Right-o', here we go.
I heard about this film on one of the Smersh podcasts. Three very funny people, including one cast member, talking about Shadow of the Missing.
Yes, it's cheaply made, tonally uneven, visually wobbly and largely Welsh. However, if you ask me, all of these things add to its unique charm.
The first half-hour is the weakest, although the film fest joke-off is a genuinely funny highlight, as are the scenes involving Dan the hotel manager, a man who appears to have as much concern for his missing friends as he does the day-to-day running of his establishment. Big fan of Quincy though, apparently.
The last half-hour is where it comes into its own. The people stuck in the haunted church convey a genuine sense of confusion and fear, the priest viewing the footage of their (assumed) final moments is performed very well. As with all found footage films, the camera is shaky first-person stuff, events on-screen poorly lit and ambiguous but, well, what kinda ghost film is brightly lit and blessed with full narrative clarity, eh? (Ignoring the ones that are, but they're really bum-hole.)
The actor playing the priest is called Doc Benson, if anyone's writing a TV show about a rural 1950s vet, there's yer character name. Just post him a few quid for royalties etc.
Anyway, look, it ain't Spielberg alright. It's low-budget fun that makes good use of limited locations, gets the best out of an amateur cast (one or two scenes aside), and has makes an earnest attempt at giving you some laughs and spooky stuff.
Is my rating of 8/10 too generous? Perhaps, but it also deserves better than its current score so I consider it a fair attempt at addressing the balance.
Also, it's free to view on Amazon Prime, so ain't gonna cost you anything.
As I've said on my film blog many, many times, I'd rather watch a flawed low budget film made with a little passion and ingenuity than a megabucks effort made only for profit.
Also, Dan the hotel manager REALLY deserves his own TV series. How else will people learn that burning faces float upwards or that amorous dogs can easily be mistaken for a witches coven?
Go in knowing its flaws and enjoy it for what it is.
Cheers!
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