Details: Written by: Charlotte Stear; Published: 29 July 2013

The Sigil DVD Review

Written by Charlotte Stear

DVD released by Metrodome Distribution

Directed by Brandon Cano-Errecart
Written by Brandon Cano-Errecart and Nathan Dean Snyder
2013, Region 2 (PAL), 68 minutes, Rated 15 (UK)
DVD released on 22nd July 2013

Starring:
Devan Liljedahl as Devan Lewis
Nathan Dean Snyder as Nate
Brandon Cano-Errecart as Brandon
Miki Matteson as Miki
Matthew Black as Matt

the-sigil-dvd-cover

Review:

Next in line to take a stab at the found footage genre is the low budget demon movie, The Sigil. After her brother dies from what the Government calls a radiation leak from an undiscovered uranium mine, Devan (Devan Liljedahl) recruits her friends Nate (Nathan Dean Snyder) and Brandon (Brandon Cano-Errecart) to go to the house he died in to find the truth behind his death. When they arrive they meet neighbours who take them in, but what they find is more incredible than they ever could have imagined.

I’m not the kind of person to be put off by a found footage film, truth be told I always seems to enjoy them. Movies like Grave Encounters have proved there is still plenty of fun to be had with this genre, even if it does feel like we know the score by now. The Sigil, however, is doing the shaky cam films no favours. It is pretty much paint by numbers with its scares and the camera direction is often confusing as they switch to and fro between hand held and regular, it almost looks like there’s a second cameraman which takes a while to get used to. But aside from all that, The Sigil 's major problem is the acting. There isn’t one redeeming actor or character in it, had there been a character that brought some comic relief or even one decent performance, this film could have been tolerable, but it feels like this is the first time acting for everyone. Of course, the weak script does not help this in the slightest. Lead character Devan is neither likeable nor believable, so it’s hard to connect with her motives. She has a mini breakdown part way through the film which is just cringey and I found myself wanting to look anywhere but the screen. This shouldn’t be the case, her character is on this big quest with good intentions, so we should be on her side yet all she does is whine, complain and generally irritate the audience. If the writers had made her more likeable, again this could have made the film more watchable and we would be rooting for her, as opposed to rooting for whatever demon seems to be lurking in the house.

The movie is a little rough around the edges; there are some bad sync ups for the sound and a lot of moments where everyone on screen is just screaming at each other. The levels were actually headache-inducing and didn’t create a chaotic atmosphere, just a very irritating one. All these things highlight this is the first full feature film for director Brandon Cano-Errecart (who also stars in this film), he definitely has a big vision and that will certainly be an advantage for his next feature but these are major let downs for The Sigil.

Basically, there are a lot better found footage movies, there are a lot better supernatural films , and there are a lot better “bad” movies out there for you to enjoy. This one is for the hard-core found footage nerds out there only.

Video and Audio:

Sound levels are too high and often the sound doesn’t sync up to the characters. Video is mostly clear but shaky cam can get very rough, motion sickness warning.