41 reviews
I worked on this "film" There is no way that it was near 1.3 million dollars unless the producers paid themselves 1,270,000. It would be utterly embarrassing if the budget were that high to produce this product, and utterly criminal if they spent this money without paying any of the working crew (the shoot was done by a few very dedicated, very inexperienced interns). And not even pay for the use of camera equipment - one supplied by the unpaid shooter, the other by the unpaid intern. Its half laughable, half disturbing that a production company would advertise a budget on a production to be so much higher than it actually was (maybe $30,000 for production). They should be embarrassed and then audited. And after hanging their heads in shame, should send checks to the people who made it, and then watch a few movies that did in fact cost 1.3 million dollars and see what real film making, and script writing is. Or go to film school.
After seeing a film about Ron Jeremy's penis being taken over by a horny alien, I didn't think horror films could get any worse, but Episode 50 proved me wrong.
The ghost and spirits shown in the film are about as scary as hedgehog and the supposedly 'terrifying' ghost nurse walking around the place looks like woman in a Halloween costume
The acting is about the worst thing I have ever seen in any film, it feels forced and is awkward and embarrassing to watch.
I turned this off half way through, and I wouldn't recommend anyone watching it. Don't waste 80 odd minutes of your life. Terrible, terrible film.
The ghost and spirits shown in the film are about as scary as hedgehog and the supposedly 'terrifying' ghost nurse walking around the place looks like woman in a Halloween costume
The acting is about the worst thing I have ever seen in any film, it feels forced and is awkward and embarrassing to watch.
I turned this off half way through, and I wouldn't recommend anyone watching it. Don't waste 80 odd minutes of your life. Terrible, terrible film.
- bethannorv
- Apr 10, 2012
- Permalink
2/10 for it's kinda originality and the few moments which did make the adrenaline go but that is it. I walked away feeling rather refreshed than scared or even thrilled. The portrayal of the nurse walking around with bones cracking is the least bit scary and as if it has been taken straight out a Doctor Who episode..... A rip off of Rec. The music is dreadful, so unfitting. Contrapuntal in the wrong way. The sound track is so unsuiting it sounds like something straight out of..... A..... Uhm..... Well I don't know, it's dreadful. It's a modern film so you would have thought it would have been tactfully made using successful features from other good examples of horror films but it hasn't. It seems like the tulle book has been regretfully thrown out of the window..... The saying rules are made to be broken has been completely disproved in this awful film. I'm not too hung up mind you. I bought it for a £1 and a boot market so I will not regret throwing this abomination away.
- joseph-donohue-933-778941
- Jun 2, 2012
- Permalink
And scraping the bottom of the Blair Witch / Paranormal Activity barrel I find this film, grinning idiotically up at me, just waiting to consume 90 minutes of my life.
You know, I admit it, I'm a sucker for these kind of horror films. So I probably deserve it when some celluloid creature like this shambles out of the dark and takes a bite out of me. But, seriously, when someone has an idea for a movie - shouldn't they, you know, kind of flesh it out? Think it through a few times? Am I being too demanding here? "Episode 50" follows two teams of "psychic investigators", one secular and one religious, into one of those "most haunted place on Earth" places (of which there are several hundred or so if you watch these kind of TV shows), in this case an old mental hospital. There's lots of back story concerning the team members, which is constantly being introduced until practically the very last frame of the film. There's lots happening, with each team presenting conflicting reasons for the ghostly goings on.
And there's practically no coherent overall idea of the film.
The flimmakers here want to use the "found footage" format AND have their scary background music too. They want to scare us WITHOUT building up tension. They want to slip in a cute little religious message AND have it taken seriously. Heck, the probably want to lose weight by eating ice cream and get rich buying real estate with no money down.
Mix the half-baked, nearly incoherent film style with some egregiously bad acting and out pops a film that makes "Return to Pontianak" look like "Silence of the Lambs." Seriously, the most horrible thing about this film is that I spent time watching it. Don't make that mistake. Save yourselves!
You know, I admit it, I'm a sucker for these kind of horror films. So I probably deserve it when some celluloid creature like this shambles out of the dark and takes a bite out of me. But, seriously, when someone has an idea for a movie - shouldn't they, you know, kind of flesh it out? Think it through a few times? Am I being too demanding here? "Episode 50" follows two teams of "psychic investigators", one secular and one religious, into one of those "most haunted place on Earth" places (of which there are several hundred or so if you watch these kind of TV shows), in this case an old mental hospital. There's lots of back story concerning the team members, which is constantly being introduced until practically the very last frame of the film. There's lots happening, with each team presenting conflicting reasons for the ghostly goings on.
