The Paranormal Diaries: Clophill (2013)

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Really Surprised!

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

When I first picked up Paranormal Diaries: Clophill, I was not expecting anything more than another "found footage" flick to add to my watchlist. Immediately, I was taken in by the set up with the interviews that included the names and location of the persons being interviewed. I thought this added a nice touch. The characters were very believable since they were an average looking group who didn't do the usual over acting you see in most of the low budget found footage films. I also really liked how they flashed back and forth from the footage to interviews...another realistic addition. I always enjoy a film where I have to really read through all the credits to know for sure it didn't happen! If I have to even consider the possibility it may be true for even a moment, I call it a success.I found it to be enjoyable.

I'm not a fan of "found footage" movies at all. First, they give me motion sickness to the point of projectile vomiting. Secondly, it seems like a gimmick filmmakers use as a way to make a cheap movie they can market to millions and profit off. Every once in a while, one comes along and makes me second-guess my attitude towards the horror sub-genre. However, it's always at home on a much smaller screen than the one found at your local multiplex. When I received "The Paranormal Diaries: Clophill" in the mail, I immediately dismissed it as another "Paranormal Activities" wannabe. After being "harassed" by the movie's publicist (she's great at her job) for my review, I finally gave in while expecting nothing good to come of the experience. I was very wrong in my presumption."The Paranormal Diaries: Clophill" sets just the right mood to pull people into its hysteria. What could be more frightening than an old desecrated church in the middle of nowhere rumored to be used as a location for satanic worship? Add to that a disturbing history of death and tragedy and you have a perfect foundation for ghostly sightings and supernatural disturbances. Did I mention the church is surrounded by a graveyard?The entire movie is made up of faux interviews with researchers and eyewitnesses mixed with video footage of the investigation. Old photos documenting the history of the church and its clergy add more of a realistic flavor to it. Every actor in the film is intent on proving to the audience what they are seeing is genuine."The Paranormal Diaries: Clophill" is unrated, but would earn an R if assessed by the MPAA. Frightening images, profanity, and nudity would garner the decision. Honesty, the full frontal nudity was unnecessary and could've been avoided. The scene pops up towards the end of the film and lasts about one minute.Another subject I would like to address is the religious factors alluded to in "The Paranormal Diaries: Clophill." Some of the concepts explored in the movie point in the right direction if you're a Christian. One guy prays for protection and another man warns against the dangers of using Ouija boards to contact the dead. He also states the difference between ghosts and demons, which many people confuse when it comes to the supernatural. The investigators in "The Paranormal Diaries: Clophill" still use a Ouija board and other similar tools to contact the dead. They just "hope" that any doorways they open while doing so will be closed afterwards. How often does that happen? It doesn't happen very often as you'll witness here. Does "The Paranormal Diaries: Clophill" pull every cliché punch possible when it comes to the "found footage" technique of filmmaking? You bet it does… and it does it darn well. Every camera angle and every sound amplified leaves the viewer in a constant state of panicked anticipation, just waiting for something to jump out at you. It's the perfect example of the cinematography technique being utilized correctly.

This is not an horror flick, but a suspense, thriller movie. This is not a remake of Paranormal Activity, at all. This is not either inspired by The Blair Witch Project. This is definitely not a Hollywood movie but an interesting UK project.(((Beware: spoilers here)))If you can bear the 99% of the movie where you secretly laugh at the documentary-makers building up their fears and beliefs facing what you believe is a big hoax, the very short sequence at the end will be great surprise for you.I still don't believe what the protagonists say, that there could be demons, ghosts, or whatever supernatural involved. But in the end, there is something, that insane ritual involving humans. And a bad friendly man talking to a little girl looks very human too, though the main characters get convinced by the existence of paranormal facts they fail to explain.During the whole movie which mixes documentary footage, making-of of this documentary and some fiction, there is nothing to prove anything paranormal. It's like those UFO sightings videos showing a small dot on the screen with pseudo-expert comments, excited witnesses playing with their fears, third-party reported hallucinations, material things that are not evidence, etc.If you are skeptical like me, you will believe it's a hoax and wait for something unreal to happen towards the end. Another lame paranormal event, you just think, mocking the director for making this movie. But what you get to see is much more believable. You should just see it by yourself.

WOW! All I can say, this movie is downright crap! I kind of suspected it to be one of those "let the cast rate the movie at IMDb to get a high rating and trick people into thinking it might be good" kind of movies, but I gave it a shot anyways because of the lack of good horror movies coming out right now. Well, I watched the first 39 minutes, before deciding to turn it off and watch a couple of episodes of "Ghost Adventures" instead.This movie is apparently an attempt at making a movie copy of the popular paranormal investigation shows from TV. The difference, and what makes this bland and totally useless is the poor story, cast, editing, color grading, and the lack of a "real" investigation. Towards the end you get to see some cultists performing a ceremony with a tied naked woman. That's the most action this movie has. It's not scary, not amusing, and in no way interesting.I'd suggest watching Emmerdale instead... It has more action than this piece of junk.