Investigation 13

That is the movie. The group explores, gets separated, and are killed by someone… or something. Oddly, there is also a heavy emphasis on technology. Their use of smart glasses, the various cameras, recording devices used. But again, it is an idea that is half-formed and leads nowhere. Never once does any of this high tech stuff make a difference in the story. They are solely there to allow the director to jump through styles of filmmaking when desired, which is more annoying than anything else.

Chronicle’s use of security footage and newsreels to fill out its first-person style- of sorts- felt organic and made sense to the story. Here, the different styles feel forced, as if being presented solely because de Lara is aware that there is little else to hold the viewer’s attention. Thanks to the cinematography, the gamble does not entirely fail, but the story at hand never supports the choices.

“…direction is all over the map, switching styles more as a way to show off than anything else…”

However, the worst part of Investigation 13 is that it is simply not scary. Maybe it is the paint-by-numbers plot that robs the proceedings of a sense of shock. Perhaps it is due to the ineffective direction that never creates a proper sense of atmosphere or mood (another byproduct of forcing differing styles where they don’t belong). But the film never generates a single scare, not even a cheap jump one.

Investigation 13’s cast tries as they might, but face an uphill battle against a script with nary an original idea. The direction is all over the map, switching styles more as a way to show off than anything else; which sucks any semblance of mood out of the whole affair. Plus, the story structure is often repetitive, meaning the movie pointlessly spins its wheels.