7 Nights Of Darkness (2011)

While not the first, the Blair Witch was at it's time a very effective representation of found footage. (BTW look online for the never was a witch theory,but it was all a planned murder carefully crafted against heather). A side effect of this successful film was, for good or bad, a glut of similar styled formats,most notably the Paranormal series. How ever this forget able little addition fails to make good use of the genre and its potentially great setting, a psychiatric asylum. the tag says it all On April 30, 2010, six reality television show contestants spent seven nights in an abandoned and haunted asylum. The show never aired but an editor for the network was able to piece together some footage. The prize for staying all seven nights was a share of one million dollars that was to be split amongst any contestants that didn't leave. No prize money was ever awarded. We are given very little background info on the place and less unfolds as we watch. The idea of insane ghosts is great but fails to be exploited. The characters are 2 dimensional and seem unconcerned as members vanish one by one...I mean wouldn't you search the whole hospital for them? Nope, instead, it's "let's go to sleep" In one night two people disappear, and after the initial "OH $#!+, THEY VANISHED," they acknowledge it and skip off to the next nightly challenge As for scares, well, they are the usual face change, shadow in the corner schtick. The only "patient" we hear about is an unnamed little girl who haunts the place. No background, no other horrific ghosts with terrifying pasts that once lived here, just shadows. Had they gone to specific sites that were scenes of heinous acts we would be more engaged, No history of demented orderlies, over strict nurses or sadistic doctor torturing or maiming inmates. If you watch it to the end it to the end hoping for answers> There are none, simply because there are no questions

I love the horror sub genre of found footage but have often been very disappointed with the results. Most are completely overacted with cheap scares (Bell Witch Haunting), a weak plot and unbelievable characters. Not expecting much of a film I never heard of, I was surprised by what a decent film it was. For a low budget, the scares were there -- and not just the cheap jump-out-at-you kind. I found it much better than Grave Encounters. A few of the characters did overact but fortunately, one of them goes quiet early on. And the cryptic ending gives the viewer something to think about when it is over....make sure you keep watching past the credits or you will miss it!6/10 for a horror movie -- not bad.

Six reality TV show contestants spend seven nights in an old abandoned asylum that's reputed to be haunted. Writer/director Allen Kellogg does a bang-up job with the familiar found footage premise: The characters are all believable and interesting, the real-life shut down sanitarium location radiates an authentically eerie and unsettling vibe, and the creepy atmosphere becomes more increasingly tense and unnerving as the narrative unfolds towards an absolutely terrifying conclusion. Moreover, Kellogg warrants extra kudos for not only eschewing gore in favor of mood, but also for maintaining a grimly serious no-kidding tone throughout. The convincing naturalistic acting by the able non-star cast rates as another major asset, with especially commendable work from Kellogg as the desperate Carter, Jennifer Hoffman as the knowledgeable Lina, Meredith Kochan as the perky Brooke, Larry Nehring as the jittery John, and Andrew Richardson as the jerky Randy. Coleen Moskowitz's rough hand-held cinematography gives the picture a credible and compelling immediacy. The absence of any music and expert use of ambient sound further enhance this movie's overall chilling impact. Proof positive that one doesn't need a big budget to make a damn scary and effective fright feature.

This film has the worst acting ever in recorded history. The premise of the movie seems to be about reality TV contestants. Too bad the actors and actresses resemble nothing even close to how people in the real world act. Don't waste your time watching this one. This kind of movie has been done over and over again. It always turns out to be the same, no reality to it whatsoever, substandard scripting and really bad acting from true amateurs. There is better acting in porn than what you'll see in this one. The camera work is at times very suspicious, if you're told it's gonna be a reality show, and you see different stationary cameras all of a sudden move for better angle, then you know it's all downhill from there with reality flying out the window.