Hollows Grove

Last updated
Hollows Grove
Hollows Grove film poster.jpg
Directed byCraig Efros
Written byCraig Efros
Produced byGary Adelman
Craig Efros
Mel Efros
Tony Palermo
Starring Mykelti Williamson
Lance Henriksen
Matthew Carey
CinematographySidney Sidell
Edited bySam Bauer
Production
company
Hollows Grove
Release date
  • October 21, 2014 (2014-10-21)
Running time
81 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Hollows Grove is a 2014 independent horror film and the feature film directorial debut of Craig Efros. [1] It was released as a digital download on 21 October 2014 and stars Matthew Carey as a filmmaker that decides to create a documentary centering upon a ghost hunting team, only to find that this could be the last thing he ever does. [2]

Contents

Synopsis

The film is framed with footage of an FBI agent (Mykelti Williamson), who introduces the footage as material shot during an episode for the paranormal investigation show S.P.I.T. (Spirit Paranormal Investigation Team). Most of the footage is taken from the camera of Harold (Matthew Carey), who was accompanying the team in order to shoot a documentary, but is interspersed with footage from other cameras on set. The movie then cuts to the start of Harold's footage.

Harold is shown to be a down-on-his-luck filmmaker, as he finds his normal job (creating footage for a comedy show) unfulfilling and has recently broken up with his girlfriend. He's hoping that the documentary on S.P.I.T. will give him some much needed exposure in the entertainment world, but is disappointed when he finds that all of the supernatural elements and evidence seen on the show are fake, engineered by their special effects coordinator Bill (Lance Henriksen) for maximum entertainment. Despite this, he decides to continue with filming, as the group will be traveling to Hollows Grove, a former orphanage and hospital known for being exceptionally haunted.

At the site the building's caretaker Hector (Eddie Perez) tries to convince the group to leave, as he believes the Grove to be genuinely dangerous, as many people have died while investigating the building. However, the group chooses to ignore his advice and enters the building anyway. Once inside, they experience a number of seemingly paranormal events, which they dismiss as some of Bill's stunts. It's only when one of the events includes the dead body of a cat that they begin to become unsettled and start wondering if the events are truly real. As the night progresses the group experiences more and more phenomena, forcing them to realize that Hector's warnings were legitimate. These phenomena also result in separating the group members as they're attacked and killed one by one. Attempts to escape are unsuccessful. Eventually only Harold remains and he tries one last time to flee, only for him to be attacked and dragged into the building's basement, where he's thrown into a boiler and burned alive.

The film ends with Jones stating that the FBI investigated the building and found that there were no survivors save for one member, Julie (Bresha Webb), who is stuck in a coma after she threw herself out of a window. He also informs the viewer that they did find one piece of evidence, a swirling fog trapped in a clear container. As the film ends, a face surfaces in the fog and lunges at the camera. After the credits Julie is shown waking up in the hospital but is also revealed to be supernaturally possessed.

Cast

Reception

Critical reception has been negative. [3] [4] [5] Dread Central gave Hollows Grove one star, writing that while they were "mildly amused at the idea of how full of crap the crew knew they were about their show and its production", the film was ultimately a disappointment. [6] HorrorNews.net was slightly more positive and they praised the performances from Henriksen and Doherty but overall panned the film for being too "tightly tucked inside the established blue print for this kind of found footage film, it never pushes any boundaries nor reaches for any taboos or new ground. It is decidedly by the books which makes it often dull." [7]

Related Research Articles

<i>Noroi: The Curse</i> 2005 Japanese film

Noroi: The Curse is a 2005 Japanese horror film directed and co-written by Kōji Shiraishi. It stars Jin Muraki as Masafumi Kobayashi, a paranormal researcher investigating a series of mysterious events for a documentary. The film employs a pseudo-documentary style of storytelling and utilizes found footage conventions, with the majority of the narrative being presented as if it were Kobayashi's documentary, made up of footage recorded by Kobayashi's cameraman. The film's cast also includes actress Marika Matsumoto, who plays a fictionalized version of herself, as well as Rio Kanno, Tomono Kuga, and Satoru Jitsunashi.

