HiT Movie Review: ‘The Taking of Deborah Logan’
Found footage shocker rises above its bare budget, familiar setting
The film, just released on Netflix streaming, serves up the genre basics with elan – a novel concept, a creepy lead performance and a passel of scares.
And then the camera intrudes on the fun.
That found footage gimmick, this time gussied up as a documentary crew capturing the action, disrupts the narrative until a novel horror film is left nearly in tatters.
The daughter of a woman in the early stages of Alzheimer’s diseases allows a documentary crew to capture her mother’s battle to help with the medical bills.
The filmmakers are initially charmed by Deborah Logan (Jill Larson), an attractive, cheery subject. Soon enough, the signs of Deborah’s mental decline surface. Those symptoms start diverging from what the crew expected from an Alzheimer’s patient, including spasms of violence that put them all in jeopardy.
Is Deborah truly sick, or is something else preying on her?
Found footage movies often lack robust characters, but “Deborah Logan” gives us two personalities that command our attention. Larson delivers a chilling turn as the title character, a cultured woman aghast at what she’s become. Her daughter (Anne Ramsay) is similarly complex, balancing the horror of seeing her mother’s descent with the need to pay those medical bills.
Their familial bond is more than many horror movies deliver in terms of a human component.
The film explains the back story behind Deborah’s plight in clunky fashion, but that’s not enough to derail the film. “The Taking of Deborah Logan” allows the camera to become the main attraction, and by the end you can’t help but look away.
WHY NOT TRY … Both “Willow Creek” and “Cloverfield” make better use of the found footage formula.
Yes, the camera was annoying, especially towards the end when they were all scampering around in the cave. I was able to look past that pretty easily because the story was actually pretty good, original, and not factory churned like so many found footage movies (Paranormal Activity) seem to be. Also, the movie really laid on the symbolism, nice and thick, just the way I like it.
I liked this film too but you make some great points plus I thought the reveal scene in the mine was a bit silly. The actors were all fine, especially the lead. This was one I found on Netlfix – I’m always looking for good, scary movies and you can find some gems there (you just have to be willing to wade through some dreck first though). Excellent review.