“The Paranormal Diaries: Clophill is a mixture of Found-Footage & Reality-TV which actually works quite well.”
At the reputedly haunted church in Clophill, Bedfordshire, England, a group of dark witches held black mass at the runes back in 1963. They had stolen the remains from inside tombs and had animal sacrifices then positioned human skeletons as part of their ritual. This sort of thing has continued for 50 years and now a group of ghost hunters decide to investigate. The Paranormal Diaries: Clophill is a mixture of Found-Footage & Reality-TV which actually works quite well. It blends realistic interviews with handheld cameras running about to help build up tension; adding to the realism.
- The Paranormal Diaries: Clophill
- Directed by
Michael Bartlett & Kevin Gates - Cast
Michael Bartlett, Kevin Gates, Craig Stovin - Release Date
14 October 2013 - Ed’s Grade: C+
As far as the story goes, if you happen to believe in the supernatural or ghosts and suchlike then you’ll easily be drawn in to the story. Having said that, I believe absolutely none of these things yet still enjoyed The Paranormal Diaries: Clophill for what it was. The acting by each cast member was commendable as they kept the entire project grounded and realistic, which is a must in this genre if you want a good end result. The writer/director team of Michael Bartlett and Kevin Gates were the same team behind The Zombie Diaries 1+2 but this is a change of pace as they try out a Blair Witch style gig with a moderate degree of success.
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The fact that The Paranormal Diaries: Clophill is similar in style to The Blair Witch Project is both a good thing, and bad. I’ve heard many a complaint about Blair Witch from certain people who need spoon-fed everything, amidst cries of “but nothing happens,” and while I thought Blair was a cool movie, this one will suffer the same sort of criticism from the brainless masses who also won’t get this. There isn’t much in the way of horror eye candy, for this is all about building up a believable feeling of oppressive dread, which it definitely succeeds in doing, but not just as effectively as it could’ve been. However, the entire project felt realistic, from the acting to the filming and is a decent addition to an already swollen genre.