And there's practically no coherent overall idea of the film.
The flimmakers here want to use the "found footage" format AND have their scary background music too. They want to scare us WITHOUT building up tension. They want to slip in a cute little religious message AND have it taken seriously. Heck, the probably want to lose weight by eating ice cream and get rich buying real estate with no money down.
Mix the half-baked, nearly incoherent film style with some egregiously bad acting and out pops a film that makes "Return to Pontianak" look like "Silence of the Lambs." Seriously, the most horrible thing about this film is that I spent time watching it. Don't make that mistake. Save yourselves!
- alansmithee04
- Oct 1, 2011
- Permalink
I saw a brief trailer for this and I must admit I was enticed. A 'something went wrong' real-cam style horror has become big business since the Blair Witch truly terrified us in the 90s, and now plenty of 'found footage' efforts are to be found.
I honestly didn't have a clue what it was about, but the opening 15 minutes revealed it was about a 'Most Haunted' style TV show in which the presenters 'debunk' alleged hauntings. The first segment sees them do exactly that but Episode 50 turns out to be the last in the series...and it never made it to screen, because something went hideously wrong.
Unfortunately, the only thing which really went wrong was how badly this mess was put together. There was an underlying nugget of decent story, and there was even a loose attempt at a plot twist, but the problem with Episode 50 is it's simply hard to take seriously.
It's like a student project movie.
Yes, this is low budget, and yes, you have to account for that, but there really is no excuse for the agonising 'acting' throughout while forced (poor) special effects simply get in the way.
The actual direction isn't all that bad but another problem is that for a horror film, it isn't remotely scary. It is almost as if it isn't trying to be, and instead is trying to be some sort of ghost story with a religious overtone which gets thrown in the viewers' face every 2 minutes.
As for the music, another reviewer got it spot on - what in God's name was simpering piano doing in the background? This movie didn't need any music, but it got there anyway and ruined moments which were already pretty bad anyway.
And then a random Scotsman (from River City no less) shows up in a kilt, acts like he's on LSD, then leaves the room.
A badly conceived film which had a reasonable idea, but neither the budget, the cinematography, the acting, nor the production values were able to realise it.
I honestly didn't have a clue what it was about, but the opening 15 minutes revealed it was about a 'Most Haunted' style TV show in which the presenters 'debunk' alleged hauntings. The first segment sees them do exactly that but Episode 50 turns out to be the last in the series...and it never made it to screen, because something went hideously wrong.
Unfortunately, the only thing which really went wrong was how badly this mess was put together. There was an underlying nugget of decent story, and there was even a loose attempt at a plot twist, but the problem with Episode 50 is it's simply hard to take seriously.
It's like a student project movie.
Yes, this is low budget, and yes, you have to account for that, but there really is no excuse for the agonising 'acting' throughout while forced (poor) special effects simply get in the way.
The actual direction isn't all that bad but another problem is that for a horror film, it isn't remotely scary. It is almost as if it isn't trying to be, and instead is trying to be some sort of ghost story with a religious overtone which gets thrown in the viewers' face every 2 minutes.
As for the music, another reviewer got it spot on - what in God's name was simpering piano doing in the background? This movie didn't need any music, but it got there anyway and ruined moments which were already pretty bad anyway.
And then a random Scotsman (from River City no less) shows up in a kilt, acts like he's on LSD, then leaves the room.
A badly conceived film which had a reasonable idea, but neither the budget, the cinematography, the acting, nor the production values were able to realise it.
Thats what i did...i saw this on the shelf and picked it up, the cover image was enticingly disturbing, a well worn through story idea but these kinds of horrors never get old if done right. But sadly, this one wasn't.
From the word go you see some of the shoddiest acting available in any movie today, a laughable "captured footage" scene of the team debunking case 49 and then even more laughable acting as they get their next job.
I think what makes this film even worse is it's use of music. If your going to do a film like this, there shouldn't BE any music other than the slightly ominous background tones to set the scene, you certainly don't need plinking, heartfelt piano music every time you have someone crying on another team members shoulder!!
This film is a joke, don't waste your time.
From the word go you see some of the shoddiest acting available in any movie today, a laughable "captured footage" scene of the team debunking case 49 and then even more laughable acting as they get their next job.
