An Honest Liar (2014)

Director: Tyler Measom and Justin Weinstein Starring: James Randi, Jose Alvarez, Penn and Teller, Adam Savage, Alice Cooper, Bill Nye, Uri Geller USA/Canada. 1h m

I tend to get my fangirl cap on when James Randi is mentioned, his insightful analysis of the world of tricksters and snake oil merchants has been a huge source of inspiration and entertainment. His brief TV show that airs in the 90’s really opened the eyes of many people to the simple tricks of the big names of mystery, Poppof and Geller were among those who were unmasked as charlatans, willing to make a quick buck claiming they have rare gifts only to have Randi rip the carpet out from underneath them. In this quaint and personal documentary, directors Measom and Weinstein spend some time with Randi and give him a chance to express his past and current life with candid insights into his biggest moments in Magical history.

A Warning to the Curious (2013)

Director: Ali Djarar
Starring: Danny Webb, John Game, Neal Ward, Monty Burgess. UK. 1h 1m

This Indie ghost sleuthing found footage horror plays out like a version of Most Haunted, with some hints of Grave Encounters (2013) and Devils Familiar (2020) running through, just sadly not the good bits! All the amazing ideas of a mysterious house being a portal to a Lovecraftian void created by a cult, is washed away with too much banter and not enough on screen action. but it’s a tangible tale and I’m sure if you like any Ghost Hunting TV show then you’ll get a kick out of it.

Paranormal Activity (2007)

Director: Oren Peli
Starring: Micah Sloat, Katie Featherston . USA. 1h 26m

Sometimes it takes a great director to make a movie, other times it takes a great director to endorse a movie to make it a winner! Steven Speilberg couldn’t praise the movie enough, claiming that he had to stop watching as he was so afraid and had to continue the next day with the lights on! What on earth could freak him out that much?

The film was hyped up as the scariest movie you’ve ever seen, this instantly made it a target for criticism and doubt. The series of trailers were chock a block with clips of audiences reeling away and jumping with fright more than highlighting what the film is actually about. The most we know is there’s something going on in the pristine suburban home of two beautiful young hopefuls.

The House Inbetween (2020)

Director: Steve Gonsalves and Kendall Whelpton
Starring: Alice Jackson, Amy Bullard, John Bullard, Jerry Byrd, Brad Cooney, Steve Consalves. USA. 1h 21m

Alice Jackson lives in her dream home, a somewhat unusual design but a cute rustic house on the edge of town, however she doesn’t feel safe being in her home as there’s a high amount of paranormal activity going on, so she opens up and begins talking about her home and the strangeness that goes on her plea for help evokes something in a couple of mature investigators who are amazed with the range of activity going on in Alice’s home.

Death of a Ghost Hunter (2007)

Director: Sean Tretta
Starring: Patti Tindall, Mike Marsh, Davina Joy .USA. 1h 47m

An impressive Ghost Hunter is paid to conduct a paranormal investigation of a supposedly haunted home. While she’s accomplished, the patron has insisted a small team work with her including a cameraman and local reporter, then a spiritual advocate from the church turns up, an afterthought but she’s essential to keep balance.

Anything For Jackson (2020)

Director: Justin G Dyck
Starring: Sheila McCarthy, Julian Richings, Konstantina Mantelos . Canada. 1h 37m

Every now and again a movie creeps along as it reminds us what horror is really about, touching on sensitive subjects and delivering shocks, scares and a creeping dread which lingers long after the movie. One of these precious gems hasn’t arrived for a few years but somehow, coming straight from leftfield, a rom com director has re written the step by step guide on how to fuck with an audience and it’s done with a cool calm style in this occult horror nightmare.

Possession Diaries (2019)

Director: Juan Frausto
Starring: Katherine Munroe, Johnny Ortiz .USA. 1h 33m

For a majority of my armchair criticism I am always asking for directors to try and bring something new to the genres that their film straddles, however in the case of the Possession Diaries, and similar uncreative movies, I see no problems with people trying their hand at the tried and tested tropes, but at least try to make your copy as solid as possible. For all the planning and effort going into this project, it just doesn’t come across as being as polished as it could and ends up being a tad boring.

Ouija Shark (2020)

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Director: Brett Kelly
Starring: Leslie Cserepy, Steph Goodwin, Kylie Gough, Robin Hodge, Satci Marie Lattery. USA. 1h 21m

Well I knew that Sharknado (2013) was going to open the flood gates of bizarre cheesy horrors but I couldn’t have predicted this one! A home grown horror from Brett Kelly with a long history of off key horrors including, Iron Soldier (2010) who isn’t Iron Man, Avenging Force (2010) who aren’t the Avengers at all, Pirates Quest for Snake Land (2009) *cough*and Spyfall (2014), you get the idea right? This instalment of fear follows a girl who finds a Ouija board while out swimming in the sea (or a lake) and throwing all caution to the wind she uses the board with her friends an act which unleashes a vicious shark spirit.

Death of a Vlogger (2019)

Director: Graham Hughes
Starring: Graham Hughes, Annabel Logan, Paddy Kondracki, Patrick O’Brien, Joma West.UK. 1h 28m

Found footage movies are generally the cheapest and “easiest” to make however a lot fail when they try to hard, overthinking the details and missing the obvious, a lot of film makers would have jumped into this movie as a teen drama, however, Graham Hughes uses himself and his own flat to make a really personal and cerebrally challenging film that turns out the be one of the best in the genre despite the one terrible cliché it falls into occasionally.

Graham stars as himself, in his own home, as a wannabe YouTube star, attempting all the trends that we remember from planking, the ice bucket challenge to bottle throwing he seems desperate to find fame online, but he’s more than just a wannabe he is a cultured soul and tells some really great sensitive story about world war II parachuters who had issues with perception, after jumping out of a plane, many would land of roofs and simply jump down, after falling hundreds of feet without injury, a few feet just doesn’t seem to much however that’s when they would gain their biggest injuries… and perception is what Graham is about to rick roll his audience with in many sinister ways.

8213: Gacy House (2010)

Director: Anthony Fankhauser
Starring: Jim Lewis, Matthew Temple, Michael Gaglio, Brett A. Newton, Diana Terranova, Sylvia Panacione, Rachel Riley .USA. 1h 32m

You have to love a bad setup for a found footage movie?! Not only has John Wayne Gacy’s house been demolished and rebuilt but as he was executed in a prison, shouldn’t his ghost be residing there and it would be the victims ghosts still in the house or the land where they were killed?

Without much fanfare the movie begins with the team arriving at the house to set their equipment up, a mass of cameras are placed in every room, and once they are pointing to where no action will be caught clearly the investigation really starts. It has a slightly different setup up to a lot of the other paranormal researcher inspired movies, most teams usually have quite a lot of enthusiasm but this one is is filled with scathing skeptics and some crazed hippy wiccan woman who believes some rhyming spells will be able to protect them from some kind of evil entity or poltergeist. In all my years of armchair occultist I’ve never known of anyone asking the goddess to help in some kind of seance before I’m sure there’s some eyebrows raised to offering a t shirt of a friends young son (what? why?) to the spirit of a serial killer!!?