Saturday, April 12, 2014

The Den is Dark and Entertaining: A Movie Review

Tagline: "He wants to watch you."

Director: Zachary Donohue.

Writers: Zachary Donohue and Lauren Thompson.

Cast: Melanie Papalia, David Schlachtenhaufen, Matt Riedy and Adam Shapiro.

The Den is a film from first time director and scriptwriter Zachary Donohue. This title was released through IFC Midnight's online platform in mid-March. And, this film fan wished he heard of the film earlier. The Den focuses on the protagonist Elizabeth (Melanie Papalia), who is exploring the internet's dark underbelly. Elizabeth loses control of a research project. And, Donohue films all of her failures through an interesting collection of mediums. Shot with an innovative style, The Den is one of the best found footage films to come by way of Los Angeles in awhile.

The story is a character study of Elizabeth. Elizabeth is a bright, young woman with a brilliant future. However, her choice of study is a poor one. You see, there are a lot strange people on the internet and Elizabeth seems to bump into all of them. From Nigerian scammers to masturbating creepers (Bill Oberst Jr.), The Den brings a lot of strangeness and humour to the screen. Events get even stranger when a group of killers look to create another snuff film. Elizabeth is their first choice of victims.

It is still unusual to see a film told through two mediums. The primary medium is the camera lens. Donohue keeps the camera steady through early exchanges. But, the film is also told through secondary mediums. These mediums range from handheld cell phone camera to GoPro devices. One man chats, while biking through New York City. Despite the use of two filters, this viewer felt like he was right in the action. Donohue keeps the story interesting by utilizing lots of devices to capture events onscreen.

The utilization of so many secondary devices keeps the filming style consistently innovative. Through much of Act I, the action is filmed through Elizabeth's computer. Elizabeth chats with users of a chat application called The Den, with her home computer. But, the camera switches to other users' webcams. Elizabeth's boyfriend, Damien (David Schlachtenhaufen), uses a handheld device to record his own murder. In Act II, another friend of Elizabeth, Jen (Lily Holleman), uses another handheld device as she enters Elizabeth's home. Elizabeth is not home, but a killer is. Jen's death utilizes one of the best filming transitions this movie watcher has seen. The camera switches from Jen's cell phone camera to a web cam and the violence is so sudden that this watcher was shocked for the first time by a film, in a very long time. Much of the filming is recorded in a very creative way.

Story elements feature Elizabeth's unravelling prominently. The story is really about Elizabeth losing her perfect life. She transitions from a normal home and work life in Los Angeles to one of torture in a short seventy-five minutes. Elizabeth journeys into hell. Her journey involves the loss of friends and the threatening of family members, to being stalked and stabbed. You can see Elizabeth unravelling through her appearance on web cams. She appears dishevelled and unhinged. Still, she soldiers on, while a group of killers come ever closer to their prey. The unravelling of this protagonist comes across as believable.

The Den is an excellent found footage film. This viewer enjoyed the climax and innovative shooting style. Horror films need more stunts as seen in The Den's Act III. Donohue has delivered a strong first film and horror fans are encouraged to seek this title out. Currently, The Den is available on several video-on-demand platforms (March 14th, 2014) and this film satisfied this viewer's lust for dark entertainment. Mysterious and thrilling, The Den records one woman's harrowing descent into hell, which is full of violent bloodletting and exciting surprises.

Overall: 8.25 out of 10 (an interesting story, lots of great humour in early scenes, action elements increase through Acts I & II, a solid production).

The Den at IFC Films:

More Details on The Den at IFC Films


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