388 Arletta Avenue - DVD

Film: In the marriage of James (Nick Stahl) and Amy Deacon (Mia Kirshner) it crises violently. Again and again the everyday life of the two is disturbed by violent quarrels. But when Amy disappears one day, James does not want to believe that she just left him. Because with her disappearance also strange events accumulate like the appearance of strange CDs in the car radio. What James does not suspect: for some time Amy and he are followed by a stranger at every turn. Everywhere the mysterious stalker has installed cameras with which he can observe the couple in all situations, privately and at work. And he is playing a sick game with the desperate James, in which the missing Amy seems to play a key role...

388 Arletta Avenue is in itself a rather interesting variation of the currently so popular horror subgenre of so-called found footage films. All of the action is shown from the perspective of various surveillance cameras. Since this comes with visual limitations, as the small cameras are located in or behind objects that prevent an unobstructed view of the action, the thriller proves challenging and somewhat exhausting even on this level. It's true that director Randall Cole succeeds very well in giving the viewer the ominous feeling of constant observation. But in the long run the effect wears off a bit and then constant streaks or mirrored clock times in the picture are rather annoying than effective. At least Cole sticks to the stylistic device consistently, which can't be said of all found footage films.

Whoever manages to engage with the visuals will be confronted with yet another hurdle that stands in the way of fully enjoying the film. For while the story is certainly intriguing and the mysterious observer exudes a gripping sense of unease, in the end you are left with the impression that the whole thing would have been far more effective as a short film than as a 90-minute feature. There are simply too many moments in which nothing happens per se, and they keep weakening the tension level. While the consistent and very intense finale definitely manages to iron out some of these lengths and a few of the logic holes that aren't filled until the very end. Still, Randall Cole fails to extract the consistent, nerve-wracking tension out of the material that undoubtedly could have been.

So 388 Arletta Avenue is an interesting genre entry that is also very effective in places.While it could be considered rather boring in places, it is still well worth watching for fans of the genre due to its good initial idea and effective finale!

Image + Sound: To really make the film seem like it was shot entirely by hidden video cameras, the film is visually presented accordingly. There are scenes where the image is very blurry, where there is noise and glitches, or where noticeable coarseness can be detected. This is all intentional and therefore can't be judged as a real weakness. The sound also only comes across clearly and powerfully in a few scenes where the hidden microphones are very close to the protagonists being watched. Otherwise, there are also intentional weaknesses such as overlapping background noise or hiss.

Extras: In addition to the trailer and other program tips, the DVD also includes a nearly 30-minute making of, which has a rather high overall promotional character, but for interested viewers a few informative moments to offer.

Conclusion: 388 Arletta Avenue is a fairly interesting take on the found footage genre, at least at first. Unfortunately, the effect wears thin quickly, revealing that the story isn't really strong enough to be captivating for close to 90 minutes. The consistent and quite drastic finale compensates a little for the numerous lengths and logic holes, but overall the impression remains that director Randall Cole could have gotten a lot more out of the good basic idea. Fans of found footage thrillers, for whom evil doesn't always have to be a paranormal activity, but well worth watching

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp