Grave Encounters is a 2011 Canadian found footage supernatural horror film written, directed and edited by the Vicious Brothers.
Two months prior, the film had its Italian premiere via distributor Eagle Pictures under the title ESP Fenomeni Paranormali.
The film received mixed reviews, was a box office success,[1] spawned a sequel in 2012, and has attained a cult following since its release.
Jerry Hartfield is the producer of Grave Encounters, a paranormal reality television program directed by ghost hunter Lance Preston.
The Grave Encounters crew consists of Lance, occult specialist Sasha Parker, surveillance operator Matt White, cameraman T.C.
The crew locked themselves inside the hospital for the night and began their investigation, setting up camp near the main entrance and positioning static cameras throughout the building.
The crew attempts to establish contact with any entities that might be in the hospital; they soon hear unexplained sounds, and Sasha's hair appears to be lifted into the air by an unseen force.
The crew returns to the lobby and sleeps but is awoken when the construction light they set up is seemingly pushed forward and shatters.
They decide to backtrack, and while looking at a map on the wall, the arrows on their compass spin in random directions suggesting the spirits inside have trapped them in an alternate reality.
Once they find the room where they heard Matt's screams, they encounter a metal bed frame that is hoisted into the air, and they run in terror.
Grave Encounters was produced in collaboration with American Express, Digital Interference, Twin Engine Films and Darclight.
[10] In her review of the film for The New York Times, Jeannette Catsoulis wrote: "Following in the stampeding footsteps of The Blair Witch Project and the Paranormal Activity franchise, the filmmakers seem unaware that they're beating a dead horse.
"[11] Mike Hale, also writing for The New York Times, felt that the film's "claustrophobic, infrared images, supposedly taken from the tapes of a TV crew that spent the night in a mental hospital, offer some real scares, though the movie starts to feel long and repetitious before its 92 minutes are over.
"[12] Nick Schager of Slant Magazine gave the film a score of one-and-a-half out of four stars, writing that it "can't even pretend to be anything other than hopelessly derivative.
"[13] Aaron Hillis, in a negative review of the film for The Village Voice, concluded: "Windows quietly open, wheelchairs roll, faces contort into cheesy CGI ghouls, and 'digital artifacts' cover up the low-budget seams.
"[15] Dennis Harvey, in his review of the film for Variety, wrote that its "creepiness factor is sufficient to rate this a notch above genre average".
[16] Vox's Dylan Scott recommended the film, writing that it "effectively spoof[s] those ghost hunter shows that were briefly a hot trend, while still building toward a genuinely suspenseful second half.
"[17] Meagan Navarro, in a positive review of the film for Bloody Disgusting, wrote that "the filmmakers toss subtlety out the window in favor of fun, in your face chills that stick their landing.
"[19] A sequel titled Grave Encounters 2, written by the Vicious Brothers and directed by John Poliquin, was released on October 2, 2012.
[20][21][22] In May 2015, the Vicious Brothers announced plans for a third installment, entitled Grave Encounters 3: The Beginning,[23] but was quickly cancelled following the second film's failure to generate public interest.