Movielogr

Rating: 4 stars

Tags

found footage NWI

All movies seen on 01/22/2011

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Seventh Moon (2008)

Directed by Eduardo Sánchez

Horror

Overview

Melissa and Yul, Americans honeymooning in China, come across the exotic ‘Hungry Ghost’ festival. When night falls, the couple end up in a remote village, and soon realize the legend is all too real. Plunged into an ancient custom they cannot comprehend, the couple must find a way to survive the night of the Seventh Moon.

Rated R | Length 87 minutes

Actors

Dennis Chan | Tim Chiou | Amy Smart

Viewing History (seen 1 time)

Viewing Notes

Seventh Moon has an interesting premise and some truly creepy scenes, but the almost total reliance on shaky handheld camera work brings it down a lot.

Sanchez was one of the co-directors of Blair Witch, so I guess I should have expected as much.

Much of the movie is filmed at night in low to no light settings; using existing light from real sources like car headlights, flashlights, even a cell phone screen at one point. At its best, this convention reminds me of the tension-filled low light moments in The Descent. At worst, it reminds me of the aforementioned Blair Witch Project, which I absolutely hated.

I don’t begrudge Sanchez his handheld camera and low light atmospherics, but they’re tools that should be used in conjunction with other mechanics. The lack of static and/or smooth camera work, establishing shots, etc. really hurts this movie.

Having said all that, I didn’t hate it as much as others have, but in the end I did find it pretty average.

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