<i>The Blair Witch Project</i> 1999 horror film by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez

The Blair Witch Project is a 1999 American psychological horror film written, directed, and edited by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez. One of the most successful independent films of all time, it is a "found footage" mockumentary in which three students hike into the Black Hills near Burkittsville, Maryland, to shoot a documentary about a local myth known as the Blair Witch.

<i>Paranormal Activity</i> 2007 film by Oren Peli

Paranormal Activity is a 2007 American supernatural horror film produced, written, directed, photographed, and edited by Oren Peli. It centers on a young couple who are haunted by a supernatural presence inside their home. They then set up a camera to document what is haunting them. The film uses found-footage conventions that were mirrored in the later films of the series.

Found footage is a cinematic technique in which all or a substantial part of the work is presented as if it were film or video recordings recorded by characters in the story, and later "found" and presented to the audience. The events on screen are typically seen through the camera of one or more of the characters involved, often accompanied by their real-time, off-camera commentary. For added realism, the cinematography may be done by the actors themselves as they perform, and shaky camera work and naturalistic acting are routinely employed. The footage may be presented as if it were "raw" and complete or as if it had been edited into a narrative by those who "found" it.

<i>Paranormal Entity</i> 2009 American film

Paranormal Entity is a 2009 American supernatural horror film written, directed by and starring Shane Van Dyke and produced by The Asylum in 2009. It is one of many films dubbed as a "mockbuster", a movie designed to capitalize on the success of a more popular film. Paranormal Entity is a knockoff of the successful low-budget horror film Paranormal Activity. The film was followed by indirect sequels 8213: Gacy House in 2010, Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes in 2011, and 100 Ghost Street: The Return of Richard Speck in 2012. The film's premise is that of a series of allegedly factual surveillance videos documenting the downward spiral and eventual supernatural rape and murder of a woman named Samantha Finley.

<i>Paranormal Activity 3</i> 2011 film by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman

Paranormal Activity 3 is a 2011 American found footage supernatural horror film directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman. It is the third installment of the Paranormal Activity series and serves as a prequel, mostly set 18 years prior to the events of the first two films. It was released in theaters on October 21, 2011. Paranormal Activity 3 was also Joost and Schulman's first horror film.

<i>Unaware</i> 2010 American film

Unaware is an American science-fiction horror thriller film directed by Sean Bardin and Robert Cooley. It follows a vacationing couple who discover something disturbing on a rural Texas ranch. Like the films Paranormal Activity (2007) and The Blair Witch Project (1999), Unaware is an independent feature presented in "found footage" format. The producers have also followed in marketing the film to potential fans via Eventful.

<i>Grave Encounters</i> 2011 Canadian found footage supernatural horror film

Grave Encounters is a 2011 Canadian found footage supernatural horror film written, directed and edited by the Vicious Brothers. It stars Sean Rogerson, Ashleigh Gryzko, Merwin Mondesir, Mackenzie Gray, and Juan Riedinger as the crew of a paranormal reality television program who lock themselves in a supposedly haunted psychiatric hospital in search of evidence of paranormal activity, as they shoot what ends up becoming their final episode.

<i>Haunted Poland</i> 2011 Polish film

Haunted Poland is a 2011 horror film in the found footage genre, pieced together from amateur footage. The film was produced by Maso & Co Productions. Told cinéma vérité-style, Haunted Poland depicts the contents of recorded tape filmed by a couple Ewelyn, and Pau who visited Poland to meet and visit family. However, our duo soon find themselves disturbed by all manner of strange phenomena upon visiting the girl's hometown where she once played with a ouija board. The film premiered at the AIFF on November 20, 2011.

<i>The Amityville Haunting</i> 2011 American film

The Amityville Haunting is a 2011 direct-to-video horror film released on December 13, 2011. The film is inspired by Jay Anson's 1977 book The Amityville Horror. It was produced by The Asylum and Taut Productions.

<i>Paranormal Activity</i> (film series) American supernatural horror film series

Paranormal Activity is an American supernatural horror franchise consisting of seven films and additional media. Created by Oren Peli, the original film premiered in 2007 and was widely released in 2009.

