The trailer for the 2014 found footage flick “Heidi” made it look like an intriguing independent horror film with some promise. Dolls are creepy by nature and a personal phobia of mine.
The premise; two teen boys discovering a possessed titular toy and begin to experience strange things was something that compelled me to watch. While I won’t shred every aspect of this movie, I will offer this: The characters, albeit unintentional, are comical enough to keep you going throuhgout. In fact, they often seem to be unaware that a movie is being filmed. If “Heidi” were a spoof type comedy renamed “How Not to Make a Movie,” it would get an A+.
As a devout student of the Found Footage genre, the emphasis for success generally lies with two key factors. The found footage element needs to be something done as an important device for telling the story. It can’t just be a crutch for bad writing and the creative bankruptcy that is Hollywood in 2018.
With “Heidi,” the primary characters Ryan and Jack (Samuel Brian and Joey Bell) are friends who run their own YouTube channel in which they film themselves performing a variety of pranks. The fact that they are recording themselves at the start of the movie actually makes sense. Ryan specifically is an aspiring filmmaker, and a fan of cinema as evidenced by the classic movie posters that line his bedroom walls or his female dog, aptly named Cuja.
Daniel Ray presents the story with a variety of options, from Ryan’s camcorder to hidden Nanny Cams and GoPros. While it starts out realistic in today’s social media fame hungry world, towards the end its a bit foolish to think that Ryan would be carrying a camera and recording in lieu of obvious time pressing peril. The story itself is one that’s been done before, with sinister dolls like Chucky and Annabelle putting the chills down your spine. But unlike “Annabelle,” the Heidi doll itself isn’t particularly grievous to look at and the aspects of the haunting are tame at best.
Equally critical to the success of a Found Footage film is the on screen performances of the cast. Since its supposed to be real, the genre requires an extra degree of acting as characters must display emotions and actions as an ordinary person would. The acting in “Heidi” is woeful from all parties. Brian and Bell are somewhat decent at times, but it becomes evident that the more dialogue they speak the weaker the performances get, seeming like they are talking just for the sake of talking. Potential Scream Queens come in the form of Ryan’s sister Rachel (Eva Falana), love interest Amanda (Joei Fulco), and mother (Diem Bell) but each is ineptly awful at delivering lines in a believable way. The handful of scary scenes in “Heidi” are nullified by poor acting, and all parties are guilty.
What adds to the failure of the movie are the little things that somehow get overlooked, with blame falling solely with the creator/writer/director, Daniel Ray. The local news reporter (Brooke Mackenzie) deliverers ridiculous thing like describing how a dead body was found, and a cheesy and overly stereotypical psychic are the kinds of things that make it more a spoof than a horror film. None of the characters are dressed appropriately for Las Vegas in July, and it gets distracting at times as they play out their parts amidst the desert backdrop.
It seems unbelievable that once Ryan has confirmed that Heidi is in fact alive and moving on its own, he has no problem whatsoever falling soundly asleep with the doll sitting a few feet away in the closet, and just once I would like to see a parent act in a normal way. Like, kid who never causes trouble shows mom actual footage of the doll moving at night and the mom is convinced its either a trick or the wind. I understand the need for skepticism that a doll is possessed, but do you really think the wind murdered the old lady down the street? I digress.
I’ll praise Daniel Ray with this. The ending scene is one of the scariest and better piece of horror you will find out there. It’s a shame this type of zest and creativity wasn’t employed throughout. “Heidi” is a tough movie to find, staring actors that are equally inconspicuous. It’s a bad movie, but for some reason, it’s not completely unpleasant to watch.
by – Matt DeCristo