I think what makes this film even worse is it's use of music. If your going to do a film like this, there shouldn't BE any music other than the slightly ominous background tones to set the scene, you certainly don't need plinking, heartfelt piano music every time you have someone crying on another team members shoulder!!
This film is a joke, don't waste your time.
- leonhart35
- Oct 25, 2011
- Permalink
This movie attempts to be a mockumentary of a paranormal TV show.
Key problems Ghost camera men (where is the camera guy if all footage is "real"?) Extremely clean sets (wasn't this place closed to the public?) Acting lessons (shouldn't a person be able to show emotions to be classified an actor?)
This movie is simply awful, it's so awful that it's laughable which is good because otherwise i wouldn't have been able to sit through it. If you want to see bad then check out this movie, if you want a well done mockumentary of the paranormal then there are plenty of others that do a much better job than this.
Key problems Ghost camera men (where is the camera guy if all footage is "real"?) Extremely clean sets (wasn't this place closed to the public?) Acting lessons (shouldn't a person be able to show emotions to be classified an actor?)
This movie is simply awful, it's so awful that it's laughable which is good because otherwise i wouldn't have been able to sit through it. If you want to see bad then check out this movie, if you want a well done mockumentary of the paranormal then there are plenty of others that do a much better job than this.
- wasamonkey-351-854787
- Apr 21, 2012
- Permalink
I wanted this movie to be good. I really did! I enjoyed movies like The Last Exorcism, the Paranormal Activity's, and other documentary-style cinematography films. The character development is extremely slow and the acting is borderline horrendous. The special effects could have been much better! I generally enjoy low-budget films and can usually overlook mediocre acting. Unfortunately, this was tested my tolerance for both. I did make myself finish the film hoping the end would justify the effort of making myself sit through it. Not so much. In a nutshell, a wealthy gentleman sends two teams, with opposing views/opinions (one scientifically driven and the other spiritually motivated) into a haunted insane asylum and wants to see what they find. Sounds like a pretty legit plot to me. I was in! This is as good as it got for me.....the plot. I was very displeased with this movie.
- mickeywaynegeorge
- Apr 24, 2012
- Permalink
- mathieudeswert
- Apr 15, 2012
- Permalink
- MoviesReviews101
- Sep 21, 2011
- Permalink
I must say that this movie is underrated. Yes, it isn't perfect and has many flaws, but what do you expect for a small-budgeted film? Don't dismiss it for those flaws 'cause it's still an interesting horror movie, especially if you like ghosts like me.
It starts with a reality paranormal team. They find very plausible, scientific explanations for seemly supernatural activities. We learn that they want to make the paranormal a legit science where ghosts and apparitions are explained by electromagnetic fields interfering with our brains. They will do this by proving that a particular ghost hasn't died in the place, it haunts and therefore must be formed by the human brain. Thus proving that life after death doesn't exist.
They get a job in one of the most notorious haunted places in the US which is their big shot. But they're not alone: A very Christian team of believers is also there to prove the opposite.
I've always hated horror movies that doesn't really show anything supernatural. This movie isn't afraid to show us the different ghosts and that's what I really like about it. In the end the whole story goes too far and gets a bit confusing, but until then it's very good.
The story especially is very interesting. It may not be anything new, but the characters mostly seem real and some of them we actually like. This is already more than we can say about most horror movies nowadays.
If you're a horror buff who particularly likes the ghost genre, you shouldn't hesitate to watch it!
It starts with a reality paranormal team. They find very plausible, scientific explanations for seemly supernatural activities. We learn that they want to make the paranormal a legit science where ghosts and apparitions are explained by electromagnetic fields interfering with our brains. They will do this by proving that a particular ghost hasn't died in the place, it haunts and therefore must be formed by the human brain. Thus proving that life after death doesn't exist.
They get a job in one of the most notorious haunted places in the US which is their big shot. But they're not alone: A very Christian team of believers is also there to prove the opposite.
I've always hated horror movies that doesn't really show anything supernatural. This movie isn't afraid to show us the different ghosts and that's what I really like about it. In the end the whole story goes too far and gets a bit confusing, but until then it's very good.
The story especially is very interesting. It may not be anything new, but the characters mostly seem real and some of them we actually like. This is already more than we can say about most horror movies nowadays.
If you're a horror buff who particularly likes the ghost genre, you shouldn't hesitate to watch it!
Although it never quite commits to the reality based horror format of say the FAR superior Grave Encounters this is still a passable enough time waster.
