UTG is continuing to expand our film coverage with the debut of VIDEO 2 GO, a recurring review column dedicated to features released outside of movie theaters. Whether it’s VOD, online only, or direct-to-dvd, this feature is dedicated to the films destined for the small screen.

If you have a film, or even if you simply know of one we need to cover, let us know! send an email to info@underthegunreview.net with the heading “V2G” and tell us about it!

This week’s pick: Area 407

One of the biggest obstacles the digital age has yet to overcome is how quickly the public’s fascination flees from even the most original concept. No matter how engaging or unique your idea is, it seems everything has to continue to get exponentially greater, without fail, in order to remain relevant. The found footage genre has somehow managed to do so, albeit taking a few steps backwards here or there, and once again steps into brave new territory in the new VOD release, Area 407.

The film starts generically enough, a video camera turns on and we are introduced to a person (in this case a curious young girl) who will serve as our initial point of view through an awkward sequence of carrying an active camera onto an airplane without losing your luggage. We meet the girl’s sister, as well as a few members of the flight, and in no time we are going in and out of sequences of a flight on New Year’s Eve from New York to Los Angeles. Things go well at first, but as with all horrors of this sort, the fifteen-to-twenty minute mark proves to be a tricky hurdle for our characters to overcome. Just after midnight, the plane hits a spot of turbulence and crashes in an undisclosed location to the west of Las Vegas and the survivors, many of whom were introduced in the aforementioned opening sequence, find themselves in a dark and unfamiliar territory.

Once the characters begin to gather themselves, a few who strayed shortly after the crash are heard screaming for help in the distance amongst what sounds like the gnashing of teeth. One man returns, claiming his wife and the others are dead, but he has no idea what is that took them. The survivors band together for safety, but soon things take an even more deadly twist. The night carries on, no help comes, and those who remain soon realize they are surrounded by monsters, PREHISTORIC monsters.

Now I know what you’re thinking, and you’re right, a dinosaur found footage movie is a downright insane concept, but it (f*cking) works. Film on a shoestring budget, Area 407 makes the most of a tight situation, and even goes as far as to show you multiple creatures without making you wait for a sparse display of shaky footage during the film’s final moments (as do many of the genre’s most rcognized titles). It may not be perfect, in fact it definitely is not, but it does attempt to push a still young genre into places it had previously never gone and that alone deserves at least a rental on VOD, if not a DVD/blu ray purchase down the line.

Turn down the light, crank up the surround sound, and let Area 407 do things with found footage you may have never previously thought possible while remaining well within the formula you’ve come to know and love.

Rent Area 407 on Amazon

Written by: James Shotwell (Twitter)

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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