Sx_Tape (2014)

To me, this movie is perfection.

good back-story, and good acting

Better Late Then Never

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

With one of the film's final moments given away in the first few minutes, we find out that Jill's boyfriend Adam is dead. Adam is that vital ingredient of any found-footage project, a fanatical film-maker. He spends so much time behind the webcam that we only really see him at the close, with an impressively rendered hole in his head.Jill is a carefree wild-child, an unsuccessful artist who feels that a show staged inside an abandoned hospital, The Vergerus Institute for Troubled Women would help give her the exposure she craves, in more ways than one. Not long after they (illegally) enter the hospital, the couple talk about filming a sex-tape with her strapped to a bed.Momentarily abandoning her in that vulnerable position, Adam fails to realise that in his absence, she appears to have been entered by a malevolent spirit. From then on, her behaviour spills over from impetuousness into murderous intent and madness.Sx_Tape is exceptionally well-played. Caitlyn Folley is terrific as the central character, persuasively and increasingly erratic. Her boyfriend Adam (Ian Duncan) is irritated by her behaviour, but goes along with her anyway. It isn't until they meet up with two friends Ellie and Bobby that her behaviour gets really cruel. Bobby (Chris Coy) is an objectionable bully – we don't know whether this is the influence of the spirits, or just an extension of his overbearing personality.As the group unwisely re-enter the hospital, 'Sx Tape' becomes less focused and less interesting, relying on endless investigation of (admittedly creepy) rooms and wards, punctuated by sightings of the very unfrightening spirit. Things are lifted toward the end as we realise the extent to which Jill has been influenced by the spirit, and yet further by an implausible ending which is nevertheless painfully amusing.Online reviews have been unnecessarily scathing of 'Sx_Tape', mainly because any sexual activity is not as graphic as some people would like. As a found-footage project, I was thoroughly entertained by this, mainly due to the actors.

This actually wasn't a bad movie like what some reviews are saying. It's decent, has suspense, mostly good acting, and decent scares. I did get annoyed of the characters at some point. They were pretty realistic until somewhere in the middle where the characters were just starting to annoy and irritate me. Nice guy chases after (not nice word for chick who sleeps around) scenario to an obnoxious extent. Chick doesn't care, pushes him away for no reason all the time, sleeps with someone else while boyfriend is worried and looks for her then she whines for awhile throughout the movie..."someone needs to shoot her brains out soon" is all I could think about. The nice guy also gets annoying. Wants to leave, whines about wanting to leave, but doesn't and can't take no or leave me alone for an answer. So yes, it can get overly obnoxious towards the end from the middle but this was an entertaining movie with some decent acting and OK story. Watch it if you have nothing else really to watch. Just know, it doesn't live up to the other found footage films like Grave Encounters, Blair Witch Project or a couple of the Paranormal Activity movies.

The first half of the movie is pretty uneventful in terms of shocks or scares. It seems slow and pointless until you realize it serves to build up a complex dynamic between the two main characters. This film should be judged as a thriller not a shocker or paranormal. It's more about the characters than it is about the ghosts. Ultimately it seems like the ghost is somehow part of the main girl's psyche or something like that. There is definitely a connection to her being objectified by her video-taping boyfriend and the ghost etc. It's like the boarded-up institution is her inner-emotions and the ghost is the unleashing of them. She keeps wanting to go into this old abandoned mental institution but he doesn't want to. It's like he won't listen to her...But then she gets caught on cameras having sex with the other guy and the she shows her true demonic self anyway. Even in the end she shoots him and complains how he never listens to her.The first time they leave the institution you actually see the ghost in a split-second screenshot as the camera turns around. When you see the ghost later on in the movie it isn't that scary but it isn't cheesy either. Considering this is a really low-budget movie, the acting is really good and it holds its own as a solid FF film....and the ending is cool. You just have to think deeper instead of only looking on the surface.

Bernard Rose's "SX_Tape" is a paranormal, found footage film starring Caitlyn Folley, Julie Marcus, Ian Duncan, Daniel Faraldo, Diana García and Eric Neil Gutierrez. The story focuses on Adam and Jill, a young couple in the throws of a spicy, sexual relationship as it unfolds on camera. The course of the day, kinky sexcapades and subsequent horrors take shape in a blend of psychological thrills and nightmarish chills. The story of "SX_Tape" isn't anything new or overtly original but it is well thought out and executed nicely. In an attempt to blend the sex tape phenom into the horror story, Eric Reese develops a pretty convincing concept with some actual eerie moments. There is one aspect that fails in "SX_Tape" that is an Achilles' heel in many of the found footage stories, the plausibility that a person will continue to maintain control over a camera or keep a strong composure in the face of such a horrific, life altering moment such as unfolds in this film. It is debatable and doesn't really kill a story, but when it becomes a question mark for a good third of the story, it slows down the chilling nature of a major component in the film's main gimmick. However "SX_Tape" still manages to fully present a thrilling concept with a edgy, darkness that is entertaining. The acting in this film is believable, with most of the character driven drama hanging on one person, Jill, played by Caitlyn Folley. Her ability to emote on camera the elements of both happiness and terror is both chilling and captivating. In the beginning I felt she was more mentally challenged than I am sure she meant to portray in this free spirit, whimsical character but as the movie went on I found her really more convincing. Over all the film's intended vision stays present and creates a chilling nightmare. "Sex_Tape" holds it's own in the found footage, paranormal genre without being too cerebral or too mundane. The film offers a pleasant medium of drama, thrills and suspense. "SX_Tape" offers up a nice blend of effects both in soundtrack and effects. The horror elements are at a minimum as far as the visceral components but with the creepy sound effects, sudden shock moments and constant pace toward the inevitable "SX_Tape" gives the thrills in expected places and some not so expected places. I jumped and cringed several times in the course of watching this film. Bernard Rose gives good chills, and is worth checking out by any fan of paranormal horror, especially for the fan of this ever-growing subgenre we call found footage.