Vlogger

A Vlogger begins to experience strange events in his home and records the whole thing…

Found footage films as I and others have said can be very hit or miss. Sometimes it’s not the right format for the story being told and, certainly for me, often it’s a case of, ‘why the hell are you still filming?’ when events get out of hand or truly terrifying.

However, Death Of A Vlogger using the format makes total sense. It’s a film that looks at YouTubers and those that Vlog and asks questions, both about why they do it and also the reaction to it. However, the film also, thanks to they way it tells its story takes another track too. It combines the found footage aspect along with a documentary style, as we see interviews both with those involved in the events and also with others who cast doubt on them.

Cleverly, writer and director Graham Hughes brilliantly gives plausible alternatives to aspects of the haunting, which casts doubts to wither the horror is real, or made up by Graham (the vlogger’s name). It adds a very clever layer to the story.

The performances from the unknown cast are very enthusiastic.  Annabel Logan play Erin, Graham’s girlfriend, Paddy Kondracki as Steve, a ghost hunter Vlogger who gets involved. They may have little experience of film but they give their all which adds to the film a great deal and also in a way makes the Vlogging aspect even more believable in some ways.

But it’s the Graham Hughes project.

He acts well as the lead, has written a very clever and often quite funny film, one that is also properly scary. There’s a sequence late on the film that shows you don’t need a huge budget (and by all accounts this film had no budget) to make something scary. And make no mistake, Death Of A Vlogger is properly scary. It’s one of the best found footage horror type of films I’ve seen recently.

I missed this film when it showed at FrightFest London, but I’m glad I’ve finally caught up with it, especially on a cinema screen as it is a damn good, scary film indeed.

Rating: **** out of 5