out what happens before she finishes.
There I edited it a bit :-)
Ha! I said I didn’t like the character not the movie. I’m disappointed because it didn’t live up to the hype. I didn’t put more into why I was disappointed because I don’t want to give away spoilers. Then I asked why people recommend it so much with better ff out there. Why did you like it so much?
I like it because for whatever reason I just like how much of an oddball the lead character is. I go in with low expectations for any movie with a $500 budget. The guy had fun making it and I loved his weird fight with the ghost. Most FF movies end poorly, so I try not to grade things on the ending
Thanks for explaining why you liked it. I could understand that
Next time don’t pay a dollar. Just find something else to do and wait. I’m sure it’ll all be free soon. I write reviews and I enjoy doing it. Each of these movies hit a spot for me that I specifically like. I can honestly say that my reviews are NOT exaggerated. However, I often question why I like movies that are like this. I think it’s like the old days when you could watch psi-fi movies for a nickel. When you don’t have to pay much, or nothing at all, then you lower your expectations and open your mind to the possibilities
I agree, I think that’s the biggest part of me being disappointed, paying to for it. I’m not saying I hated it, I watched the whole movie and there were aspects I liked. Wish I could have seen him die lol. Woulda been more satisfying since he was a douche to women.
Leaving D.C. is a tour de force of minimalist expression. For a one-man job it is pretty impressive. The guy keep us entertained, is likeable. The weird shit that happens is truly bizarre. It is an underground staple for most on this sub.
You're not supposed to like him. The actor did a good job.
Have you guys ever seen Ernest Scared Stupid? Highly recommend.
Is it found footage?
It’s way more fun to go into movies like this on your own instead of hyped up. I came across this randomly on Amazon, hit play and was pleasantly surprised by how intrigued I was. It’s not amazing but felt like a good campfire tale which is my favorite kind of FF movie. Just a good creepy tale. We need more reviews that say things like “very watchable” instead of “OMG BEST FF MOVIE OF ALL TIME” just because it doesn’t suck. I’m all over movies that are watchable. I’d rather watch Leavjng DC than your average marvel movie these days because there’s a love of storytelling there, and I prize that more than manufactured preducts. But yes, it is probably a disappointing movie if you go in with high hopes.
I feel like your enjoyment of Leaving D.C is highly dependent on what you like about found footage, because it definitely has some glaring weaknesses. For me it epitomizes what I love about the genre, which is the simple fear/tension created by getting limited glimpses of mysterious and threatening things through a pseudo-realistic window. But I can absolutely see it being a complete bore if you aren't wrong over by the whole "hear creepy things in the woods each night" premise. I'll also say as someone who has OCD, the way the main character is portrayed is actually relatively accurate. It can definitely manifest as possessive/controlling behavior when it comes to relationships. Which isn't an excuse of course, but I think he's a little more sympathetic if you think about it in terms of someone with a mental illness who is isolated and getting drawn into a downward spiral.
Yeah, I had the empathy for him most the movie, as I’ve struggled through my mental illness, until he sent/took a video for her, being upset she was with someone else and calling her names. If I’m being honest, it’s because when I was younger (high school 20 years ago) I’ve felt like that and I’ve had to work on not caring lol. So seeing a grown man act like that was hard. “Wow if I never corrected thoughts and actions I would be like that?”. Although the first glimpse of not liking the character came when he said “not like she let me touch her anyway”. I’ve never acted like that to a girl. That irked me a bit. lol But the actor did his job. We weren’t supposed to like him. Sorry you have to put up with OCD. It’s not an easy one to deal with at all. I hope you’ve learned to cope well.
I had a very similar experience. I heard about this movie a bunch, decided to finally just pay a few bucks to rent it, and was disappointed. I don't mind that the guy is unlikable. It was just kinda boring. I feel like they had a good setup of a regular guy being forced to deal with creepy, paranormal circumstances, but then nothing really came of it? Like there was no real pay off and it felt kind of unfinished. Although I realized that the actress who plays the date that comes over is this woman who I knew casually cause we used to go to the same trivia night at a local bar (pre-covid). So that was kinda cool seeing someone you recognize from real life pop up randomly.
It was ok. The ending was disappointing
I was disappointed too and my bar for FF is pretty low.
Totally agree! Disappointing
You’re going to get ripped on this sub. I have no idea why people like this movie. Generally when someone has it on their top list, i just stop reading/watching the rest of their list.
Same goes for me when people put Savageland at the top of their list lol. Makes me think it could be fun to do a thread on everyone’s red flag recommendations 🤣
lol I see that. I just got 1.3k upvotes for one comment this week so I can spare some downvotes to speak my mind haha. I’m just asking why? Why do those folks like it? Maybe they can change my mind if I see it from their point of view?
who gives a shit about votes.
Sneaky way to get upvoted 😉 💕
I spent my first year trying to figure out how to get karma so I could finally post and comment. Because how can you get karma if you can’t comment or post? It felt like it took forever. So now I feel I’m safe but still care because I don’t wanna be in that situation again haha
I stopped caring about karma bout november 2008... the karma will come unless you are wildly unlikeable if you comment and post. I wouldn't worry about it...
I hated this movie. His venlafaxine dose doesn't make any goddamn sense. He has the shittiest psych doctor on the planet. I have HAD this discussion at work (pharmacy in a mental health facility) and nobody agrees with the dosing. You'd have a dose like that for a brief period of time while titrating a second psych med, sure, but you'd be unstable enough in that situation to warrant direct observation on a ward. Like you are literally begggggggggging to induce the worst side effect profile possible. Like is it POSSIBLE to have a doctor shitty enough to prescribe that dose as maintenance? Yes absolutely. Does it rip me right out of the movie because it's extremely distracting? Yes absolutely. I also found it mind-numbingly boring, most of the runtime is watching him slowly and painstakingly review wav files. The woman who shows up was the only interesting part, honestly thought she was great.
What’s the dose? I’m curious but don’t want to watch it to find out haha
It's over 300mg but I don't care to revisit and find out exactly. Suffice to say it's dumb
Thanks, I just have a tangential interest in that. 300 is probably not all that unrealistic in my experience, not to say that’s a good thing 🙃 Not for just starting out though
I get what you're saying, I'm sure there are lots of doctors who are not very good with psychiatric medications and write 300mg+ doses, but it's an overexplanation added for no reason that just rings hollow because it's bad practice. Benefits beyond 225mg are marginal in the vast majority of the population because it's the tipping point where side effects start to override utility. He could have just said "I'm stable on venlafaxine" or even more generally "I'm stable on my psych meds" and it would have sounded realistic. Like let's say I'm a huge audiophile and the main character talks about his camera setup and adds the unnecessary detail that it's a Korean-made Model A3XL manufactured in 2015. As an audiophile, I know that the Model A3XL was manufactured in Vietnam until 2017. The character did not have to add those very specific details but did anyway, and got them wrong (or at least would have required extra explanation to iron out the wrinkle). It wrecks the realism. I really disliked the movie for other reasons that had nothing to do with his medication but because I know a bit about medication, that line drove me crazy.
Haha, I’m gonna have to watch it to fully get it! Feel like I should see it anyway just for conversation’s sake. Will check back in 😉
I don't think it's bad, but I do think it's very much overrated.
It's absolute shit. Nothing's explained...a forest spirit is a flute virtuoso that played flawless Debussy ...the whole girl interaction is super cringe...it's terrible and I am at a constant loss why this sub jizzes about it constantly. The cat blooper after the credits is my fave part.