“Grave Encounters” – Adds to the Revival of Horror Cinema

I had no idea Sleepy Hollow was a horror film when I first saw it. Similarly, Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 film The Birds is entertaining even without a ghost. For me, watching horror movies with great expectations is routine, but only a few have been impressive.

Most horror films today are excessively bloody, gory, and disturbing rather than frightening. Nonetheless, some recent horror films contribute to the revival of horror cinema. Grave Encounters (far superior to the Paranormal Activity franchise), Insidious, Sinister, The Cabin in the Woods, The Possessions, The Amityville Horror, and Kill List are all creepy and certainly have redefined the horror genre.

The Real Amityville Horror (2005) – Documentary

For “Grave Encounters” (released in 2011), I’d say it’s a really interesting movie with actual horror elements and no funny facial makeup ghosts or zombies. As previously stated, I preferred this to the other Paranormal Activity films. The plot, of course, has a few strategically placed chilling and shocking jump-out moments.

Certainly, the concept is not new if you’ve seen films like Paranormal Activity, but “Grave Encounters” takes the “handycam,” “mockumentary,” or “found footage” filmmaking style to the next level.

Here is the Movie Trailer and Official Synopsis of “Grave Encounters“

Lance Preston and the crew of Grave Encounters, a ghost-hunting reality television show, are filming an episode inside the abandoned Collingwood Psychiatric Hospital, which has been the site of unexplained phenomena for years.

All in the name of good television, they voluntarily lock themselves inside the building for a night and begin a paranormal investigation, capturing everything on camera. They soon realize that the building is more than just haunted – it is alive – and it has no intention of ever letting them leave. They find themselves lost in a labyrinth of endless hallways and corridors, terrorized by the ghosts of the former patients.

They soon begin to question their own sanity, slipping deeper and deeper into the depths of madness, and ultimately discovering the truth behind the hospital’s dark past…and taping what turns out to be their final episode.

Where to watch Grave Encounters (2011)