I have mentioned it, oh, a hundred times or more, that there are unwritten rules to found footage films, things you should stick to in order to retain that tenuous faux-reality. Unlike traditional films, found footage movies are presenting themselves as if they are “real,” and as such, they need to come across as at least a LITTLE believable. Sure, we know it’s all fake, but going in, we are looking to BELIEVE this could be real, even though we know it isn’t, even while going to see an “Avatar” film and not demanding the same.
It’s asking a lot, but this is part of the deal.
It’s something that even the worst, and least professional films can manage.
There are films, though, that, even while they break those “rules” still keep my attention because they are so well done, or so interesting, and on that, I welcome you to “Decedent.”
“Decedent” centers on a young woman who works at her family’s funeral home. She handles the bodies, cleaning the up, putting them back together, and getting them ready for their final viewings. The night we join her she is working on a new body, and filming things as she does, as a teaching tool for an audience that is never quite defined. The entire funeral home has had security cameras installed to keep and eye on things after several break-ins, so everything is being filmed. As the woman is working on the new body she finds a suicide note, hinting at something darker about his passing. While she is trying to figure out what it means, she begins to get a feeling that something is off, which is when she gets a call that the police are coming to retrieve the body for the medical examiner’s office. The deceased is believed to have been involved in something that needs to be investigated. Suddenly, this poor man, who had killed himself, isn’t just another client. And as something dark cloaks the funeral home, it becomes clear that while the man may be dead, there is something evil still lurking within him.
This is a really well done, creepy film, that will immediately bring about memories of “The Autopsy of Jane Doe.” The use of multiple cameras, while never full exploited, is very creepy, and helps to set an eerie tone to the film. The lead actress is fantastic, as is the “handyman” who the woman relies on as a confidante. It’s a very creepy movie, don’t doubt that.
The acting is good, the scares are solid, and the mystery is also good.
The films breaks things a bit by including dramatic musical stingers a few times, but the movie is good enough to look past that.
While we are never told WHO finds this footage, and gathered it, and edited all of the footage together, it doesn’t really matter, as it doesn’t seem inconceivable. Not every question has to be answered.
The pacing is a little clumsy in the film, and it isn’t as powerful when the big reveal is made, (and there is an awkward ‘scare’ with the dead body late) but the movie is still engaging and good. While there are no real mysteries that are revealed at the end, or surprises, it’s still a solid film, and worth a look.
3 out of 5
TL:DR
A good, creepy found footage find, that while it doesn’t keep you guessing, will keep you engaged.
The Spooky World of Chris Ringler 