Frazier Park Recut (2017) Reviews

• Great for aspiring filmmakers.... And others

  jcelli-782532017-11-06

  Frazier Park: The horror movie for people who don't enjoy horror movies. Frazier Park is the horror movie you should show your squeamish horror movie hating girlfriend. The movie is shot in a found footage style, which really hits home on the amateur filmmaker style, taking away most of the horror aspect of the movie. While definitely keeping you on your toes, the movie doesn't have the high tension levels that keep you up at night thinking about it. What keeps you interested is the fate of the characters, and surprisingly, the fate of the fake film the men are making. I wanted to know if the cheesy horror movie they originally set out to make was going to get better, and how they achieved that task. I loved Frazier Park because it was watchable. I am one of those people who hates horror movies with a passion and avoids them at all costs. The killing scenes were almost humorous, the sheer ridiculousness of the film is what made it enjoyable. Tom is such a character and I can't tell if I want to be his best friend or turn him into the police.

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• Self referential piece that captures everything good and bad about making amateur films

  psalvatierra2017-11-01

  Frazier Park Recut is undoubtedly one of the most creative uses I have seen for the "found footage format". Normally, the issue with found footage is its inherently gimmicky nature. To get over this "gimmick" feel, the found footage needs to justify its own existence. Horror movies often use found footage, but at a certain point it feels unrealistic or ridiculous. To say nothing of how often one may wonder if the movie would have been better if the shots had been relatively stable, planned, and properly exposed. Frazier Park Recut is at once fantastically self aware of these problems, and justifies its found footage format throughout. Frazier Park Recut is less of a horror film and more of a dark comedy, and this is no way a bad thing. The two main characters, Tyler and Sam, are developed exactly enough where you as the viewer care about them and like them. Better though is the character "Tom Morris" who at numerous points made me laugh literally out loud with his so obviously evil and bizarre character. His character eventually takes the lead for himself with the found footage format, and his hijacking of the viewer's experience is at once clever, funny, and successfully disturbing at times. Primarily, I saw Frazier Park Recut as a commentary on amateur film making. As obviously all the mistakes made by Tyler and Sam in the movie were fake mistakes the filmmakers by the same name created. Their numerous amateur blunders in their making of the film within the film makes the whole piece fantastically self referential. From the beginning, you know there has to be some sort of bad ending coming for them, but that murderous plot is the mode of movement for a meaning. The cheesiness of Frazier Park Recut such as the obvious set up where two people go into a cabin with a strange stranger, and the tensions between them are what makes it. Because the film inside the film is made to be even cheesier, and the character's struggle while creating it are the exact problems everyone who has ever tried to make a film have run into. The hijacking of a poorly done amateur film by a murderous narcissist is the plot, but the message has to do with the earnestness of small budget productions. The personal investment that goes into these productions, the mistakes, the sweat, the tears, the fights all of this is encapsulated in the film with a funny self-referential plot that you can't help but love.

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• A Delightful Mix of the Humorous and Thrilling

  indygaffer2017-06-19

  FPR is a terrific movie from two first-time writer/director/actors who are showing considerable maturity given their age and lack of previous film experience. FPR combines humor and suspense along with a fun premise leaving the audience wondering what they are watching up until the very end. At 71 minutes, it is the perfect length for someone such as I whose ADHD would have me looking at email at the 120 minute mark. Like a delicious array of tapas, FPR serves up a tasty visual and entertaining blend of fun, thrill, and enjoyment.

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• Frazier Park Recut - One Cut Away From Perfection

  kkopf-221332017-11-01

  Frazier Park Recut is a movie about making a movie, but before you turn off the TV let me assure this is one of the good ones. Frazier Park Recut utilizes it's found footage, behind the scenes style to enhance the story and enhance each individual perspective. Through the found footage we learn more about each of the characters and are let in on the secret of Tom's character early. Even better, Frazier Park Recut isn't held back by the found footage format because of it's final reveal of being edited by Tom. Sharing that this film has been edited allows them to color correct, add music, and more without ruining the feel of an authentic found footage film. The only real issue I found while watching the film is the motivation of Tom Morris' character who (SPOILER ALERT) ends up murdering both Sam and Tyler in the end. Tom was interesting character throughout, but he was the one who had the least background and motivation, making his actions confusing. Overall, Frazier Park Recut is a creative and well done approach to found footage that with some tuning up could be near perfect.

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• Frazier Park Recut is a fresh, improved take on the Found Footage genre, that provides the viewer with substantial laughs and thrills.

  hwellner-932132017-11-01

  Frazier Park Recut is a surprisingly fresh take on the seemingly done-to-death found footage movie genre, using the style to improve the film, rather than as a cop-out. It's obvious, for example, that the cinematography was more thought out that the simple decision make a shaky cam, found footage movie. The way the characters move and hold the camera is very specifically related to how they acting, and what's happening in the moment. There aren't really any moments of it being difficult to watch, which is impressive considering the amount of movement the hand-held camera experienced. In general, the camera's movement and placement always feels to the audience's benefit, rather than their detriment. Frazier Park certainly benefits from actors that are capable of pulling of a believable combination of funny, creepy, and realistic characters. The chemistry between the three main actors is clear, and while there are brief occasions of slightly flat dialogue, there's no real issue present in the acting or characters. Overall, the characters communicate in a way that feels smooth, interesting, and real. At some points, the Frazier Park does lean on some common tropes and clichés, but not so much that it ruins the experience. It's very self-aware of many of these tropes, made clear through the film-within-a- film aspect. Frazier Park, much to it's own advantage, never speaks down to the audience. There's no instances of the audience really feeling like something's being rubbed in their face, as if they couldn't figure it out on their own. Of course, this is, on occasion, as a result of the speaking-to-the-camera style of found footage, but at the very least, it doesn't take the viewer out of the experience.

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