Some solid back-story and some so-so effects work raise this one slightly above average. What prevents Episode 50 from reaching the heights of Grave Encounters is that the film-makers fumble with mixed messages and their rather cumbersome and vomitous attempt to drum home a Christian message.
This sort of shameful religious grandstanding offends me and it really has no place in the horror genre, so this diluted the whole experience for me somewhat and lost the film an immediate 2 marks out of ten.
Nice try guys but please next time lose the heavy handed religious overtones and give us some good solid scares instead. It's a shame since there was some real potential here.
Some solid back-story and some so-so effects work raise this one slightly above average. What prevents Episode 50 from reaching the heights of Grave Encounters is that the film-makers fumble with mixed messages and their rather cumbersome and vomitous attempt to drum home a Christian message.
This sort of shameful religious grandstanding offends me and it really has no place in the horror genre, so this diluted the whole experience for me somewhat and lost the film an immediate 2 marks out of ten.
Nice try guys but please next time lose the heavy handed religious overtones and give us some good solid scares instead. It's a shame since there was some real potential here.
- roberthaynes
- Oct 21, 2011
- Permalink
Oh my good what a load of rubbish. That was a couple of hours of my life I will never get back. The acting was so bad it was shocking, and I really mean it when I say the acting was shocking. I've not seen such bad acting like that in a very long time. The acting was wooden, no passion or emotion, just nothing. There were no scares, not one scene frightened me which I was so disappointed about. The plot is nothing original, it's been done before in other films which have been better. It could of been a good film if more effort had been made with the storyline, scenes and had better actors. DO NOT RENT OR BUY THIS FILM! It's not worth your money or time. I watched it for free on Amazon and I wish I hadn't. I'm amazed this even made it to cinema/DVD release it's that bad. Overall this film was badly made, badly acted and was quite frankly just boring. Beware you have been warned :)
- bibbles1980-904-109905
- Feb 2, 2015
- Permalink
I read reviews before watching this so I didn't go in with some high expectations or anything like that but I'm a fan of paranormal movies so I wanted to give it a try. I am the type of person who feels the need to finish things. Every movie I've watched in my life, I feel the need to finish it no matter how bad it is because I want to know what happens and if it will get better. If I start a book but I'm not necessarily into it, I make myself finish it. I finish things... so it says a lot that I couldn't even watch this through.
I can't put my finger on what exactly made it so bad to me but it was just bad. I watched a little over the first thirty minutes and actually skipped parts after that a time or two. Then I jumped to the end... I'm sure some people will enjoy it anyway and that's great. For me personally, I didn't like it much at all. It wasn't the worst thing I've ever seen but I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. I suggest you watch Grave Encounters if you want something like this (only better).
I can't put my finger on what exactly made it so bad to me but it was just bad. I watched a little over the first thirty minutes and actually skipped parts after that a time or two. Then I jumped to the end... I'm sure some people will enjoy it anyway and that's great. For me personally, I didn't like it much at all. It wasn't the worst thing I've ever seen but I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. I suggest you watch Grave Encounters if you want something like this (only better).
- MissCookieMonstaaa
- Oct 1, 2013
- Permalink
This was one of those poor decisions a person makes when browsing the "You Might Like" sections of Netflix too late at night. Besides the Academy Award-winning acting (heavy on the sarcasm here, folks), the plot was just absolutely beyond ridiculous. It was like they threw a bunch of ideas in a hat and then decided to use every single one, in no particular order. I've watched plenty of "bad" horror movies and enjoyed them. This was a whole different animal. It probably doesn't help that I grew up in the town in West Virginia that this was centered on (Weston, WV). Yes, there is an asylum there. Unfortunately, as cool as the ACTUAL place is (and you can take tours of it), this movie decided to basically take a poop on any semblance of the true, haunted history of the REAL asylum (which would make for a truly scary movie, IMO.) If only Netflix would reimburse people for the pain and suffering they experience after watching one of their "recommendations".
- LastGoonieWeekend
- Oct 23, 2013
- Permalink
This movie...if you even want to call it a movie was just atrocious! The visual effects were so awful and the acting was worse! Don't get sucked in by the beautifully enticing dvd cover! It's just horrible!!!
You deserve a medal if you can get through this, I can categorically say that this is without a doubt the worst film I have ever seen. This genre of film always promises so much, but so often fails to deliver, this not only fails to deliver but is a good advert in how not to make a film. I can see what they've done in terms of making it in the style of a documentary with expert witnesses and such, but the way it jumps about lacks any kind of cohesion, and the thin plot disappears after only a few minutes. The acting is woeful and the characters are complete non entities, you don't care if they're haunted or Lottery winners. Sold as a horror, but the only scary thing is the guy in the kilt.
