By Geno McGahee
I am a very big fan of the original BLAIR WITCH PROJECT and THE LAST BROADCAST, two found footage flicks that came out in the late 1990s. Since then, there have been countless found footage films, with PARANORMAL ACTIVITY being the most notable recent entry. It can be a really enjoyable sort of film or it can get really old quick…depending on the quality of the film.
In THE LEGEND OF THE 5IVE, we have a hybrid film, crossing THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT with THE LAST BROADCAST, but keeping it unique. Written by James P. Weatherall, this film surrounds a group of paranormal investigators researching the deaths of five and what is believed to be a haunted location. Remarkably, the five that died form a pentagram if you connect them, which the group does. What makes for good TV makes for a deadly time.
Julie (Lennah Seelig) walks us through this show and is joined by some experts and film guys. Greg Tanner (Greg Connell) is the prick of the movie and you just know that he is going to die. We also have another stand out personality in the expert psychic, Don G. Black (Lee J. Higgs). He sort of has a Silent Bob vibe and style and does a pretty good as the fiery paranormal contact.
The broadcast begins to experience some strange things, and things get worse when Black does a spell, conjuring a spirit. That spirit begins to punish the crew and severely. Unlike the found footage movies that I’ve mentioned above, we have some serious gore here. Some of the CGI is rather mediocre but the gore is very good and I was pleasantly surprised by it.
The group is eventually trapped on the property, knocked off, one by one by the evil spirit. Some of the deaths are rather cool and most of the reactions from the actors are pretty good. For a lower budget film, there was a lot of emphasis on quality and casting it properly.
THE LEGEND OF THE 5IVE is a throwback to the late 1990s style of found footage films. I really enjoyed those films and I really enjoyed this one. The acting was solid, story was interesting, and pacing was quick. I recommend this. It was great fun.
Rating: 7/10
