★★★ | Hooked Up
Technology is moving so fast and we now own more powerful processing power in our pockets (I mean your phone) than ever before. The cameras are better, image storage immense thanks to cloud storage and video quality crisper than ever.
So, when I got the chance to review a horror movie filmed entirely on an iPhone, you can imagine how it piqued my curiosity, I am after all, a complete iFan.
The storyline is fairly straightforward for schlock horror movie fodder, two stereotypically loud Americans go to Europe to get drunk and get laid. Both come across as quite unlikable characters, and in a horror movie, I always found you need to invest some feelings towards at least one character – otherwise why watch?
With this, I didn’t really care for either – felt no emotion that one had just split form his long-term girlfriend, didn’t care what happened to them but was curious about the film and how it looked as it was shot on a phone.
However, once they get to Barcelona and get out there, things take a more interesting turn and, after picking up two girls, they are invited back to one girls “grandmothers” house for the usual rumpy-pumpy. I must stress, the grandmothers house was supposed to be empty and said rumpy-pumpy did not include the grandmother.
And this is where the film gets interesting. Obviously, there are nasty things going bump in the night, lights going out, strange happenings, lots of blood and a bit of gore – but the best thing for me was that the iPhone filming felt right?
I know that sounds odd, but not once did I question why they were filming things – I use my phone all the time, without it, I feel like someone cut off my hand. To use one to film and take images whilst on holiday is now normal so this film didn’t feel contrived in that sense.
Co-writer and director, Pablo Larcuen, has a good stab (yes, i went there) at writing something that tries to move the found footage genre along a little by the inclusion of something we all own – a smart phone.
The performances are, on the whole, good with my only issue being the characterisation I mentioned earlier – give me one person to care about and I’ll stick with a film to the bitter end to see what happens. When you don’t really care, you’re just looking for the inventive ways they’ll die!
My other issue, and not just with this film, but with all found footage films is who found the film?
A decent 3 stars – it won’t set the world alight but a decent watch with a good pizza and a nice white wine.