Trust me you'll be on the side of the evil spirits, you'll back them from the start, 1/10.
Trust me you'll be on the side of the evil spirits, you'll back them from the start, 1/10.
- Sleepin_Dragon
- May 13, 2017
- Permalink
I confess, I'm a sucker for these types of scary films as others have also said. So it's terrible when 90 minutes is wasted on something that should never have made it out of the college film class it was created in. If this wasn't a college project then someone wasted their money producing it. The acting is cheesy and amateurish, the overall production was not done well and the sound engineering must have been done by some kid they pulled in from the hallway. Normal conversations go from low volume one minute to high volume the next. I had to hold the remote as I was constantly adjusting the sound. The only redeeming thing about this movie is the special effects which were decent for most of the movie....until the end where it inexplicably gets cheesy again.
As a college film project I'd give it an A. As a Netflix offering I'd give it a D-.
As a college film project I'd give it an A. As a Netflix offering I'd give it a D-.
- trobinson017-389-906943
- Jun 5, 2012
- Permalink
This move has to be the worst I have ever seen. I saw the cover and that it was available on a movie streaming website, and thought to myself 'oooo that looks good'. Well it wasn't. Not even a little bit. In fact, I created this IMDb profile just so I could rate it 1/10. If I could vote it 0/10 then I would. An hour and a bit of my life that I will never get back. I feel sorry for the actors that lent their name to this. It claims to be a horror movie, but is not, the acting is terrible, and the plot is even worse. It is poorly thought out. In theory, it should be a good film, by reading the sypnosis of it, it should be a good film, but it's poorly thought out, poorly executed, and has a poor script to accompany it.
- whitewiccanwishes
- May 2, 2014
- Permalink
Oh my good Lord in heaven. What the hell did I just watch. I thought when I bought this on Ebay for 99Cents that I was getting a good deal. Ooh boy how wrong I was, this film doesn't deserve to occupy one second of someone's left , let alone 81 minutes. How can rubbish like this make it too DVD. The acting is atrocious and completely amateur. I felt like I was watching a grade 8 stage play. Yes and now for the pathetic ghosts and seemed like people in costumes darting around here and there. Shame on you film makers trying to cash in on this enervated horror sub genre. God and I thought V/H/S was awful, well its academy awards material compared to this dreck. Anyone that wants to see a good found footage film seek out aussi's The Tunnel, Evil things or even paranormal entity. Now those are spooky films.
- nightwatch4773
- Jan 18, 2013
- Permalink
Would Have to be the funniest movie ever. Jose just made it for me. I heard this was supposed to be a horror and it that case 0/10 but this would have to be the most laughably bad film I've ever seen. In fact it's so laughable i recommend you watch it just to have a good laugh and see Jose's smile.
Being serious this movie sucks, but watch it with some friends if you want a good laugh. Oh, and watch troll 2 as well, that was even worse. I need ten lines of text so how was your day? Thats good, mine was just swell thank you. Have you watched this movie yet? No? good. Last line, see ya
Being serious this movie sucks, but watch it with some friends if you want a good laugh. Oh, and watch troll 2 as well, that was even worse. I need ten lines of text so how was your day? Thats good, mine was just swell thank you. Have you watched this movie yet? No? good. Last line, see ya
This movie was not exactly what I expected, in neither a good or bad way. The overall acting was, at times, wooden and stilted, and the plot is a bit convoluted, but the production is amazing for the type of film it is. There were a few good scares (one caught me off guard pretty well) and the director didn't miss opportunities to add to the atmosphere by using camera angles and effects to set up a good feeling of ghosts and ghouls. The premise of "found footage" and "ghost hunters gone wrong" is played to death, but I really enjoyed this movie in an overall sense. I won't extol what happens and will only say that it is a little trite but worth a look. Of course I say that because I truly enjoyed watching it. I think that most reviews on this film are harsh, so I am trying to give a more "overall" review, to say that I looked at it for what it is, an indie horror movie made on a handful of cash using "need the quick cash" actors and it blew me away.
- josephdoze
- Jun 13, 2012
- Permalink
And the worst acting award goes to... envelope please... the dude playing Dylan. Acting school is not just a suggestion... Way over the top. Silly lines. Every other scene is - insert male character - arguing with - insert female character. Silliness to the max.