Subconscious (2010) Review

As a fan of “lost/found footage” films I happily stumbled upon Christos Petropoulos’ flick Subconscious while writing news for this lovely website. While a lot of films in the “lost footage” category offer up the same premise, Subconscious offers something truly unique. With everything pretty much done to death in this category it was very refreshing to see something different, which did make me jump a couple of times.

The film isn’t without its flaws and you can tell it was made on a shoe-string budget, but, that helps make the film much more believable, you actually feel as if you are watching some lost footage instead of something Hollywood conjured up. If you are not a fan of hand-held camera work, then it’s safe to say this one probably isn’t for you, but perhaps this could be the one that may change your mind on the sub-genre.

Subconscious does offer up some creepy moments but don’t expect a gore-fest as this is much more psychological as at times the film plays with your head and you question whether what you are witnessing is real or just fantasy, but this all comes down to Petropoulos’ convincing camera work and direction in which some of the other major film’s in this category failed to do.

I like how the film sets itself up by a proclaimed statement that the footage is the property of the Greek police and there are still questions regarding what has taken place. After the statement we are introduced to the first character by the name of Fanis (Fanis Katrivesis, his first acting role) who is recording himself and his room which is made into some sort of shrine. He distresses on numerous occasions that he has vivid nightmares and this is where his shrine comes in to play, as he tries to recreate the imagery he sees every night he closes his eyes.

From this, Fanis documents the events that are about to unfold, soon he meets up with an Eastern European girl, Natalie (Danijela Radovanovic) he recently met on the Internet. She becomes weary due to the fact he is documenting every second of their time together. Soon they begin a long car drive and we learn about our two main characters, during this, Fanis often talks to the camera without Natalie’s knowledge, questioning events that are unfolding.

After the long car drive has come to an end they wind up in the beautiful Greek countryside and find themselves at a secluded house in the middle of nowhere. Needless to say, soon things start to get a little confusing for our main characters, as at first, we are unsure where we are heading. Natalie often questions why Fanis is taking her to a mysterious house secluded in a deep dark forest but he often reassures her not to worry. Soon what seems bizarre becomes logical and we are thrown some brilliant twist and turns while inside the mysterious abandoned house.

Petropoulos creates very eerie moments and the story’s conclusion is brilliant, some may find it leaves the story unresolved, although others that were paying attention throughout the film will find it all fits together perfectly. Petropoulos built up the story brilliantly I believe and left me wanting more as it was something I’ve never quite seen in a film of this category.

Anyone can take a camera and document their actions, but, Petropoulos was able to capture this and create an eerie film and some outstanding suspense. As it has been proven before, you don’t need bucketfuls of cash to create a great suspenseful film, just the passion and ability to create something from nothing. Throughout the film there are some sequences which others may feel drag on quite a bit, and maybe a couple of technical flaws here and there, but the original story, direction and the chemistry between the main characters keep the film afloat considering the ambitious intentions of Christos Petropoulos.

I say give this one a shot, you may be pleasantly surprised. Subconscious is available for download for the amazing price of £2.99 over at DistriFilm.net. Also fans of this film will be happy to know that Christos Petropoulos has plans for a sequel. You can check out our interview with the director Christos Petropoulos HERE.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9m4nXxUJFE