I recently saw a post on Reddit asking users of that subreddit why they watched found footage movies, being that the gems can be so hard to find. Personally, it’s that search for gold that compels me. I love the nature of the subgenre on its own, and that it’s such a great gateway for filmmakers. The thing is though, that there are some really fun movies hidden amidst everything else. It’s hard to find great movies in general, but we don’t watch movies, or these movies, for the great ones alone, but for the fun ones. Like a gambler, I am always going back to try to beat the system and find the standouts.
Besides, I’d rather take a gamble on a found footage than on some of the other direct to streaming films hitting the platforms.
Now then…
CLASSROOM 6 refers to a mysterious classroom within a college, that is rumored to be the source for strange happenings at the school, namely some disappearances. When a rising newscaster decides to do an investigation into the mysterious classroom, she takes a team to the school to try to get some answers. While the school administration would prefer things be debunked, she wants to get the truth, whatever it is. Once the newscaster and her team are locked within the school things go from mysterious to sinister as the presence makes itself known, and it becomes clear that it’s not a matter of if there is something paranormal happening, but whether the team can survive it.
CLASSROOM 6 is in the same vein as other “locked in a haunted place” films, and follows that structure. The newscaster is ambitious and driven, and her ragtag team ambitious but more interested in the job. They bring along a psychic to help them get a feel for what is haunting the school, and he adds a really good anchor to the movie. The film is well acted, and features a mix of handheld filming and security-style cameras. The paranormal hijinx are done more with camerawork and acting, with a few creepy images, and this works well for the film. Too often we see these sorts of stories force really bad CGI or another actor representing a ghost – who looks nothing like a spooky specter – and this approach seems to work the best. The scares are there, just not that novel. Some of the sequences are fun, and as things ramp up, it really works well.
The movie falls apart a bit in the climax as the spooky business cranks up, and things lose steam because it IS all done with inference and suggestion. I love where the movie is heading, but logic starts to fail and puts things on weird footing. WHY would the administration let them stay over night to investigate when they want to put an end to the wild rumors? WHY are they acting like they cannot escape of the school when things get wild when we see fire alarms all over the place? These are the sorts of things that could be explained with a line of dialogue or two, which would have helped things.
The film walks in the footsteps of BLAIR WITCH PROJECT a few times, which feels a little groan-y, but overall it does its own thing. It’s a fun movie, with good acting, a creepy premise, and some great set-ups – the movie has a great intro/outro with interviews that are really fun. It’s a nice try, a decent watch, but nothing particularly memorable.
Mileage may vary.
2.5 out of 5
The Spooky World of Chris Ringler 