Polaroid | Film Review

Hey Guys x

This is another film that was recommended to me on Netflix. I really liked the initial premise, even though it kind of sounded like it would be cheesy rather than scary. So I thought I'd see what it was all about.

When Bird (Kathryn Prescott) finds an old Polaroid camera, she starts using it to take pictures of her friends. But when her friends start dying in horrific ways, Bird discovers that the camera she found has a tragic history.

I did not expect to like this film as much as I did. I actually ended up watching it twice, which I never normally do.

I remember owning a 'Goosbumps' book with pretty much the same premise when I was young, and even the cover of that book terrified me, so I think that in general this is a concept that really works for me.

It's the kind of film where it's completely driven by the plot, so while you don't even find out that much about the characters in the film, for the most part, you don't really need to.

The opening scene of the movie is great. It is a bit cheesy, but it really sets up where the film is going. The level of scary that the opening uses is the level of scary that the film stays at.

The pacing is also great. Things don't take too long to get moving, but you don't feel like anything is being rushed. It also never starts to lag or feel like it goes on for too long. I would say that the length is perfect for a film like this.

One thing that I find with films like this is that, when everything is revealed (whether that's an explanation, a killer or other cause of something horrifying) the film instantly stops being scary. But with this film, even when we finally found out exactly what the deal was with the camera, that didn't take anything away from the rest of the film.

The film has jump scares in all the right places. But the best thing about them is that the film doesn't rely on the jump scares - it uses them to push the plot along together with a genuinely interesting and scary concept.

Overall, I'd definitely recommend this film. It's not the scariest film you'll ever see, but it'll definitely keep you entertained for an hour and a half.

6.5/10

Lou