Nerds That Geek Movie Review: 'The Gracefield Incident'

Written by Scott Edwards

Spending special days with your friends is a must if you want to keep that relationship intact. Birthdays are one of these special occasions that you must attend, even if it is a fun lunch or dinner with your friends, just so they know that you care. But sometimes you want to do something a little extra to make the occasion a little bit more momentous by taking them on a trip or something in that vein. While you want to make the event memorable for your friend, you must also understand what they want to do, since not everybody enjoys getting older every year. 
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Getting his wife loaded into the car, Matt is trying to document everything that is going on for Jessica’s final ultrasound before they become parents. Making sure she understands how important this is for the both of them to finally have a family of their own, Matt keeps the camera focused on Jessica while not watching the road. While the couple are very excited about their next step in life, their car is t-boned in an intersection and their dreams, along with Matt’s eye fly out the window. After Jessica loses the baby, Matt has gotten over the fact that he will not be a father, but also comes to the decision that he will never lose a loved one ever again.

Months have passed, and Matt is ready to take his good friend Joe on a birthday bash that he will never forget. Retrofitting a camera inside of his prosthetic eye, Matt is ready to make this a party that they will never forget. Picking up Joe and Liz, the couple also makes a stop to pick up Jessica’s little brother Trey and his new girlfriend Julia to come along for the ride. While the three couples joke in the car, Trey is dying to show off his brother’s little invention and freaks out Julia by showing her the fake eye. Being able to get it back before the dog is able to eat it, Matt and his family have made it to Gracefield and are ready to take in the sights from his boss’ Bigfoot hunting cabin. 

Seeing that this is no ordinary cabin in the woods, but a mansion, the group picks out their rooms and get ready for the party of a lifetime. While playing outside however, they are privy to a meteor falling out of the sky and Matt and Joe want to document everything that they have seen. Being able to locate the fallen rock from the sky, they quickly find out that they are not alone in the woods as there is some sort of beast that is trying to hunt them down. Thinking that it is a Bigfoot, the group is able to make their way back to the cabin for safety, but little do they know the extent that the creature will go to, in order to get its property back from the unwilling group.

I liked the description of the movie and have been waiting on pins and needles to watch it, but I must admit that I was disappointed in the end. If I was not one for storytelling and continuity in movies, I am sure I would have loved it, but there were so many holes in the story and shots that you just don’t find in a found footage movie that it left me wishing it never came to be. If the movie was more of a comedy, it would have made much more sense and been far more enjoyable, but with the filmmakers consistently trying to play it straight, it really made for a subpar viewing experience. With a meteor, a group of friends disappearing one by one, high jumping aliens, a strange symbol, a missing dog, a human with helium filled lungs and plenty of balloons, you will be left wondering what really happened to the family pet over everything else. While I don’t like to take shots at independent movies, this one really took a swing and missed, but if it does get re-cut as a comedy, I will be all in. Happy Viewing.

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