The Dark Tapes (2016) Reviews

• Save yourself

  planet_logan2017-05-18

  Terrible writing, bad editing, stock sound effects that I've heard used in student projects a hundred times, four completely unrelated stories, all of these things come together to make maybe the worst found-footage anthology film I've ever seen. The Dark Tapes tries desperately to capture the same feeling that the V/H/S series evoked when it first began, but fails miserably for many of the aforementioned reasons. At one point about midway through the film, an "Inter-dimensional Entity" (clearly a man in a cheap Halloween costume, some of the worst practical effects I've seen in a good while) delivers the following line through a bad "demonic" voice modulator: "I am not some simply some ghoul from your pathetic realm!" I physically cringed at that point, and the film only continued to get worse as it went on (Spoilers ahead). Despite what many of the descriptions say, there is no linking factor in the over-arching story that brings together, justifies, or even attempts to explain any context for the other 3 stories. There's a ghost hunting segment that turns out to be about serial killers, an alien invasion story that starts with a rape, and some demonic cannibal cam girls, whose stories break up the framing narrative, which is a completely detached story about how sleep paralysis is really inter-dimensional creatures that just like to hang out and creep on sleeping folks for reasons that are never addressed or explained. All of the expositionary dialogue is clunky and overbearing, the acting is stale and there's not a single notable performance among the cast. There were certain concepts that could have been really interesting if they were executed with some competence, but as it stands The Dark Tapes simply doesn't cut it. If you're a fan of horror, found footage films or even just decent movies, I'd highly recommend you skip this one.

• Fresh take on found footage

  mmorganswope2017-04-19

  The Dark Tapes is a four story horror anthology. I'm a big fan of horror anthologies and the stories in this one are all original and had surprise endings that I didn't see coming. There are a lot of found footage films out there, but The Dark Tapes felt fresh and was the most unique found footage film I've seen in a long time. The stories are well written and entertaining and I think this film proves that you don't have to have a big budget to make a good movie. There are some genuinely creepy moments and not a whole lot of blood and gore,so I would think this film would appeal to a wider audience than some of your "typical" horror films. This movie is anything but typical. If you like horror and want to see found footage presented in a new way, definitely check out this anthology. It's a lot of fun.

• Blah...

  pacmauro2018-06-03

  I once read that if you give a typewriter infinite time to a monkey, such monkey will eventually type Hamlet, for instance. In the case of "Dark Tape", somebody gave a bunch untalented people some filming equipment and not enough time... The result is "Dark Tapes".

• Cheap looking, poor acting, and terrible editing. The practical effects were okay, but that's it.

  manuelasaez2017-04-19

  I love anthology films, especially when they are of the horror variety, but this one was just a complete failure from beginning to end. The acting was atrocious for most of the segments, the script was inane and poorly realized, and the way the film was edited was so amateurish, I wonder if the director hired one of his kids to do it. The only saving grace about this film was the SFX. Some of the creatures really did look frightening, and had the film focused more on them, it wouldn't have been so bad. Instead, we got a lot of crappy acting, a lot of simplified dialogue, and some horrendous pacing. Not a quality film in the slightest, anyone would do themselves a favor and avoid this travesty and never speak of it again.

• I bought it on Amazon Video for $9.99, and I don't regret it.

  Hellmant2017-04-19

  'THE DARK TAPES': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five) An indie anthology horror flick, which interlocks four different tales of creatures, demons, ghosts and other things in the paranormal world. The film runs 98 minutes long, and it was made on a budget of just $65,000. It also features an ensemble cast (of mostly unknown actors) lead by Cortney Palm. First time feature filmmakers Michael McQuown and Vincent J. Guastini directed and co-produced the flick. McQuown also wrote the script (he previously co-wrote 2005's 'THE PERFECT MAN') and he also served as the film's editor and cinematographer as well. I found it to be a mostly well made, and impressive little indie horror flick; highlighted by Cortney Palm's performance. The movie contains four different chapters, each telling a different supernatural tale. One revolves around a couple experiencing paranormal activities in the house they recently moved in to. Another story tells the tale of two lesbian lovers, that make a living performing sexual activities online (for paying customers), and one begins blacking out and not remembering certain strange experiences. Another story involves a woman who's raped at a party, and she then becomes obsessed with stopping persistent unwanted paranormal intruders. A fourth story is intercut between the others, and it revolves around three paranormal investigators, that take their investigations into uncharted new dangerous territory. The movie is a little too slow-paced, drawn-out, and a tad too over complicated in places. For a film made on just a $65,000 budget though, I think it's mostly impressive. I love indie horror flicks like this, especially well made anthologies. This one delivers some nice effects, some cool dark imagery, and some pretty clever twists; it just sometimes takes a little too long to get to them. The acting, with the exception of Palm, is pretty amateurish though. The film probably won't become a cult classic of any kind, but I think it's still definitely worth the rental price. I bought it on Amazon Video for $9.99, and I don't regret it. Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://vimeo.com/213917579