Review of Skinwalker Ranch (2013) by Whit W — 30 Nov 2013

This is a found footage movie that explores the disappearance of a young boy from a ranch. A team of young investigators offer to assist the rancher. They work to setup cameras in the hopes of capturing anything that may give them clues in figuring out where the boy may have gone. The investigators work for an organization called Modern Defense Enterprises. We find that this organization has some shady ties to past events at the ranch, but believe me, it doesn't matter.

The silent shots from random cameras placed in strategic locations around the farm was a good idea. This quiet exploration of the ranch by the cameras offers the movie's most intriguing moments. There are some very odd things happening that the cameras often reveal, some of these offer the movie's only real scares. The director manages to even sustain a few of those moments which makes me think he's got a future with some better output ahead.

The story is a mess and the acting is horrible. Every time the characters are on the screen the movie goes south. It would have been better to watch the cameras' stealthy generated footage for 90 minutes. The ending is sudden and left me caring even less about the strange events experienced on the ranch.