Phoenix Forgotten

Directed by Justin Barber, Phoenix Forgotten follows Florence Hartigan’s Sophie as she attempts to figure out what happened to her brother several years earlier. Filmmaker Barber delivers a fairly standard found-footage thriller that ultimately does feel long even at just 87 minutes, with the movie’s padded-out feel perpetuated by a first half devoted to Sophie’s investigative efforts (ie it’s passable yet far from enthralling stuff). It’s clear, then, that Phoenix Forgotten benefits from its undercurrent of mystery (ie were those lights actually extraterrestrial in nature?), although it’s equally apparent that the picture seems to be seriously spinning its wheels in the buildup to the revelation-heavy third act. The inclusion of that found-footage-forward final half hour does provide the thrills promised by the setup, admittedly, but it also suffers from the many, many problems and distractions associated with the genre (eg shaky, incoherent camerawork, persistently panicky protagonists, etc) – which ultimately cements Phoenix Forgotten’s place as a far from memorable attempt to ape the feel and tone of The Blair Witch Project.

**1/2 out of ****