Shadow of the Missing

Which I enjoyed. But other than that it was supposed to be a comedy/ horror movie...that wasn't scary at all and not particularly funny, either. The acting wasn't bad but they had nothing at all to work with...or rather the 'documentary' parts were much, much better written than the 'horror' parts, and unfortunately that's not saying a lot. A great idea that needed a better script.

This movie is missing anything in the realm of plot or character development or scares or anything of any substance. The horror is your standard found footage set up and the humor boils down to the hotel manager rambling incoherently. The biggest shock is that said hotel manager is actually pretty funny. I would much rather have a movie just of him than what we got.

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!

'Shadow of the Missing' could easily have been watchable. The title does grab your attention. The cover is a creepy one. And the concept really interested me, not exactly creative but with those things on paper 'Shadow of the Missing' had all the makings of being a film with a creepy atmosphere and an entertaining enough mystery. Neither were the case watching 'Shadow of the Missing'. Instead 'Shadow of the Missing' is yet another complete waste of a good idea, with terrible execution, with nothing standing out as remotely good, and the complete opposite of what it had potential to be. Not one of the worst films ever seen throughout my life, but 'Shadow of the Missing' is one of the most frustrating and worst recent viewings, which although variable actually on the most part have been above average or more. Its least bad asset is the scenery, which did have some atmosphere. It was hard to appreciate it however because the lighting is too drab and goes too far on the dimness and darkness and the camera work lacks focus constantly, being blurred and chaotic. The editing is haphazard. The audio can be placed randomly and the over-obviousness, its tendency to be intrusive and how some of it is completely ill-suited in terms of how it's used and how it sounds really hurts the atmosphere. Not that there was much atmosphere to begin with in 'Shadow of the Missing'. The deadly dull pacing, especially in the middle with some very long-winded stretches, kills it. Likewise with the lack of suspense and surprises. The mystery is never really that engaging and very routine at best, again containing nothing surprising and at times it gets silly. Too much goes nowhere, being introduced randomly and out of the blue and then dropped too quickly. The interviews are not illuminating, sometimes are pointless or don't say much of interest and value and also not particularly well written or acted. Furthermore, none of the characters are developed enough to make them interesting. Neither do they have any distinct or endearing traits to make one root for them, basically they are all bland and annoying with vague motivations that never ring true and too many of them are ill-used. The acting is either histrionic or robotic and the directing is barely there. Overall, terrible. 1/10 Bethany Cox

This movie was pointless and seemed to lose it's story line. The interviews throughout appear to try and tie the story together but even they can't save it from its self. Characters are introduced yet go nowhere. The only reason to even give this a view is to see Dan Thomas, his humour appears to be the only saving grace.

I really tried to give this a shot, but couldn't make it through the entire movie. It's extremely slow and seems to drag on. Spend your time watching something else.