I have been pretty stressed out this week. One of my cats hasn't been acting right but seems to be getting better now. My neck and shoulders have been in pain on and off, I think just from being so tense from the stress. I haven't been sleeping all that great either, so I haven't really been in the mood to watch movies and write about them. I have only done three reviews here for the last two months, so it is high time I got serious about it. I'm going to try hard to break ten or more posts this month and beyond. I don't know if I actually will. That is always another story. Anyway, it is time for another Amazon Prime movie. Next up for me was the movie 21 Days (2014).
Legend has it that there is a house that is so haunted that no family has spent more than 21 days in it. Since the late 1800's, three families have lived there and all of them have left the house before 21 days while leaving everything in the house, taking nothing with them. Jacob (Max Hambleton) has cut a deal with a network to film a documentary about the house and spend exactly 21 days inside the house. Jacob brings his girlfriend Shauna (Whitney Rose Pynn) and cameraman Kurt (Mickey River) along as well and they will be sealed into the house. The only way to get out is by breaking windows. Will they discover that the legend is just a legend or will the evil said to be in the house take them?
21 Days was written and directed by Kathleen Behun. This is her third film, although it is her first full-length film. 21 Days is a found footage style film that mostly uses security cameras to film with. There are a hand-held camera and phone footage as well, but these aren't used as much. The hand-held camera is used the most until they set the house up. I liked the story here. Behun doesn't give us much character development, but she does manage to give background to the story. Behum makes the history of the house interesting, with it possibly being built on an Indian burial ground. Those that are still around from the tribe claim the land is a portal to hell, which is where the evil spirits come from. My only problem with the story was the gaps in it. Apparently, only three families have lived in the house since it was built. There is a large gap between the first and second family, from the 1800's (mid-1800's if I remember right) and then again in 1977. So, if no one was living in the house for all those years, who was taking care of it? It seems like a really long time for a house to sit empty and then be sold. The story with the three in the house was interesting at times. The first really odd thing to happen was a red balloon that is seen floating around. I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be a nod to It or what since it never shows up again and isn't mentioned. We also see objects that have been moved between pictures taken. There is a scene where something from the barn, which is supposed to have been sealed up, that ends up appearing in the house. I assumed that this was going to happen, but it was still a pretty creepy scene. One thing that bugged me, and this happens with every film like this one, is that the characters rarely talk about what we see on camera. They are going over camera footage, but there is no mention of the balloon or when we see a quick shot in a mirror where we see the family from the 1800's. This is prime stuff for the TV network, yet the characters never make mention of it.
There wasn't much going on as far as effects go with 21 Days. There is the usual of making people look ghostly and things seemingly moving on their own, but that is about it. The acting was okay. I didn't really have a problem with any of the actors and thought the main three did well enough, but no one really jumped out at me Jacob kind of got annoying because he was worried about staying long enough to get a network deal. I liked Shauna but managed to get annoyed by her with all the crying. I get she is scared but still found it really annoying as it went on. Behum keeps the number of actors down here. There are voices we hear on the phone and the team interviews a few people before going into the house. All of those actors are fine with their small parts. For the most part, 21 Days is just the three team members for the majority of the film.
A lot of things in 21 Days never get a full explanation as to what it means. This was fine with me, as there was enough there to give me a rough idea all the same. I noticed on some reviews that they complained that the main characters didn't like each other, nor did they want to make the film. I don't know where they got that from, to be honest. Sure, they fight and argue some about what is going on and about stopping what they are doing and just leave. But all this happens later in the film as things go from bad to worse. That is pretty much to be expected I would think. Anyway, I didn't find 21 Days to be a bad film, but I did feel it could have been better. Not a bad film to check out unless you are just tired of this type of film. Give it a look if it sounds like a fun film for you.
3 out of 5 Remember to cover your mirrors
Legend has it that there is a house that is so haunted that no family has spent more than 21 days in it. Since the late 1800's, three families have lived there and all of them have left the house before 21 days while leaving everything in the house, taking nothing with them. Jacob (Max Hambleton) has cut a deal with a network to film a documentary about the house and spend exactly 21 days inside the house. Jacob brings his girlfriend Shauna (Whitney Rose Pynn) and cameraman Kurt (Mickey River) along as well and they will be sealed into the house. The only way to get out is by breaking windows. Will they discover that the legend is just a legend or will the evil said to be in the house take them?
21 Days was written and directed by Kathleen Behun. This is her third film, although it is her first full-length film. 21 Days is a found footage style film that mostly uses security cameras to film with. There are a hand-held camera and phone footage as well, but these aren't used as much. The hand-held camera is used the most until they set the house up. I liked the story here. Behun doesn't give us much character development, but she does manage to give background to the story. Behum makes the history of the house interesting, with it possibly being built on an Indian burial ground. Those that are still around from the tribe claim the land is a portal to hell, which is where the evil spirits come from. My only problem with the story was the gaps in it. Apparently, only three families have lived in the house since it was built. There is a large gap between the first and second family, from the 1800's (mid-1800's if I remember right) and then again in 1977. So, if no one was living in the house for all those years, who was taking care of it? It seems like a really long time for a house to sit empty and then be sold. The story with the three in the house was interesting at times. The first really odd thing to happen was a red balloon that is seen floating around. I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be a nod to It or what since it never shows up again and isn't mentioned. We also see objects that have been moved between pictures taken. There is a scene where something from the barn, which is supposed to have been sealed up, that ends up appearing in the house. I assumed that this was going to happen, but it was still a pretty creepy scene. One thing that bugged me, and this happens with every film like this one, is that the characters rarely talk about what we see on camera. They are going over camera footage, but there is no mention of the balloon or when we see a quick shot in a mirror where we see the family from the 1800's. This is prime stuff for the TV network, yet the characters never make mention of it.
There wasn't much going on as far as effects go with 21 Days. There is the usual of making people look ghostly and things seemingly moving on their own, but that is about it. The acting was okay. I didn't really have a problem with any of the actors and thought the main three did well enough, but no one really jumped out at me Jacob kind of got annoying because he was worried about staying long enough to get a network deal. I liked Shauna but managed to get annoyed by her with all the crying. I get she is scared but still found it really annoying as it went on. Behum keeps the number of actors down here. There are voices we hear on the phone and the team interviews a few people before going into the house. All of those actors are fine with their small parts. For the most part, 21 Days is just the three team members for the majority of the film.
A lot of things in 21 Days never get a full explanation as to what it means. This was fine with me, as there was enough there to give me a rough idea all the same. I noticed on some reviews that they complained that the main characters didn't like each other, nor did they want to make the film. I don't know where they got that from, to be honest. Sure, they fight and argue some about what is going on and about stopping what they are doing and just leave. But all this happens later in the film as things go from bad to worse. That is pretty much to be expected I would think. Anyway, I didn't find 21 Days to be a bad film, but I did feel it could have been better. Not a bad film to check out unless you are just tired of this type of film. Give it a look if it sounds like a fun film for you.
3 out of 5 Remember to cover your mirrors
