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I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Excellent but underrated film

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

A group of Australian kids test ghost summoning rituals they discover on the Internet. The one called "Beckoning the Butcher" seemed to have worked.The entire film is hand held camera. The story line wasn't good and the scenes were not scary. The acting wasn't too bad and in fact I thought heart throb Sophie Wright to be quite good. Unfortunately the film stank. This film is not related to Karl the Butcher, I think. Picture on cover is not in the film. DVD has no extra other than trailers.Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity

This is a really dull film. It's presented as a faux documentary, but the way it's assembled comes off as obviously fake and unconvincing, which makes it hard to suspend disbelief before even the opening credits.The main characters aren't particularly compelling or likable, and one has to wonder why anyone would take most of them along if all they're going to do is freak out at the slightest indication of weird happenings...after they've blithely engaged in a blood ritual! There's a sort of feeling about the whole affair that seems like they went down a checklist of things you do in found footage horror and added them, not because they made sense with the script, but because they were expected.It's especially odd when things happen like them finding a car they abandoned earlier because it didn't start and having a fit because...it didn't start. They were the ones that left it earlier! There are other leaps of illogic, like "we can't go to the main road, no cars will be on it at this time of night", so of course they don't go. But wouldn't it be a higher chance of cars being on it than a side road nobody knows about to an abandoned house? Couldn't you just wait a couple of hours until the road would be busier? Similarly, at one point they make a circle in salt on the floor and light a candle, saying they'll be safe as long as they stay in the circle. Almost immediately they hear a noise and all of them instantly leave the circle and abandon the candle, which they're shocked to find has gone out by the time they come back. You don't say! Added to this are things like characters just disappearing abruptly, but we don't really see it always happen clearly and it's just something we're supposed to assume after the fact. The incoherent ending was also pretty amazing in its confusion, and it was just an unsatisfying mess.The acting was pretty good for most of the cast, and the photography was also solid enough, even for a found footage film. The scares and effects were mostly pretty good, although some will stand out as ridiculous. There's a shot of something that looks like it was picked up on the cheap at a Spirit Halloween store, and it's very obvious; they don't cut the shot quick enough, so it's easy to notice.The scares start about ten to fifteen minutes from the end, which really is waiting too long. So much nothing happens. It would have been a better film at half its length, and it was barely over an hour. Its short running time makes it worth a watch if vaguely spooky found footage is your thing, but don't expect it to challenge the genre or your expectations, and expect to be disappointed by the ridiculous ending and some of the laughably inane captions the "documentary" provides.It can do some good, solid scares, but for whatever reason it only seems to have about three and they're all saved for the last few minutes. If only they could have sprinkled them throughout the rest of the film to keep it interesting!

Found footage films, as a way of telling a story, has really taken off since 'The Blair Witch Project'. The approach has its fans and detractors, but to me remains an intriguing and legitimate way of telling a story. More than that, the approach invites us here to become the sixth member of a five-person group. We are invited into their mildly intimate thoughts by way of their ongoing filmed blogging (designed to be uploaded onto a website specialising in ghost-hunts), and we get to know them all in a way that wouldn't be as effective as if this were a straightforward film. That way, when the whispered legend of 'the Butcher' begin to come true and mildly spooky things start happening in the remote building in which they are staying, the scares make us jump too. We're even mildly irritated when Tara (Stephanie Mauro) is the only one to refuse to produce blood next to her signature when agreeing to take part in the project, although that has fatal repercussion later.Many of the successful elements of 'Blair Witch' are present in this Australian slow-burner (watches stopping, member of the group going missing, trying to escape but going round in circles etc). So while the boxes are ticked, there is no lessening of their impact – this is a successful formula, and 'Beckoning the Butcher' uses it very well. It doesn't reinvent the 'found footage' formula, but it utilises every successful element of the genre. And on a personal note, it works entirely – after watching this I've just tentatively visited every room in my apartment to make sure there is no-one there. Irrational? Embarrassing? Both, more than likely, but if a low-budget film like this can have that effect on a jaded old long-time horror-fan, then 'found footage' is medium that has secured a DIFFERENT way to scare.The five main cast members are good, natural performers. There's no element of 'putting on a show'. Only the physicist Shannon (Janet Watson-Kruse) threatens to dampen the illusion, and that's because she's been lumbered with fanciful eulogising dialogue about 'spiritual intervention' and 'time bubbles.' However, it is her words that come to mind when the group's collective time-pieces stop working. They are captured in perpetual night (3.am) that will not end until 'the Butcher' has had his way with them.'Beckoning the Butcher' is non-specific title, and the DVD cover, featuring the cast in a selection of horrified grimace, could almost suggest a comedy. Don't be fooled, this is no comedy; it is one of the best examples of its kind.

Coming into Beckoning the Butcher, I was expecting nothing. I wanted to like it being from Australia, but I had my hesitations. But I am glad to say that it wasn't a waste of time, in fact, it was quite entertaining.What I liked about this little movie the most was the low budget approach. Now, I know this is out of the hands of the director and if he had his way, I am sure it would be a bigger budget, but for Found Footage, the whole idea is to make you believe that its an amateur found footage. With a higher budget, the authenticity of the whole situation is lost in translation.The way Beckoning the Butcher is made, reminded me of the Blair Witch Project. While not as good as TBWP, it still had the slow burn atmospheric grip, unlike films like Paranormal Activity, which relies on cheap jump scares. Beckoning the Butcher takes its time and it gradually becomes scarier, which is what I appreciated the most.If you are a die hard fan of this sub genre, then definitely check this one out. If you are only a casual fan, or a fan that is fed up with the amount of Found Footage stuff coming out, give it a miss, but I am definitely happy I have it in my collection!