Bagma

For the first ever feature film from this filmmaker, Rogelio R, this is not a bad attempt. It runs for 1 hour; though I believe it could have been condensed to 40-minutes or less. If you don't mind watching an entire film smothered in the colour green, then I think you will make it through to the end. The journey, although quite long, does help to cement the character of Ramon. A lot of thought has gone into his characterisation, which I commend. To me, this is more of a POV film, directed around Ramon. Then we have interludes where we are slowly spoon-fed little pieces of information, revelations, when Ramon talks to the camera; his audience - obviously in the form of the found footage troupe. The element that stood out for me the most is the intricate story of Mr Kramer and his connection to Bagma. It's a well-crafted story, simple enough to understand. The ending has a twist I didn't see coming. Did it land? You be the judge. All I will say, without spoiling the film, is that there were moments when I giggled, but I don't think I was meant to. The concept is okay, a new form of a mythical monster formulated inside the mind of the filmmaker, it's good to invent ghastly characters. For a one man show, it's a very good try. The film is certainly lacking in special effects, and this shows. My thoughts are that more gradients of colour, special effects, sound, cinematography, music, editing, will need to be looked at in any future projects. Keep up the good work. With a better budget, a network of people in the Indie film sphere, and better equipment, I think the only way is up from here. I can tell this filmmaker is motivated and driven. Well done for your first ever feature film.

Reviewed by Del Gibson.

I caught this on YouTube after speaking briefly with the director in a found footage Facebook group. The film is in the vein of paranormal investigation found footage films, halfway between Paranormal Activity and Grave Encounters. The lead performance is solid, and there's a lot of interesting lore built up around the central mystery of the Bagma character. There are moments that are undeniably creepy, but the low budget shows itself most in the moments where visual f/x are used in post. It's an ambitious and impressive undertaking for a first-time filmmaker, especially to execute with a single performer.