Film Review - The Paranormal Diaries Clophill

I enjoyed this film more than it deserved, mostly because of nostalgia. It's a low budget found footage horror film and on that front it's not anything special. The nostalgic feeling comes from the storyline which reminded me of an urban legend when I was a young boy. I used to live near some ancient monuments that apparently were used for Satanic rituals back in the early eighties, which is essentially what the film is about. The story even has the police sealing these areas off to prevent foolish young boys from trying to enter these areas. It scared the crap out of me when I discovered that the police actually did prevent kids from sneaking into these area at night.

Which is more than this film managed. It's a real slow burner and there's more build up here than anything of substance. For the most part it feels the same as the ghost hunting TV shows that haunt TV channels with nothing better to show. It has a few good moments, but not enough to lift it to anything resembling a decent horror.

I was interested enough to keep watching to the end to see what our intrepid TV crew uncovered. The ending is contrived and tries to leave you with a mystery, but by that point I no longer cared.

In March 1963 a black mass was held within the ruins of a church in the small English village of Clophill. Tombs were desecrated and animals sacrificed during the macabre ritual.

Fifty tears on, following numerous reports of strange apparitions since that infamous ceremony, an investigative film crew was assembled to interview eyewitnesses and set up camp within the church ruins. During that ling night ahead they hoped to capture some kind of paranormal presence. Nothing however could of prepared them for the terrifying scenes they were about to witness and the events that followed.

Official selection at UK's biggest horror film festival Frightfest 2013

Click here to purchase The Paranormal Diaries Clophill from Amazon (and you shouldn't bother)