Released by: Bleeding Skull
Released on: December 17th, 2024.
Director: Amanda Gusack
Cast: Eric McDowell, Johanna Watts, Levi Powell, Mary Portser, Doris Weldon
Year: 2005
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In Memorium – Movie Review:
Written and directed by Amanda Gusack and released in 2005, In Memorium follows a young man named Dennis (Erik McDowell) and his wife Lily (Johana Watts) as they move into a new house. As Dennis has just found out that he’s terminally ill with bone cancer and, therefore, won’t be around a whole lot longer, he’s decided that they should set up a series of cameras around the house to document what he goes through and his final days. The thought behind this is that not only will it serve as a memorial to Dennis after he passes, but the footage could also possibly be made into a documentary that Lily could make some money from down the road, should she need it.
As the pair go about unpacking things and setting everything up in their new home, they bicker and argue as you’d expect them to under such circumstances, clearly their collective stress level is sky high and Dennis’ condition is, understandably, taking a toll on them both. As the story plays out, we get a feel for both characters and sympathize with them as they discuss whether or not Dennis should get chemotherapy and how he’d like to spend his last days with her.
When Dennis’ symptoms start to escalate only a few short days after moving in, he decides to rewatch some of the footage and realizes that the cameras have captured an entity neither of them expected to be dealing with.
A surprisingly character-driven found footage film (that was made a few years before Paranormal Activity, quite a similar movie, struck box office gold and spawns a bunch of sequels and knockoffs) that relies more on developing said characters than on gore or jump scares (though we do get a bit of that as well), In Memorium is if effective in drawing the audience into its main characters’ situation. Dennis and Lily feel real enough in this movie that we have no problem buying their relationship and all that it entails as genuine, and this gives the story a lot more depth than you might expect it to. This is thanks to a well-thought-out script and some really solid acting from Eric McDowell and Johanna Watts, a pair of actors that just feels natural together and whose chemistry really carries things.
Also worth pointing out is how the found footage concept is exploited here. While part of the reason to go down this route was certainly to keep costs in line, the set up for why we see things through the lenses of the different cameras setup about the house not only makes sense, but works really well. While the found footage concept has been done to death at this point in time and more often than not feels like a cheap gimmick, Gusack’s movie uses it in a way that complements the story being told, rather than distracts from it.
In Memorium – Blu-ray Review:
Bleeding Skull brings In Memorium to Blu-ray on a region free disc in an AVC encoded 1080i transfer framed at 1.33.1 transferred to high definition from the original video master. The screen caps below give you a pretty accurate look at the picture quality here. This was shot using consumer grade cameras and is meant to look mainly like security camera footage and the like, so don’t expect the picture quality here to floor you, but it works quite well in the context of the story being told. The image is stable, and color reproduction looks as good as it should. Black levels are solid and there are no problems with any compression artifacts to note.
An English language track is offered up in 16-bit DTS-HD 2.0. Optional English subtitles are also provided. Again, the quality of the audio isn’t hitting reference levels, but it works just fine if you’re able to suspend your disbelief and go along with the found footage concept. The dialogue is generally clear and easy to follow and there are no problems to note here.
A commentary track with writer/director Amanda Gusack gets the extras started off. She talks here about where she got the idea for the movie from, working with the different cast members on the production, some of her earlier short film work, wanting to make a feature she could submit to festivals, how she was in the process of purchasing a house while making the movie, the decision to go down the found footage route, some of the technical challenges that arose while shooting the movie, why certain scenes are blocked the way that they are, what went into the sound design for the movie, attempting to get a good story out of things that scare her personally, the collaborative nature of the production, how scary stories can bring out parts of people that they don't want to see in themselves, the themes that the movie explores, continuity issues in the movie and lots more.
We also get a ten-minute interview with Amanda Gusack where she talks about the influence of Blair Witch Project and The Ring, how and why the movie deals with guilt, some of the strange things that happened on set while making the movie, the camera setups needed for the movie, her thoughts on Paranormal Activity and that film's success, trying to get the film distributed, how this Blu-ray release is the first official home video release for the movie and what she's gone on to do since getting out of filmmaking.
The VHS version, which runs nineteen-seconds longer, is also included on the disc. Finishing up the extras on the disc is an original trailer for the feature, a still gallery, menus and chapter selection options. This release also comes packaged with some reversible cover sleeve art.
In Memorium - The Final Word:
In Memorium isn’t perfect but it is very good, and despite the fact that it will probably, and unjustly, always like in the shadow of Paranormal Activity, it’s a movie that fans of supernatural thrillers and found footage horror should seek out. The Blu-ray offers up a solid presentation and some nice extra features as well. Recommended.
Click on the images below, or right click and open in a new window, for full sized In Memorium Blu-ray screen caps!