<i>100 Ghost Street: The Return of Richard Speck</i> 2012 American film

100 Ghost Street: The Return of Richard Speck, or Paranormal Entity 4: The Awakening, is a 2012 supernatural horror film written and directed by Martin Andersen and distributed by The Asylum. It is a mockbuster of the film Paranormal Activity 4.

<i>The Hospital</i> (2013 film) 2013 American film

The Hospital is a 2013 horror film co-directed by Tommy Golden and Daniel Emery Taylor. Having a limited US release in February 2013, the film has subsequently screened at various horror film festivals, was presented at Cannes Film Festival, and took home the "Scariest Movie" award at Germany's largest genre festival, Movie Days, in Dortmund.

<i>Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones</i> 2014 film by Christopher Landon

Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones is a 2014 American found footage supernatural horror film written and directed by Christopher Landon. Released on January 3, 2014, in the United States, it is the fifth installment of the Paranormal Activity film series. It is also Landon's second directorial film, after Burning Palms. Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $90 million worldwide.

<i>The Inside</i> (film) 2012 Irish horror thriller film directed by Eoin Macken

The Inside is a 2012 Irish horror thriller film directed, written and produced by Eoin Macken. The film is about a group of young women who hold a party at a disused warehouse where they are violently attacked by a gang of vagrants before a malevolent, supernatural force is unleashed.

<i>The Mirror</i> (2014 film) 2014 British film

The Mirror is a 2014 British found footage horror film that was directed and written by Edward Boase. The movie had its world premiere on 8 September 2014 at the London FrightFest Film Festival and is based upon a 2013 news article based around a purportedly haunted mirror that left its owners "dogged by bad luck, financial misery, strange sightings and illness".

<i>Suburban Gothic</i> (film) 2014 American film

Suburban Gothic is a 2014 American comedy horror film directed by Richard Bates Jr. It had its world premiere on July 19, 2014, at the Fantasia International Film Festival and stars Matthew Gray Gubler as a young man who returns home only to find himself faced with the supernatural. The film was released in select theaters and via video on demand platforms on January 30, 2015.

<i>The Paranormal Diaries: Clophill</i> 2013 British film

The Paranormal Diaries: Clophill is a 2013 British horror film that was written and directed by Kevin Gates and co-directed by Michael Bartlett. The film had its world premiere on 24 August 2013 at the London FrightFest Film Festival. The Paranormal Diaries: Clophill, which contains both factual interviews and a written storyline, centers on the St Marys Church in Clophill and rumours that the church is the site of paranormal and occult activity. In September 2014, writer Kevin Gates released a book tie-in containing his research material for the film.

<i>The Dark Tapes</i> 2016 American found footage horror film by Michael McQuown

The Dark Tapes is a 2016 American found footage anthology horror film written and directed by Michael McQuown with Vincent J. Guastini directing the segment titled To Catch a Demon. The feature film consists of four segments To Catch A Demon, The Hunters & The Hunted, Cam Girls and Amanda's Revenge with a short opening sequence titled Wrap Around.

<i>Bad Ben</i> 2016 American film

Bad Ben is the name of a web series of independent found footage horror comedy films, the first of which released in 2016. The series has been written and directed by Tom Fanslau under the pen name of Nigel Bach. As of 2024, there are fourteen Bad Ben films. A fifteenth and final installment will release in October 2025.

References

  1. ↑ "'Hollows Grove' Gives Homage to 'V/H/S'". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  2. ↑ "EXCLUSIVE TRAILER: You Will Never Escape 'HOLLOWS GROVE'". MoviePilot. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  3. ↑ Kibler, Jeremy. "Hollows Grove (Film Review)". Diabolique. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  4. ↑ Bendel, Joe. "More Found Footage for Halloween: LFM Reviews Hollows Grove". Libertas Film Magazine. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  5. ↑ Coleman, Jason. "Reviews: 'Stonehearst Asylum' / 'Hollows Grove'". StarPulse. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  6. ↑ Efros, Craig. "Hollows Grove (reviews)". Dread Central. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  7. ↑ "Film Review: Hollows Grove". HorrorNews.net. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.