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SYNOPSIS:
Adam and Jill attempt to spice up their relationship by recording a sex tape in an abandoned mansion. Realizing they’re not alone in their ominous surroundings, the couple discover some sex tapes shouldn’t be made as their kinky adventure turns into a desperate fight for survival.
REVIEW:
Sx Tape is a paranormal found footage movie that is missing a key component, that being the paranormal essence. That is not to say that there isn’t any ghostly goings on, but the movie dabbles in both the paranormal and psychological thriller genres. They do this fairly well by the way the main character, Jill, acts, talks, and moves. It seems like they were trying to have her fight from being possessed, showing this by making her personality change back and forth. I’m not entirely sure if that’s truly how they wanted to portray the character by that’s how it came off. They never go back and clarify this, and it’s one of the few questions that are left unanswered when the movie ends.
The movie starts out in the usual form, Jill (Caitlyn Folley) is in police custody being questioned about the events that had just transpired. Of course Jill has no real recollection of what has happened and continues to ask about her boyfriend. And to her dismay they tell her that he’s dead, two are missing, and they have the tape. Then the movie really starts, the reason for the first person POV is Jill’s boyfriend, Adam (Ian Duncan) is making a movie about her and her upcoming art show. If this sounds like it’s kind of boring, you would be correct. This filler is to just introduce the two main characters and get a feeling to how they interact with each other.
They continue on with this tangent for first fifteen minutes of the movie before Adam springs a surprise on Jill and takes her to an abounded hospital for “women how had been naughty and had gotten themselves pregnant out of wedlock”, but it’s more of an old mental hospital. Adam wants to get some shots of the exterior with his video camera, and that leads to Jill finding a hole in the fence and making her way onto the hospital’s grounds. She prods Adam to follow her and they end up slipping inside the building as a police officer pulls up and follows them inside. They hide until he is gone and then decide it’s time to explore.
After looking around, they wonder into an old patience’s room. They take notice to the bed with wrist and leg straps, Adam thinks it’s funny to strap in Jill and then leave her with the camera still filming. This then prompts the first spirit to wonder out and attack Jill. When Adam comes back Jill appears to be sleeping and doesn’t recall anything about the attack. Jill’s nose starts bleeding and she starts to feel sick. They rush out of the building that has now started to come to life with the sounds of things banging around. But as they depart the building, they witness Jill’s car being towed away.
The only option they have is to call for someone to come and pick them up, but when Jill’s friends finally arrive, they make the bright decision to go back into the building and “tag” it. This leads to a lot of negitive energy as one of Jill’s friends Bobby (Chris Coy) and Adam really start to get heated and Bobby threatens to shoot Adam before he runs off with Jill, leaving his own girlfriend, Elly (Diana Garcia) and Adam alone. Elly runs off after them leaving Adam alone to wonder around the hospital. He meets back up with a scared and alone Jill. Nothing is seen from Bobby or Elly until the end when all the twists are reviled. Now Adam has to try and clam down Jill and find a way out before whatever is haunting the building comes after them.
The trailer for this movie proudly boast that it is produced by the same people that produced Insidious, but director James Wan did something for that movie that, unfortunately, director Bernard Rose couldn’t capture. This is not the director’s first venture into the world of horror as he directed the horror classic Candyman, even if that was over 20 years ago.
They did a great job making the atmosphere creepy and making the mood right for the scares that never really transpire. They even put in a couple of great shots of Adam running with the camera. With these shots in the tight corridors and with the frame out of focus, it would have been a great spot for something in the distance to slowly come into focus, adding to the scare factor. But it’s just another missed opportunity for this movie.
The thing that hurts this movie a lot is that you really root for the ghosts or whatever is haunting the hospital to kill these kids (yes they are grown adults, but they act like little children) as soon as possible. Most of them are annoying in their own way; Adam is a whiny child that always caves to his girlfriend, Jill comes off as a spoiled brat that throws a tantrum if she doesn’t get what she wants, and Bobby is the bully who just deserves what’s coming to him. From the minute this movie starts until the end credits roll, the only thing you hope for is a nice death scene for each and every one of these characters and you are sadly let down.
The movie feels like a clone of a lot of these paranormal found footage films, it’s plagued with the same old clichés and there are times when you just want to yell at your TV out of rage. If you’re looking for a movie with some big scares, then you might want to look else were because this one falls a little flat.
