The Dark Tapes

source: The Dark Tapes

Just when you think the found footage horror genre might be heading for a recession of sorts on the back of some rather forgettable outings over the last 5 or so years, along comes yet another finely tuned example of why the sub-genre took off in the first place, this time in the form of impressive independent filmmakers Michael McQuown's and Vincent J. Guastini's The Dark Tapes. A collection of individually themed episodes, linked between a continuing component that occurs before each new event (or dark tape), The Dark Tapes follows on from films like the VHS series or Tales From Halloween before it to keep things fresh and coming at a steady pace by never allowing it's episodes to linger on too long to make sure the audience feels like they're on their toes as to what's waiting for them around the corner. As is to be expected from films of this nature, not every episode hits a home run and McQuown (who directs all bar one of the films segments) can at times be accused of overusing effects such as audio crackling or on screen tampering to enhance the whole "found footage" vibe but when The Dark Tapes hits it hits hard and there are some memorably horrific and macabre moments in the film that suggest McQuown is a name to watch closely for those horror aficionado's. Episodes in particular that include a family haunted in their home by a nefarious presence or a smartly constructed web cam show turned bad feel tightly and effectively constructed by McQuown, who eschews his small budgeted roots to deliver some disturbing and effective chills, providing a stark reminder as to why found footage provides such a great jumping off point for those working under right budget constraints. In a genre that has been defined by those that have started with minimum funds to deliver classics of the field (the likes of Tobe Hooper, Sam Raimi and Rob Zombie), it's great to see another start-up like McQuown appear on the scene and it's likely Hollywood has taken notice of the wins McQuown manages to have within The Dark Tapes. Final Say – The Dark Tapes is a multi-award winning independent horror that genre enthusiasts should certainly track down. Filled with some impressive twists and some uniquely grisly moments, McQuown's low budget effort is one of recent times best found footage efforts and a nice calling card for a director who clearly has the tools required to become a key player in the horror film landscape. 3 keen to be involved children out of 5

As far as found footage horror goes I found this to be an alright movie. Then when I looked it up and found out it was a from scratch no budget movie I gave it much more credit. People have made a lot worse movies with a lot more money then these people. They didn't have much to work with, yet the movie still turned out good and you could tell everyone or almost everyone put their heart into trying to make it good and interesting. I wish they advertised they didn't have any budget because people would appreciate this a lot more. With some money behind a future movie I do believe they can turn out something awesome to rival or surpass ABC's of Death or VHS.

This is not a movie. It's a collection of short clips with no correlation to each other. It employees infamous actors and perhaps low budget director as well. There are no connection between one story to another. It just shows a bunch of jump-scares effect, but without any terrifying stuff. In one of the scene, you can clearly see an actor with a part-ghost part-monster costume. Surely, it's a low budget movie with very low quality story line. I wonder this could ever be on theaters? And who would even want to pay to watch it?

The Dark Tapes takes full advantage of the potential for creative control the independent film scene offers production teams. So often, I feel disappointed after watching independent films that take the same route (and same shortcuts) as mainstream productions whose content is homogenized, handcuffed by studio memorandums - the same jump scares, the same plot lines, the same character tropes - too little creativity on a platform that offers so much room for innovation. Following in the footsteps of classic horror compilations, be they also found footage (such as VHS 1 & 2) or standard horror affair (Body Bags, Southbound, Trick 'r Treat, All Hallows Eve), or even further back to the founding fathers of horror anthology (Tales From the Crypt, The Vault of Horrors, Creepshow), The Dark Tapes is sure to deliver if what you are after is a creepy, genuinely-thought provoking anthology horror film that stays true to the found footage format without entering the territory of feeling too contrived. The story is intelligently written and the stories offer enough variety to satiate fans of the weird, fans of sci-fi, monsters, blood 'n guts, and psychological horror alike. This was a great outing and I'm looking forward to the next outing by writer/director Michael McQuown and co!

didn't know what to expect going into this, though i had decently high hopes since any found footage that gets higher than a 4 on IMDb tends to be pretty damn good (for some reason its trendy to hate movies, especially found footage). this one reminds me of VHS since its several stories that range from demons to aliens to just evil people. each story wasn't overly complicated and each one gave you just enough information so your not sitting confused wondering about the little things. this is one you should give a chance, its worth it. plus its only an hour and a half so its not a real long one. i definitely recommend it.

Id like to start by saying that i am a fan of the V/H/S movies but the Dark tapes doesn't even come close ... Poor quality movie .. Poor acting ... Very slow ... Dogshit story. The amount of hype that has been generated on facebook by the makers of this trying to promote it is ridiculous and they are trying to get people to vote for it for the Rondo Hatton award before they have even seen it and also pushing pre order for the movie probably to get some of the small budget back. This is up there as probably the worst movie i have ever seen Don't waste your time with it. it is everything i expected from all the fake hype. If you do want to waste your time with it then for gods sake don't waste money on it! Terrible Terrible movie. i gave it 1 out of 10 as i couldn't give it a zero!

I really thoroughly enjoyed "The Dark Tapes". It's a wraparound film, which I'm not sure if that qualifies as spoiler material or not, but you do revisit the initial setting at the end and I would describe the beginning (upon initial view) as somewhat stilted. It feels like you're just thrown into the mix and you kind of are, but sticking around to the end pays off and feels a lot more fluid the second time around. I enjoyed it and since my first viewing I've been wanting to re watch it. It's fun, it's inventive and the underlying story line is really intriguing. Although, that's not to say that the anthology and stories inside the story are not interesting. They're fantastic. I got a very VHS/REC vibe from the entire film. It's also clear it was made with a lot of passion and love from the filmmakers. You can see it in every detail, I think. Overall, just a really fun time. I will be happily adding this to my "purchased" list.

I first found out about the Dark Tapes through a suggested ad on Facebook, and have been following the anticipated release of this title now for a few years. I finally had the opportunity to sit down and watch it, excited for the key-moments in the initial trailer that had piqued my interest. As a fan of Lovecraftian fiction, I found that this film in particular played on the same themes and ideas that generally play out in any of H.P. Lovecraft's stories: paranormal or unexplained phenomena that is built upon a foundation of almost-scientific transmogrify. In a way, I am reminded of Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal--" albeit, satire-- where an idea or story so profoundly horrific is presented but utilizes empirical factors to present the case, and tie the whole story together. I'm not typically a fan of the "found-footage" genre of movies, wherein the usual tropes of "jump scares" are overdone time and time again, and the Dark Tapes avoids these played out clichés and focuses solely on the stories which it presents. It attempts to distance itself from other similar titles within the same genre, I feel, and it cements itself as something entirely unique. Whereas I can understand that this film might not be for everybody-- especially those who have a keen eye for production elements-- if you are someone who enjoys stories and imagery that works to get inside of your head and leaves you asking questions than this movie is definitely for you. I long anticipated this title, and I was not disappointed; I only hope that there will be more like this in the future.

Oh boy, oh boy, how bad was this film. I was expecting a generally good film but boy I was wrong. I like found footage movies, so I knew I would give this a good look and see what it was like. Almost an hour and forty running time, it was a waste of my time and the film makers time. Out of the full running time there must have been maybe twenty minutes of worthy scenes to watch. One jump scene and one not bad story doesn't make a good movie and distorting a voice to make it seem scary, well that just went out with the ark. Okay the film makers didn't have millions of pounds to make a huge movie but the good bits that were in the film showed potential in them. I was going to give this film one point but fir the scenes I have mentioned I gave it two. Don't waste your time, an awful film.