The Casebook of Eddie Brewer

The best kind of horror is always the unseen, the mystery of the unknown, and to top it all, a sense of feeling that a foreign presence is somewhere near you. The Casebook of Eddie Brewer does exactly that as its protagonist Eddie Brewer, a paranormal expert, goes out and about attending to calls all the while being followed by a camera crew.

Ian Brooker as Eddie Brewer gives an outstanding performance as a man who not only has the task of figuring out whether the supernatural incidents he is called for are hoaxes or not, but also simultaneously has to continuously fight to explain his stand on the entire phenomenon as accusations are made on how genuine is the paranormal field.

The Casebook of Eddie Brewer places the audience in a much more knowing situation. They are able to see things that the character aren't, still the feeling of dread, suspense, and the slowly rising tension is good enough to give a few jumps and scares even to the ardent horror fan.

The filming is done primarily through handheld cameras, that of the camera crew, with instances when the view point changes to either stable cameras installed by the paranormal research teams or at times the scenes run just like a normal film. Although different techniques are used throughout the film be it in the editing, the cuts, the camera work, it all comes together smoothly with continuous transitions.

While the acting by almost the entire cast is the strongest aspect of the film, the story manages to remain complex enough to keep the audience interested. Unfortunately, the climax proves to be a huge let down as it comes rather close to imitating the Blair Witch Project's ending scenes, albeit in a somewhat modern setting.

The film is a wonderful approach to the horror genre with a complex character at the very core of the story that brings about a humane aspect to the entire paranormal proceedings. The Casebook of Eddie Brewer is especially recommended if you like your scares but want to avoid the blood and gore. It emphasizes more on the story and the sounds rather than the visuals when it comes to the frights, and that is where is succeeds.            

Rating 3.5/5

Mirrors

Here's the trouble with the Kiefer Sutherland starring horror Mirrors;

-          Why is it that CTU is never called? Oh right! See the problem I face is that I can no longer picture Kiefer Sutherland as anyone other than Jack Bauer.

-          I can understand him taking a job as a night watchman being a disgraced ex-detective/alcoholic, but what I do not understand is the requirement to check the premises (a huge burnt down department store) every two hours.

-          Paranormal activity is fine in a horror movie, but sometimes even that borders the absurd and that is the case in Mirrors.

-          The twist ending in the end seems like a desperate attempt to shock the audience and it does, but its main purpose is to keep the franchise moving with Mirrors 2.

-          The movie could easily have been called Reflections since apparently mirrors are not the only way the “entity” travels. Don’t worry it’s not a spoiler.

Now, the movie complements the genre by having quite a few good scares. It can be expected from Alexandre Aja who isn't new to the genre having made Swithblade Romance and Hills Have Eyes in the past (and Piranha recently). I personally loved the picturisation of the film as in most scenes there is a presence of a mirror/reflection somewhere, be it the background, out of focus, or otherwise. Then, there is also a whodunit aspect to the film that works well and keeps the audience guessing. I especially liked the opening title sequence which has the camera taking an aerial view of the city along with its reflection (as if being viewed in a mirror).  All the actors perform well, but mind you this is a one man show with the supporting cast (Paula Patton, Amy Smart, Cameron Boyce) hardly given any attention.

So, considering that I watched it on TV without having to go to a theater and pay for it, I quite liked it as a good watch for a night in. It was also the first time I made use of the TV pause button so that was fun.

A solid 3 starts out of 5.