The Taking

The latest in a long-line of underwhelming found-footage horror flicks, The Taking follows a documentary crew (Michelle Ang’s Mia, Brett Gentile’s Gavin, and Jeremy DeCarlos’s Luis) as they arrive at a remote country home to document the mental decline of Jill Larson’s Deborah Logan – with problems ensuing as Deborah’s health concerns are, perhaps inevitably, revealed to be less than human. It’s a fine setup that’s employed to continuously lackluster effect by director Adam Robitel, which is a shame, certainly, given that The Taking boasts an opening half hour that holds some promise – as Robitel does a good job of establishing the central characters and, especially, the plight of Larson’s likeable figure. It’s only as the narrative’s horror elements begin creeping in that The Taking loses its way, as scripters Robitel and Gavin Heffernan rely primarily on the hoariest found-footage cliches that one could possibly imagine – which does, as a result, pave the way for a second half that’s both interminable and devoid of scares. (This is despite the inclusion of a few admittedly striking images toward the end.) The jittery, nigh incoherent all-hell-breaks-loose third act ensures that the film finishes on a seriously anticlimactic note, and it’s ultimately apparent that The Taking is hardly the shot in the arm that this increasingly irrelevant genre needs.

*1/2 out of ****