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Friday, October 12, 2012

[6.00/10] The Lost Coast Tapes (2012)



Brief review: The 'found footage' horror sub-genre had its ups and downs over the years, with a few truly memorable entries, and countless dreadful ones. Corey Grant's Bigfoot-inspired POV flick, "The Lost Coast Tapes", falls somewhere in between. Clearly and heavily influenced by 2010's Norwegian mock-doc sensation "Trollhunter", "The Lost Coast Tapes" starts out in a very familiar fashion, and there's nothing special about it at first, but the seemingly gimmicky plot becomes more and more absorbing as the movie progresses. There's definitely something about "The Lost Coast Tapes" that keeps you drawn into the story from start to finish, and that is investing the unknown and unexplained, along with the characters, which turns out something even more unexpected. There are no big scares, but last 20 minutes of the movie are incredibly intense, and even though the twist ending leaves many questions unanswered, more perspicacious viewers will figure it out. Set in North California,"The Lost Coast Tapes" offers some stunning scenery - immense woods and lofty trees that look glorious in the daytime, and yet spine-chillingly eerie during the night. The POV shooting style requires the movie to be shot with handy-cams, but thankfully the camera work is neat and not overly shaky. Also, the characters here are likable, smart, and well-acted by the actors involved, so the audience can very easily relate to them. 

Overall summary: It's no "Trollhunter", but Corey Grant's "Bigfoot: The Lost Coast Tapes" is still a refreshing entry into the 'found footage' horror sub-genre, that intrigues with its concept, excites with its intensity, and engages the eye with its gorgeous, yet terrifying setting.

This review is also featured on TVFilmNews.com

14 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I might give it a try.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Alex, if you're in a mood for good found footage horror, that this is your movie. :)

dolorah said...

October is the month for spooky. I haven't seen TrollHunter; may have to try both.

.......dhole

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Donna, give Trollhunter a shot first. You're gonna be surprised by how much fun it is.

Unknown said...

I might have to watch this one as I love the whole Bigfoot/Sasquatch legend. I grew up reading and watching everything I could on it. The plot sounds really interesting. At last found footage I am intrigued by. ;)

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Mel, I didn't know you are a fan of the Bigfoot legend, but I'm glad you finally found a found footage flick you're interested in. Expect some surprises form this one. :)

Unknown said...

I love surprises in films. Yes, I am huge into Bigfoot. When I lived out in Seattle, we road-tripped to North Cali and hiked around looking for him. No video cameras. There're sasquatch legends all up and down the Pacific Northwest and up into Canada. It's freakin' cool, actually. I got interedted in Bigfoot as a kid when I saw this show hosted by Leonard Nimoy called In Search Of...Pretty scary things on that show.

Ricky said...

This doesn't sound as bad as I expected.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Mel, I do too. And this is one of those movies. :) Not sure if you'd like the twist though.

I never believed in Bigfoot. I've seen the picture of it, and looked like a human in a gorilla costume. lol.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Ricky, at first I thought it's going to be hideous, but it turned out pretty decent.

Dan said...

Gave this a shot after reading your review. It's definitely one of the better films that has been churned out in this style, although I'm still undecided on my overall opinion of it, especially in regards to the ending.

Great review though, and thanks for bringing this film to my attention!

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Dan, I'm glad my review made wanna see this movie. It seems we agree on this one. While it didn't blow my mind, it was definitely one of the better POV flicks out there.
The ending leaves many questions unanswered, but IMO, the foot shown in the final scene was demon's.

Thanks, I appreciate it. :)

venoms5 said...

I was intrigued by this when I first heard about it, but now I'm a bit hesitant. It does sound good though from your review, George. Possibly I'm getting burned out on FF movies as I've seen several in quick succession recently.

But a straight horror picture in the FF vein revolving around Bigfoot has great potential, though. LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK was a pseudo precursor to this whole thing and that sucker made millions back in the early 70s. Outside of a few scenes, time hasn't been good to it, imo. But the atmosphere is still palpable.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

venoms5, to me it was the other way around. At first I thought its concept as gimmicky, but decided to give a shot anyway. Well, I ended up pleasantly surprised, because it turned out something more than a straightforward Bigfoot movie.

Haven't even heard of LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK, but it sounds okay. I might check it out.