Hollows Grove

source: Hollows Grove

Five members of a documentary crew go to a long-abandoned children's' orphanage to see if there are any ghosts. Before they get inside, they have an argument with the grounds' keeper. He doesn't want to let them inside because of "incidents" that have happened in the past. They inform him that they have permission from the owners. Grudgingly, he moves aside and lets them pass. Once inside, they begin filming in the kitchen. Shortly thereafter, the needle on their equipment starts going crazy, and pots start shaking. They think their special effects man, Bill (Lance Henriksen), rigged that to happen. When they're about to leave the kitchen a cat is slammed dead into a wall. That and other incidents that are hard to credit Bill with start making the crew's stay in the hospital very ominous. It doesn't help matters that they haven't seen him since they arrived. I can't really say anything else without giving away spoilers. I have to be honest, I was not very interested in seeing this movie. I read a very brief synopsis of it, and when I read it took place in an old orphanage, I passed on it earlier. I was bored, so I decided to give it a chance, but I wasn't expecting much. At first, the haunts were very mild. Later, they became so much more, as did the movie. The acting was very good, as was the directing and storyline. It's not that original, because there have been many movies that take place in abandoned institutions such as hospitals and such. However, they developed fun characters - especially Julie :D I recommend this movie. I gave this a 7-star rating. This is how good horror films should be done, and it's the first one that I've seen in a long time that I felt really impressed by. My one problem with this is that I really don't like found-footage films very much, because they say that what it is at the beginning, making it obvious everybody dies. I prefer to see that for myself as the movie plays out. Anyway, there's an added scene after the credits, so stay tuned for that.

This is FBI case file B 4785 and we the audience are helping them solve this case of found footage, a claim made less convincing by using Lance Henriksen in the film and having a credit roll. But just go with it. Harold Maxwell (Matthew Carey) recently dumped by his girlfriend (useless plot point) is allowed to film behind the scenes of a paranormal investigation group known as S.P.I.T. and are in their 5th season. Early on they film Bill (Lance Henriksen) who sets up the filming location with fake scares. When our crew arrives at the second most haunted place in America (the first one has been overdone) they believe all the scary stuff that is happening has been staged by Bill, something that sets this production apart. Hollows Grove was an overcrowded orphanage with the proverbial crematorium in the basement and crazy kid on the upper floor. Many of the gags we have seen done before and were slightly boring, if if they did it a little better. The creep factor was good. The internal conflict in the group was poorly scripted and could have been better, especially the obscene signs and fart humor. The really good scare scene (photo on back cover and sell point of the film) was short lived and not repeated. The very end of the film reminded me of an Internet gag and wasn't as effective as my black cat jumping on my lap with 20 minutes left in the film...about the time things go super critical. In spite of the short comings, I did enjoy the film. The hand held camera aspect wasn't bad. Guide: F-bomb. No sex. Lance Henriksen butt nudity

Competent found footage film. That being said, rather tired retread of situations, conflict between ghost hunter crew members, and annoying immature characters. Big names are in it minimally, for about a total of four brief scenes, so don't expect much from them.

