neilgooge It's OK, far from great, but far from terrible. I've definitely seen worse... You know... Like the other two...

Andariel Halo I fell victim to the rather derpy name "Bad Ben" as well as the odd choice of poster design on AmazonPrime. The selection kept coming up again and again no matter how often I overlooked it or showed no interest in it. Last week, I almost gave it a shot, watching the trailer for it, and based on the trailer I honestly thought it was a joke. It looked absurd and childish, less like a horror movie than a series of bumbling outtakes from someone's home movies edited together like a horror movie. Based solely on the overwhelming good reviews I kept seeing of it, I gave it a try, utterly astonished that this entire film was done completely and utterly by one man; the producer, the writer, the editor, the director, the star, the owner of the house, the guy who spent $300 according to IMDB to make this entire film. this is a "found footage" film of a guy who bought a lavish house at a Sheriff's auction, and goes in to find it is still fully furnished and decorated, and equipped with dozens of security cameras around the house. As he documents his attempt to flip it and sell it, he deals with the usual escapades of these modern day haunted house situations; motion-activated cameras turning on at odd moments after detecting some apparently ghostly motion, doors opening and closing on their own, and random power outages and strong odors. Being the only person on screen at all times, nigel bach is surprisingly good in his role, being comfortable and nonoffensive, possessing neither an unpleasant voice or attitude nor a particularly difficult accent or way of intonating. He has a way of acting that feels like he is not acting, like he really is just filming himself doing something mundane and isn't projecting or enunciating or emoting for the sake of the audience, while at the same time never coming across as flat or monotonous. What little visual effects there are are done very quickly so as not to reveal themselves, while the vast majority of the horror comes solely from lingering creepiness and the occasional perfectly timed jump scare (such as the scene with him talking to the music box on the table). While the name played a large role in turning me off from the film, the explanation behind it only adds to the film's creepiness and unsettling nature, in the form of a child's drawing of his mom and dad in front of the house, with himself labelled as "Good Ben" and another angry-looking creature apparently drawn underground labelled as "Bad Ben" The film never lets itself go off the rails with a lengthy backstory or exposition dump, while only indulging a bit with its ending. For an estimated $300 this is probably one of the better "haunted house with security cameras" horror movies I've seen

jackbradwilson Couldn't find any reviews online for this from critics I trusted so thought i'd just give it a go. The story is simple but then it didn't have to be amazing, the acting from Nigel Bach is pretty decent all things considered and he manages to carry the movie along and keep you interested. Also there is some good camera work and a couple of good scares, and an ending which is definitely worth the wait. What lets this movie down though is just how illogical it is at times; mainly down to the fact that Nigel Bach's reactions to his situation in the film are so alien. He only shows even a glimpse of fear at the very end, before this you'd think that the stuff happening to him just happens all the time to everyone. Its not a bad acting performance just a very strange one. I would go on a rant about how the fact that he films more or less everything with his phone is never justified, but this is so often a problem in found footage movies that its not worth going on about; that said it is more illogical in this movie than most as demonstrated in a number of scenes where he is struggling to perform simple day to day tasks cause he's holding the camera phone in his other hand. Additionally there are a few moments which are unintentionally funny, like when he is wandering around the house looking for the source to the strange happenings with a camera phone in one hand and a can of air freshener in the other ready to spray any ghosts who get in his way. Or a scene where he is trying to banish a ghost from his house, shouting angrily at it, while holding a candle stick in one hand and a selfie stick in the other. Overall though this is a pretty decent horror movie and an impressive achievement considering it is made by and starring only one person. And the ending is genuinely creepy...

misscath-02668 Found footage is one of my favorites if it's done right. Kind of a Paranormal Activity without the backstory. Lots of suspense and good writing, although it dragged at some points. Didn't get scary until near the end. My biggest complaint is the main character was a whiny, nasty little man who was beyond irritating.