Infrared Review: Entertaining Found Footage Horror Succeeds Despite Missteps
Found footage horror movies became fashionable in the 21st Century, in large part because of how the form empowers the low-budget production. In this specific packaging, a movie looking as if it was produced with everyday technology is not only acceptable, but central to its success, and the standouts of this subgenre rank among the most profitable films ever made. As a result, it takes some genuine creativity to serve up a version of the conceit horror audiences haven't seen before, and Infrared will likely feel familiar. Still, by choosing to play with the conventions of paranormal investigation TV shows and grounding the story in character, the film finds a way to make what it's working with both tense and fun, even if a couple missteps chip away at what is an otherwise effective finale.
Written and directed by Robert Livings and Randy Nundlall Jr., Infrared purports to compile footage from three separate sources. The first is a section of the unaired pilot episode of Infrared, a reality show built around paranormal investigator Wes (Jesse Janzen), in which the host performs an at-home exorcism on a supposedly possessed woman. The next two come from cameras that were discovered in the basement of an abandoned school building as it was about to be demolished, revealing two separate attempts to document its supposed hauntings — the latter of which was by the Infrared team. Also recorded was Infrared producer Randy's (Nundlall) attempt to go behind his star's back and involve Wes' estranged sister, the naturally sensitive medium Izzy (Leah Finity), to try and refashion the show around a pair of sibling investigators. As the movie builds toward their confrontation, it also inches closer to their overnight stay at the
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