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Video X
Vanguard // Unrated // October 28, 2003
List Price: $19.95 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
THE MOVIE
The opening of Video X contains the following disclaimer:
In October 2002, two young lovers left their trailer park in search of themselves.
The tape you are about to see has been slated by the authorities as "Video X."
"Video X" is recovered footage taken from the home video camera of Dwayne Foote and Darla Jean Stanton.
The problem is, this is all a hoax.
And not even a good hoax, such as The Blair Witch Project, where you didn't have any problem suspending disbelief because the acting was so good. No, in Video X it takes all of 10 seconds to realize that the participants are actors. Why? Because not even uneducated hillbillies – which the two leads in this title are attempting to portray – are this bad at acting.
While the story purports to be one of two real teenagers going on a state by state crime spree, the only real crime taking place is Vanguard's attempt to pass this off as the real thing to DVD buyers out there.
The video has Dwayne and Darla as two young lovers leaving home to make a life for themselves away from all their problems, but must turn to crime when all of their money is stolen from their vehicle. As if the wooden acting wasn't enough to tip you off to the fact that everything was faked, you'll even see one or two familiar actors pop up in the video, and every time a "murder" takes place, the gore is conveniently hidden from the camera's view. What the camera did capture though was the first "victim" smearing blood on himself as he hits the floor during the very first "murder"!
If there's good news here, it's for the actors involved…their names were mercifully left off the end credits (there are, in fact, no credits of any kind) – meaning it's not to late to be part of another film…or take some acting classes, for that matter.
THE DVD
Video:
The entire movie is shot on video, and looks fairly good visually for such a title. Those with motion sickness beware, however. If Blair Witch made you queasy, this title will have you running to the rest room in no time flat. It's very jerky in style.
Audio:
The audio is presented in 5.1 Dolby, and while it doesn't take full advantage of the 5.1 sound, considering the content of the title, I don't have any real complaints with it. It's actually more than I would have expected from such a release.
Extras:
No extras here. Only a chapter selection.
THE BOTTOM LINE
If Video X proves anything, it proves just how well-made The Blair Witch Project really was. After reviewing this film, I discovered that a while back Vanguard released a title called Murder in the Heartland which was a documentary based on the "murders" presented here. So this is the second attempt at capitalizing off of this ill conceived material. Maybe someone should send the Blair Witch after Vanguard's marketing department.
The opening of Video X contains the following disclaimer:
In October 2002, two young lovers left their trailer park in search of themselves.
The tape you are about to see has been slated by the authorities as "Video X."
"Video X" is recovered footage taken from the home video camera of Dwayne Foote and Darla Jean Stanton.
The problem is, this is all a hoax.
And not even a good hoax, such as The Blair Witch Project, where you didn't have any problem suspending disbelief because the acting was so good. No, in Video X it takes all of 10 seconds to realize that the participants are actors. Why? Because not even uneducated hillbillies – which the two leads in this title are attempting to portray – are this bad at acting.
While the story purports to be one of two real teenagers going on a state by state crime spree, the only real crime taking place is Vanguard's attempt to pass this off as the real thing to DVD buyers out there.
The video has Dwayne and Darla as two young lovers leaving home to make a life for themselves away from all their problems, but must turn to crime when all of their money is stolen from their vehicle. As if the wooden acting wasn't enough to tip you off to the fact that everything was faked, you'll even see one or two familiar actors pop up in the video, and every time a "murder" takes place, the gore is conveniently hidden from the camera's view. What the camera did capture though was the first "victim" smearing blood on himself as he hits the floor during the very first "murder"!
If there's good news here, it's for the actors involved…their names were mercifully left off the end credits (there are, in fact, no credits of any kind) – meaning it's not to late to be part of another film…or take some acting classes, for that matter.
THE DVD
Video:
The entire movie is shot on video, and looks fairly good visually for such a title. Those with motion sickness beware, however. If Blair Witch made you queasy, this title will have you running to the rest room in no time flat. It's very jerky in style.
Audio:
The audio is presented in 5.1 Dolby, and while it doesn't take full advantage of the 5.1 sound, considering the content of the title, I don't have any real complaints with it. It's actually more than I would have expected from such a release.
Extras:
No extras here. Only a chapter selection.
THE BOTTOM LINE
If Video X proves anything, it proves just how well-made The Blair Witch Project really was. After reviewing this film, I discovered that a while back Vanguard released a title called Murder in the Heartland which was a documentary based on the "murders" presented here. So this is the second attempt at capitalizing off of this ill conceived material. Maybe someone should send the Blair Witch after Vanguard's marketing department.
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