Director – Victor Gabriel (Blood Gorge)
Starring – Victor Gabriel, Ali Issa (Blood Gorge), and Reyes Laura
Release Date – 2024
Rating – 2/5
I always feel the need to start all my found footage reviews with a disclaimer that I am not a fan of the sub-genre. There has been a few films pop up here and there that I did enjoy but the bad far out weighs the good. I’m sent a bunch of these films throughout the year for review and I always feel bad for the amount of negative found footage reviews I’ve posted during my tenure at Horror Society.
When I ordered the Blood Gorge/ Cruel: The Cross Village Encounter from Future Video I had no idea that the second film in the set was a found footage flick. I enjoyed the first film and decided to give it a go regardless.
**Spoiler Alert** The film takes place one year after an aspiring filmmaker and his girlfriend head deep into the woods in hopes to film a documentary on the elusive Dogman. However, he is murdered and she is badly disfigured. On the one year anniversary a group of friends set out to make a documentary on their late friend in hopes to shed some light on his passing. However, what they uncover is something far more sinister with a small town covering up their violent ways. **Spoiler Alert**
I’ll be completely honest here. I was ready to turn Cruel: The Cross Village Encounter off at around the 20 minute mark. However, I stuck with it and found myself really digging the ending but it was not enough to make up for the rest of the film. I wanted to like it but the things that make found footage films so believable makes them damn near unwatchable to me.
The acting in this one is what you would expect from a found footage film. The cast is delivering their dialogue in an interview type setting while someone behind the camera records them. It’s not acting in a traditional sense but fans of found footage will understand what I mean. With that being said, this is one of my biggest problems with found footage. The mindless banter and characters “being real” is extremely boring and awkward to watch.
The story for this one doesn’t really take hold until the very end. At least 90% of the film is the group talking about what happened to their friend and his girlfriend before actually going to the area. Once in the woods the film does pick up slightly but it mostly them yelling profanities at each other and unconvincingly acting like they are lost. Then, without warning, the best part of the story starts unfolding before the film abruptly ends.
Finally, the film has some blood and solid make-up with one great scene with solid practical effects. I would have liked to see more deaths on screen but I understand not everything can be on film when trying to make an authentic found footage flick. Overall, Cruel: The Cross Village Encounter is not for me. I’m not the target audience but that doesn’t mean it’s a film that you won’t enjoy. If movies like The Blair Witch Project or August Underground are films you enjoy then this one is right up your alley. With that being said, I seriously hope we get a sequel that follows the story from where this one ends. That’s the movie I need in my life.
