‘Specter’ Review
Stars: Corey Ankele, Kaitlin Ankele, Adrian Cavlan, Michael Daniel, Michael Frye, German Gladkov, Jordan Graham, Paul Jedlicka, Leah Johnson, Rachel Johnson, Jerry León, Lauren Ligoki, Christopher Maddocks, Gabriel Nicholson, Carey Nieto | Written by Jordan Graham, Joe Patron | Directed by Jordan Graham
The town of Midground is threatened by a tsunami caused by a massive earthquake in the North Pacific Ocean. After other unexplainable events transpire, Chase Lombardi and friends are forced to discover whether they are experiencing a natural phenomenon or something else all together. A supernatural thriller containing real natural disasters intertwined with a narrative story that will keep you guessing until the very end.
Well done, Specter. I write this review with shaky hands as I recall what I just witnessed and try at the same time not to think about it at all. Specter knows how to poke the viewer in just the right way. The start of this found footage alien horror plays you throughout, slowly building suspense with constant threats of something on the horizon but never quite telling you what the ‘thing’ is. It could be the pending natural disaster that may or may not be happening. It could be something about the drugs that may or may not have an effect. It might be something else entirely.
This suspense is built until it almost seems normal and you begin to settle into a false sense of security. I even had the nerve to say, ‘this film is getting quite boring’ at one point. HA. Foolish mortal! That’s when the film kicks off into full crazy mode, and although you won’t know exactly what is going on, you know it is terrifying. Specter tells you just enough to keep you interested (or too scared to move) but not enough to answer any of your questions. Then, before you know it, it is back into suspense mode. Everything slows down again, but the ominous presence is there now and it isn’t going anywhere.
As found footage goes, this is definitely close to being one of my favourites. The use of black and white, the editing and camera work, and the footage used alongside it give Specter a sense of realism which is absolutely vital for this kind of film to be successful. With Specter, you have to be in it for the ride. Don’t expect to get any definite answers (they are there… maybe) but if you want a freaky, exciting and scary found footage film, I would definitely point towards this one enthusiastically.
**** 4/5
Specter is released on DVD on July 27th, courtesy of High Fliers Films.
