Found Footage is amongst the least-respected of all horror sub-genres, and the ghost hunting film is probably a big reason for that. I mean, all you really need to make a crummy ghost hunting film is a camera and access to an old, shitty building. A solid concept and good filmmaking skills are usually optional. It's been done to death, and generally not with the best results. As I approach a full year on this movie-a-day project and I'm looking back at what I've watched, of the (many) ghost hunting movies I've seen, I can't think of one that I could enthusiastically recommend. And maybe only one or two that I'd shrug my shoulders at. Why do I keep watching these things?
Anyways, Hollows Grove is pretty good as far as these types of things go. It's average at best for a "normal" movie, but it's pretty easily in the upper echelon of FF ghost hunter flicks. So if you're into that sort of thing, or you're like me and just feel strangely compelled to watch whatever you can, it's worth checking out.
Our crew in danger this time is SPIT (Supernatural Paranormal Investigation Team, I think). These three (and their producer) make no bones about being totally fake... their show is presented as real, but behind the scenes they have no shame admitting that all of the gags are totally set up. They even have an ex-special effects guru (a more-engaged-than-usual Lance Henriksen) to work on creating all of the "gotcha" scares. Tagging along for this episode (luckily - otherwise there'd be no film) is Harold - a friend of the SPIT guys from film school. Harold is just recovering from a bad breakup, and the ghost hunters are basically throwing him a bone by letting him shoot some behind the scenes footage for the a documentary film. (Why they would want to show the world that they are total frauds is never addressed.) The crew ends up at Hollows Grove, and long abandoned orphanage with a history of sexual abuse, violence, and deplorable living conditions. And the second most haunted place in America! The SPIT team is not exactly welcomed there with open arms - the caretaker won't let them in, saying their show is BS and this here is the real thing. He says he even refused to let Bill (the effects guy) in earlier to set up the gags! But SPIT has all of the legal permits and what not, so into Hollows Grove they go. And of course, they get a little more than they bargained for.
Hollows Grove is presented as official FBI evidence - an agent introduces us to the footage, saying something along the lines of "if you're watching this, you're an officer of the law. Hopefully you can offer some insight as to exactly what happened that day." So you know from the get go that things don't go well for our ghost hunters. Honestly, this whole setup doesn't accomplish much. I mean, it gets Mykelti Williamson in the cast, and gives you one good jolting jump scare. But other than that it's kind of pointless. I mean, I guess it gives us a "reason" to be watching the footage, but at this point in the found footage genre I'm not sure we even need that. But it's not an intrusive gimmick, so whatever.
The biggest problem with the film is the characters. They don't take anything seriously for the first half of the film (so why should you?), and go a little overboard with the obnoxious humor. Dick jokes can only replace character development so much, you know? Also, the blase way these guys go about making their show just doesn't ring true in the least. It seems so poorly planned and their host spiels are annoying. I mean, they admit they are just in it for the money - but even "just making money" has to be taken seriously at times. Here, it seems like the SPIT television show would be unwatchable.
BUT - Hollows Grove delivers where it has to. The atmosphere/tension in the film is really quite good. The building they are investigating is appropriately creepy and aged, and it's well shot. The camera used for the majority of the film seems to be pretty high-quality, so you get a good, detailed look at how run-down the building is. And, while there is the occasional digital glitch, when the shit goes down, you actually can see what is happening, which is a nice change of pace.
The image does switch to the SPIT cameras from time to time, so you also get the obligatory night vision footage/shaky cam and whatnot. But overall, the camerawork is pretty steady and crisp, and a bit more professional looking than some other found footage ghost hunting stuff I've come across. You get a good, clear view of things and a nice concept of the layout of the building... when you are used to people wandering from room to unidentifiable room, you can appreciate the attention to detail.
The film is not overly gory, but it's effective. You get periodic gore, but it's much more of a haunting film than an splatter fest. And the ghosts look just fine. I've seen a lot of these things derailed by shitty-looking ghosts, so I like it when they just look like people. (And granted, here they look like people with stupid masks, but you take what you can get.)
Overall, if you do the Found Footage ghost hunting thing on a regular basis, Hollow's Grove is close to a must watch. While it certainly has it's problems, it never drags, things escalate appropriately, and the scares/tension more or less deliver. It's not amazing or anything, but it's a good way to pass the time when you're sick of Ghost Adventures.
I would cautiously recommend this film.
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