FILM REVIEW: Chronicle

Director: Josh Trank

Cast: Dane DeHaan, Alex Russell, Michael B Jordan

THE found-footage genre has been popular in horror films for a while.

You know the drill - footage found in the aftermath of a terrible event allows events to be relived, as in The Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield and scores of others. Occasionally there's an intelligent use of the idea, but on the whole there have been far too many lazily and hastily slapped together chillers using found footage as a means to excuse their flaws.

Chronicle, a superhero film which uses found footage and was shot in Cape Town (standing in for Seattle) is, surprisingly, a mostly intelligent, well-acted and interesting addition to the genre - that is until the third act of the film, when everything falls apart and becomes dull, well-worn, chaotic nonsense.

Up to that point, however, we are given the low-key story of social misfit Andrew Detmer (DeHaan) who lives a depressing, sheltered life. His mother is dying and his drunken father beats him out of frustration with his inability to do anything about it.

Andrew buys a camera and begins to document his teenage life.

At a party one night. Andrew, his cousin Matt (Russell) and popular guy Steve (Jordan) find a hole in the woods, which leads to a cavern with a glowing wall. From their contact with this strange wall, the three boys have telekinetic powers, which they initially deal with in the secretive, shared happiness of adolescent boys.

The found-footage approach allows director Josh Trank to explore this in a light and imaginative way. As things progress, though, the boys' powers increase and things become darker. When tragedy occurs, they are forced to face each other and the consequences of their new-found abilities head on.

In the character of Andrew, whose camera and point-of-view provide the spine of the story, Chronicle presents us with a protagonist who has the moral ambiguity of the best of the superheroes, a darker version of Clark Kent in the world of social media.

It's in the final freak-out that Chronicle, in spite of its overall well-handled, subtle approach to the use of the video camera footage, and strong performances from its young cast, falls into the trap that the genre requirements lay for it.

When things spiral out of control the film loses its grasp and focus, but not so much as to sabotage the good work that comes before.