The Den actually isn’t a half bad horror/thriller with some good scares and an interesting plot line where the footage is entirely taken from, or like, web cam feeds. For a found footage film, a subgenre I generally loathe and feel is overused, this is an entertaining enough flick.
The Den
(2014)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Suspense/Thriller, Horror
IFC Films | R – 76 min. – $24.98 | July 29, 2014
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MOVIE INFO: Directed by: Zachary Donohue Writer(s): Zachary Donohue & Lauren Thompson (written by) Cast: Melanie Papalia, David Schlachtenhaufen, Adam Shaprio DISC INFO: Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1) |
PLOT SUMMARY
After receiving a grant for her graduate thesis, Elizabeth Benton (MELANIE PAPALIA) logs onto a video-chat site known as The Den on a mission to explore the habits of its users. During one of her random video-chats, Elizabeth watches in horror as a teenage girl is gruesomely murdered in front of her webcam. While the police dismiss it as a viral prank, Elizabeth believes what she saw is real and takes it upon herself to find the truth.
Soon she finds herself trapped in a twisted game in which she and her loved ones are now targeted for the same grisly fate as the first victim. The Den plunges the viewer into the darkest depths of humanity and technology.
QUICK HIT REVIEW – 3.0/5
The found footage subgenre has been done ad nauseam with mainly unknown actors and low production values (which is why studios love these, leading often to high returns). So, the latest is a little known film entitled The Den, where the entire movie is played out in front of web cams, and although it suffers from a letdown at the end, I still found it to be mildly entertaining with a charismatic lead actress who hopefully finds work in bigger productions.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 1.5/5
Not a whole lot included, but there is an engrossing Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Zachary Donohue and Producers Dan Clifton and David Brooks; a Behind the Scenes (3:33) featurette; and the Trailer (1:55).
Previews – Haunt, Almost Human, Blood Glacier, Proxy
VIDEO – 3.75/5 | AUDIO – 4.25/5
The Den chats it up on DVD presented with an adequate 16×9 enhanced widescreen 1.78 aspect ratio. Colors tend to be bright for a good portion of the film and even darker scenes have nice contrast and show no major signs of artifacting.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is impressive with clear dialogue levels which come into play with the number of gruesome scenes and blood-curdling screams. Ambient noises also sound decent enough coming through the rear speakers.
OVERALL – 2.5/5
Overall, The Den actually isn’t a half bad horror/thriller with some good scares and an interesting plot line where the footage is entirely taken from, or like, web cam feeds. For a found footage film, a subgenre I generally loathe and feel is overused, this is an entertaining enough flick. The DVD released by IFC has good audio/video transfers while the features are limited.
Published: 07/13/2014
Great review thank you ! while im here though was looking for ETA on the blu ray release schedule update. Thanks again – all the reviews are appreciated.
Thanks for visiting. Took a while, but the release schedule has been updated.