I saw this for free on Hooplah. It's actually an okay "found- footage" film, albeit a bit too short. The acting's good: There's great camaraderie amongst the cast which really helps sell some of the humor. Lance Henriksen makes a relatively brief cameo as the "spooky effects"-guy, and is -- of course -- awesome to watch (whatever someone might think of his film choices). The camera-work is good: neither too jumpy nor too focused like in a real camera shot. The special effects are what they are given that -- I'm assuming -- the film was probably given a paltry budget. The conceit of the whole movie is that the F. B. I. is using the footage to get help in solving the murders of the crew of a paranormal T. V. show, called S. P. I. T. (the "Spiritual and Paranormal Investigative Team" . . . or, something like that). That part was kind of stupid. Spit?! I mean, . . . c'mon. I failed to see any humor in it, if that were the intent. The F. B. I. connection was also, in my humble opinion, totally unnecessary. It added nothing to the story and even confused it. Why was the Bureau involved at all? We know that the members of the crew were killed . . . but, were they missing, too? And, would their disappearance have even mattered, when the tapes showed their deaths? (I thought, the F. B. I. looked for missing people whom they hoped to be ALIVE.) At the end, the F. B. I. person reveals some screen (?)/box (?)/whatever, that only confused things further. I won't say what it is, because I honestly am still not sure what it was meant to be. Anyways, it felt like a moment of amateurism on the part of the writer, like: "Hey, let's throw in some weird stuff at the end to creep out the audience." It just so happens that some guy is also following the crew around in order to film them for his documentary. So, having two cameras allows for some more possibilities: In other words, the documentary guy catches things that the "paranormals" don't while they tape their canned script to their own cameraman. But, it also has the effect of making the film feel more like a movie, rather than an authentic "found footage" experience. That might annoy some people. There's no real blood, guts, or gore, except for a rather explicit throat-cutting. The film relies more on atmosphere, on which it pretty much delivers. The film has a lot of missed opportunities. I do wish that it had done more -- a lot more -- with all the possibilities. I mean, you've got a place where: children were brutalized and molested . . . multiple suicides had occurred . . . doctors performed excruciatingly painful experiments on the inmates . . . a little seven year-old psychopath would go around slitting people's throats . . . and, a disbelieving film crew from a paranormal T. V. show that thinks it's all a bunch of laughs and "wind-blowing-through-cracks- in-the-walls." I mean: Where do you start? It's a comfortable, easy film to watch. It's not boring . . . but, just don't expect too much.

Usually These Ghost Hunter "Paranormal" "POV" Movies Leave Me Wishing I Had Watched Something Else ... This Was Pretty Scary ... The Movie Starts With An F.B.I. Agent Asking For Your (Yes You The Viewer) Help In Watching The "Found Footage" And Helping Them Determine What Happen ... I Thought That Was A Little Silly, But It Caught My Attention And I Watched Closely ... The Movie Uses Really Well The "WTF Was That" Moments And The "Crap My Heart Skipped A Beat" Special Effects To Near Excellence ... The Script Was Small So The Emotional Acting Was In High Gear And Done Well ... The Last 3 Minutes Of The Movie (Back At The F.B.I. Office) Was Kick Butt ... If That Isn't Enough Watch To The End Of The Credits Where There Is An Extra Scene That Made Me Drop My "Popcorn" ...

Hollow's grove is not a very good film at all, the plot is very simple, go into scary place and get scared for an hour. The acting is sub-par and the scares aren't clever, it does a decent job in places of building tension but that's it. It reminded me of those ghost hunting shows they have on the television but this time they don't bother to pretend it's real. 2/10: Poor acting and a rubbish cliched script make this an awful watch

Hello everyone, I don't speak English very well, but I was not too lazy to even go to the translator. Looking for a super low budget version of Grave Encounters? So this is it. The film absorbed all the disadvantages, weaknesses at the same time losing the main advantages of Grave Encounters - the atmosphere of horror, appropriate humor flowing first into a thriller and then into a full-fledged horror. The director of this film, as well as the rest of the crew with the exception of Lance Henriksen, did not give anything worth watching either before or after this film. Who gave the money for this? Why does this even have one star at all? This is an excellent guide to how not to make films, how not to write a script, how not to act and how not to make scenery. Don't waste time on this movie, especially if you are a horror fan (like me) because you will experience pain and shame from this movie.

By the box the movie looks like it will just be another shabby found footage film but instead it is a creative, unique and freighting experience. While the writing towards the end did get a little lazy, all in all it was one of the few movies that gave me the creeps just for watching it! It did not rely on petty jump scares to get a thrill out of its audience; it's just simply creepy. I'm not sure why it has such a bad review as it is a very surprisingly scary movie! The actors aren't annoying, there are decent special effects, the camera work isn't bad and better yet the script while being a found footage film is 100% original and even funny at some points.

I don't even like the hint of anything happening to an animal, and the first half hour of this film was almost a deal killer. There was an incident with a cat inside the asylum. But...it ended up being okay and fake enough to not be too upsetting and the fact that the Humane Society was on hand to monitor, redeemed the film, to a degree. Parts of the dialogue were hilarious and I actually laughed out loud. The dialogue was real, hip and believable. The ghost kids and creepy asylum were old, tired, clichéd and seriously, eh, but it was the typical story, so I could deal with that. But...what killed this movie for me, was the ending. What a useless ending and a total letdown.