Rating: D+
Dir: Dillon Brown.
Star: Michael Rock, Nui Phonphila, Natalie Hurt, Patrick Liberatore.
This is definitely one of the cases where the found footage concept doesn’t add much of value to proceedings. It’s mostly a way for the makers to do their movie without having to pay for proper cameras, lighting or actors. Convince a few of your friends to let you strap a GoPro to them, and away you go. It’s a pity, because the idea here is decent, and could have been the foundation for a decent entry in the religious cult subgenre of horror. But that would have required actual resources, and those are notable by their absence here. The focus is The Flock, a group led by the enigmatic Crow (Liberatore), who might be preparing a sacrifice to summon a demonic entity called Moloch in the Nevada desert.
The film follows two groups on the way to The Flock’s desert compound. There is Shane (Phonphila) and V (Hart), a pair of true believers in Moloch – which might be more than Crow is – and their hostage. But there is also a group of Christian soldiers, whose leader, Ghost (Rock), is seeking an abducted child. While it is interesting to see that combination of religion and warriors, I realized I had made a terrible mistake, recognizing Rock from the almost unwatchable The Ruck March. There’s a fair overlap with this, both in people and things like locations. Had I noticed earlier, I’d probably not have bothered. To be fair, this is better. Still not good though.
Problems include the underwhelming nature of Moloch when he shows up: I’ve a feeling the rubber mask (top) might be the same one used in Ruck. Some of the performances are not good: the fat cult chick was especially unconvincing. There’s a Ren Fair reference at the start, and certain actors would have failed the audition for Peasant #3 there. The ending is… Well, truth be told, it just isn’t. I did find a couple of elements which worked. The way in which the necessary demon-summoning child sacrifice takes place is quite clever. And the recruitment videos for The Flock are creepily convincing and slick. There is actual production value present in them, which is sorely needed in the rest of the film.
Instead, you get the usual found-footage nonsense, particularly towards the end of the film. This means people creeping around dark passageways, wearing increasingly concerned expressions in lieu of acting. It is difficult to tell who is doing what to whom, and why. However, this matters less, because you largely don’t care. While you might have spent the previous hour with these human beings, I’ve connected better with people I sat next to on the bus. The budget was under four thousand dollars, and I guess that’s laudable. However, it’s also pretty fucking apparent. It’s clear this is one of those cases where the makers adopted the found footage approach, simply because it is cheap, and allows for the hand-waving away flaws like poor quality camerawork.