Review: Phoenix Forgotten

(imdb.com)

Found-footage has been at somewhat of a stand still. While much of horror fans' hatred of the oversaturated subgenre has subsided into a place of apathy, and sometimes mild pleasure, found-footage has been unable to recapture the horror industry. But, some mildly successful attempts are being made- the harshly criticized, but not actually awful films, The Gallows and Blair Witch swept theaters and attempted to reinvigorate viewers' attention to the  gimmicky, but intimate shooting style, and with Phoenix Forgotten, the subgenre proves to still have legs.

Phoenix Forgotten tells the story of three local teens, Josh, played by Luke Spencer Roberts (Hail, Caesar!), Ashley, played by Chelsea Lopez (Novitiate) and Mark, played by Justin Matthews (The Interestings), who go missing during their tapped investigation of the Phoenix Lights Phenomenon.  The film also stars Clint Jordan (Down to the Bone) and Cyd Strittmatter (Gone Girl) as Josh's parents and Florence Hartigan (Shortland Street) as Sophie, Josh's sister. The actors of Phoenix Forgotten aren't awful and actually extend the movie's appeal past what it could have been. The teens are retro-fun, mentioning films like Contact and inflecting certain lovability to their characters and the actors playing the various parents each seem invested in their roles.

Phoenix Forgotten takes a while to get going, but once it starts it is interesting and entertaining enough to keep audience attention. There's some creepy tension and scares tossed in and the degradation of the teens' spirit is compelling enough. The movie is especially propelled by its alien lore and true-life backstory; something that it takes full advantage of. There's amazing abduction sequences and plenty of crazy-in-the-dark moments, too.

Like a desert-themed Blair Witch Project, the premise of the film follows near-exact lines except for a modern day documentary in production simultaneously with the discovery of the disappeared teens' tapes. This point of view, following Sophie, is never clearly laid out or concluded. When the final tape is revealed and plays out over the screen, that is the film's ending and we never discover the results of Sophie releasing the tape or whatever was supposed to happen. This is problematic, not because it could possibly open up to an unlikely sequel, but because while the final scenes are entertaining, they could only be considered a proper ending if the modern day storyline had some sort of final moment, as well. This is definitely the film's biggest failure. Even with too strong of similarities to The Blair Witch Project, a lot of this movie comes undone, not by a lack of scares or compelling storytelling, but because the ending feels blank and incorrect. This may have been the intent of the filmmakers, but it doesn't stop it from feeling off.

Is Phoenix Forgotten amazing? Certainly not. But, for a film that seemingly popped out of nowhere, it's a fun, intro-to-summer flick. It's got a lot of things that work and some pretty hefty things that don't, but there's enough to keep it moving along. Phoenix Forgotten doesn't deserve any point for originality, but it doesn't need to be decimated by its copycat result. It's a simple and fun found-footage horror film that people should consider, because while enjoyable, the fact is, Phoenix probably will be forgotten. 5. out of 10.