My Review Of “Grave Encounters”

When I first sat down to watch this film I was expecting some cheesy knock off with a lazy set up and flimsy story. What I got was a surprisingly intense and well played ghost story with more nightmarish situations than what I got out of “Paranormal Activity”. This to me was a far better found footage story than any other I had seen in a while.

The story starts with skeptical asses taking advantage of the paranormal community by cashing in on the lasted crave for ghost hunting. I started out not liking the characters as they went about practically mocking the whole paranormal genre. Then when the story slowly progresses from jaded media whores straight into awareness of supernatural presence this film just brings you into a nervous posture completely focused on the scene.


The whole thing kept me on edge wondering what to expect. When the deep rumbling sounds took over the shot you knew something was about to happen and then bam. I had more moments were I actually jumped while watching this film than I have had in any other ghost story in a long while.

The actual acting flips back and forth on credibility but for the most part the characters were played with truth and believability. They gave completely to the emotion of the story and made you feel their terror. For me that says a lot about a film. If you relate and belief that actor is the part then you believe the story. This film does that for me.  The special effects where top notch. From the hair being pulled away to the evil spirits clinging to the wall were killer. The entity presence visible shots were really intense and dark. Great attention to the special effects were taken serious in this film.

The whole story leading from the point of entering the building down the spiral to insanity and into the bowls of psychiatric hell was fluid and cohesive completely. I found no real wholes in the story or the back story. This is truly a much better paranormal film compared to several others that fought for recognition lately. I totally intend to add this to my collection and enjoy it over and over.


Lance Preston and the crew of "Grave Encounters", a ghost-hunting reality television show, are shooting an episode inside the abandoned Collingwood Psychiatric Hospital, where unexplained phenomena has been reported for years. All in the name of good television, they voluntarily lock themselves inside the building for the night and begin a paranormal investigation, capturing everything on camera. They quickly 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 maze 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, ultimately discovering the truth behind the hospital's dark past...and taping what turns out to be their final episode.