I agree. This film kicks so much ass. And it is truly a single-location thriller--shot in a house. It is so difficult to make a good film this way unless you have a very compelling story, and actors who muster the right realistic emotions and responses (at least, within a reasonable number of takes).
Paranormal Activity does everything right. It's completely disarming, even innocent in the beginning... and we love the young couple because they are sweet and likable and not Hollywood hotties--just normal people. And the threat builds slowly (although immediately present when the film opens; it's the whole reason he got the video camera, I think) and the intimacy of being in their bedroom, watching them sleep is so powerful. We completely empathize with their vulnerability, so it's easy to project ourselves into the film.
I haven't seen the special features on the DVD so maybe they explain how the characters get dragged away by an "invisible ghost," but whatever they did in post to make that shit look real was totally convincing. The special effects in the film are "simple" and few and pack a punch. Smart.
And there's very little backstory (except what we absolutely need, and we get it in the present line of the story) which shows that you don't necessarily need to build a backstory legend to draw an audience, the way Myrick and Sanchez did so brilliantly for Blair Witch.
I know Sunshine and Die Hard are "single-location" films too, but I love the little films that do this well: films that succeed because a compelling story and sympathetic characters can always overcome budget limitations.
The BEST single-location film ever made is...
Hands down. Scariest film ever because it made you feel like witches were real and evil and coming for you. And the way they shot it, and the completely credible acting...not to mention all the pre-release mythology which I thought was truly entertaining...it was a tour de force.
I know the scene where Heather Donahue cries into the camera with tears dripping off of and out of her nose was much parodied, but I never thought that scene was ridiculous or laughable. It had tragic weight; I felt such pity for her for being so driven to make her little film, and for being so damn naive. That scene where she's crying into the camera--that too is tragic drama. It's a very important element--anagnorisis, or the moment the tragic hero recognizes her mistake.
So it really does get back to the writing--which is to say the structure of piece because they made this film by shooting 100 hours of footage and then putting together a powerful 90 minute montage.
Now, is TBWP really a single-location thriller? I guess not strictly speaking, but most of the film was shot in the same patch of woods--all those bare, spindly, spiderweb trees.
Oh--and the voodoo dolls hanging from the trees, and the "DID YOU SEE THAT? DID YOU FUCKING SEE THAT?" and "Josh! Tell me where you are Josh! Josh!" Wow. Fucking awesome. Absolutely thrilling--that I could believe for 90 minutes that witches are real.
Rear Window: tops, absolutely one of the great sing-lo thrillers and, as you well know, one of my favorites of all time.
But did you know that Hitchcock made a sing-lo thriller that was made to feel like one continuous, 90-minute shot?
You've seen this film, right? Not H's greatest film, and kind of a stiff, forced performance by John Dall as one of the two Leopold and Loeb killers who think they can murder a classmate in their apartment, stick his body in a truck, and then host a dinner party with the guests using the trunk as a table. Ghoulish. And it shows how mediocre writing gets you a mediocre sing-lo thriller.
It was an experiment for Hitchcock, I think. He wanted to see if he could present the film as a "single shot," but I don't know what moviegoer would care more about that than a really great story. The tone of this film was too academic and stuffy and the performances too stilted.
Here are a few other excellent examples of successful sing-lo films:
Woody shot September in a house, too. OK, it was really a house built on a sound stage, but as a sing-lo drama it is unsurpassed. Did you know he was so unhappy with the film after he shot it and looked at the performances, that Woody re-cast the thing and shot the whole film again before they struck the set? What other director would have that kind of clout? Amazing. I really love this film. Such a terrific sense of place. And Santo Loquasto is a fucking Escher-like genius set designer with all the door frames within door frames.
Each of these films shows again how important strong acting is in order to make a successful single location film.
And while Apollo 18 is a high concept for a sing-lo thriller, to be honest I'm wary. The actors don't appear to be filling out the roles. Do they behave or even look like NASA-trained astronauts to you? The trailer--cut together like every other low-budget, predictable thriller--is selling standard fare. I think it will be a disappointment.
Jor-El
P.S. OMG! How could we forget?
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