Review of Mockingbird (2014) by Kyle L — 26 Nov 2015

Mockingbird is a suspenceful and effective Horror film that is very entertaining and extremely intense from start to finish and it also acts as one of the best found footage films ever made. Mockingbird is about three people who receive a red box that has a recording video camera and a letter that explains that each of them has been selected to a strange contest where their job is to keep recording their daily lives.

But soon one of the contestants learn that this is not a contest and one of them starts to get threatened and terrorized at the same time and if they don't keep filming they die. I was surprised when I found out that this film was directed by Bryan Bertino the guy who directed The Strangers and is produced by Jason Blum along with his company Blumhouse films.

I didn't hear any news of this film until I read a few reviews and I thought I'd give it a spin since some reviews were quite positive on this movie. When I finally had the chance to watch Mockingbird finally, I was pleasantly surprised with it.

I really enjoyed this movie and it was very tense and scary from start to finish I never knew that Bryan Bertino made this film and he really outdone himself in making this film and it also made me look forward to what he will do next, since The Strangers was an ordinary exercise and practice for his directing skills, Mockingbird is where he exceeds and does his best in making something that can entertain Horror fans from around the world and it surprised me a lot in a very good way.

One of the things I like about Mockingbird is the concept of the film itself and the concept is pretty simple first but the way it was executed was the one thing that surprised and satisfied me the most, because what Bryan Bertino did for this film is much more different than what he did in his directional debut with The Strangers.

Like I said since The Strangers is about how Bryan Bertino can create something very intense and scary as an exercise in putting fear in a proper direction and is also practice for Bryan Bertino's directing skills.

In Mockingbird he expands it even further and Bryan Bertino has really outdone himself and he understands how every Horror movie works by trying to focus on something that can scare people and not what can disgust or gross people out and of course not to make people laugh because in my honest opinion adding humor in a Horror movie does not make a good Horror film it just destroys the fear instead.

Take a look at director Eli Roth, he has become the Adam Sandler of Horror movies since Roth's films are so awful due to his use of humor in his films but other filmmakers truly understand the real rules of Horror movies and Bryan Bertino does that for this film and he doesn't had humor like how Eli Roth does for his films.

I love also how the film relies heavily more on what other Horror films are now missing, that is the use of suspense, scares, chills and tension in an effective and remarkable way. Its pretty understandable that Bryan Bertino does not heavily focus on gore, blood and violence because using too much torture or blood does not make a movie scary, because the question now is what makes scary movies work? The answer is suspense, tension, scares and atmosphere at the same time.

The other things I like about Mockingbird is that the film is packed with loads of scenes that are intense and creepy to watch(The gruesome suspenceful opening scene where the kid gets brutally shot in the head, scenes where the contestants are getting terrorized by the perpetrator and the atmospheric and intense finale where the contestants are in a house full of red balloons that seriously raises the bar of the creep and fear factor until the shocking ending) plus the camera tricks are naturally effective and shot pretty well.

But the twist is the film's unexpected and highlight of the movie, the twist in this film will keep you guessing a lot from the beginning until the end and the twist was total shock and surprise for me and I love how Bryan Bertino this time reveals the perpetrators in this film but leave their background ambiguous or it remains an enigma.

Since in Bertino's The Strangers he doesn't show who the perpetrators are but in Mockingbird he reveals the perpetrators but never reveal their true intentions and it was done in a smart way. Now the acting is great.

Everyone in this movie did a very good job with their performances in this movie and they at least deliver unique and decent performances in my honest opinion. Director Bryan Bertino did an amazing and improved job with his work in this movie over his previous film The Strangers.

He has truly exceeded and was able to meet my expectations in making a very good scary movie and he has truly outdone himself a lot. It was a surprise for me that this film is on the list of Horror films to watch on Netflix and its number one on the list.

I truly appreciate Bertino's style in making Horror films and since The Strangers was a great start for him, Mockingbird truly exceeds my expectations and hopes for the guy's talent and Bertino is seriously learning a lot and I can't wait to see Bryan Bertino's next films and he is the director who does not act like Eli Roth who is trying to be hip and cool and arrogant in making Horror movies where he ends up becoming the Adam Sandler of Horror films, Bryan Bertino instead could be the genius of suspense and when I see his next films I will truly put my hopes on that opinion where he is the genius of Horror films.

Overall Mockingbird is an entertaining, suspenceful, scary and intense Horror film that delivers loads of thrills and tension from start to finish. This movie gets a 10/10.