“Matt? Matt? Matt? Matt? Matt?…”

Story: A group of paranormal investigators are hoping to hit it big by filming an episode at the abandoned Collingwood Psychiatric Hospital. These guys are fakes, but the ghosts here are real…you know the drill.

Scares: Some effectively suspenseful “what’s around the corner” chills that quickly peter out
Splat Factor:  Mostly ghostly, but a bit of blood here and there

Subgenre: Middling Mental Asylum Found Footage
Year Released: 2011
Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: Original, though you’ll see it as a “homage” to other found footage flicks

Trick or Treat?: Found footage horror can be a blast, or boring AF. Encounters seems to want to walk the line between those extremes, giving viewers tantalizing ideas that pay off poorly.

The premise is pretty cool; “why didn’t they leave” is answered by the crew locking themselves into the facility. Y’know, like idiots. What if someone cut themselves on rusty metal? Or fell downs a flight of stairs? Not the brightest, Our Gang. But Our Cast is fantastic. They’re obviously giving their all here. I want to give them all hot tea with honey and lemon, because their throats are probably STILL sore after all the screaming they do here. When they’re given more to do than simply howling and whining? They’re believably terrified.

My problem? Midway through, the story becomes “walk, walk, ponder, repeat” for far too long. So, I lost interest. And with a found footage film? Once I lose interest, it goes from chilling to dull as bloody dishwasher in no time. Things crank back up in the last 30 minutes, but after too much boring filler padding the middle? I’d already checked out.

This is a film that had a great idea, talented cast, and a brilliant crew. (Seriously; this ultra-low budget film looks incredible.) But the pacing is uneven, making for a film I had to slog through to finish. The Vicious Brothers went on to make incredible stuff, like What Keeps You Alive and one of my favorite zom-coms, It Stains the Sands Red. This is their first film, and it shows, both in their promise as filmmakers, and their relative inexperience at the time.

I’d pair this with Ghostwatch and Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum, with this film either the first (from so-so to supurb) or last (from edge of your seat to getting sleepy.)

Score: 2.5 out of 5 pumpkins.