• ALL
  • NEWS
    • GAY MOVIE/ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
    • GAY FILM TRAILERS
    • GENERAL MOVIE NEWS & TRAILERS
  • GAY SHORTS & SERIES
  • REVIEWS
    • GAY FILM REVIEWS
    • CINEMA REVIEWS
    • DVD & BLU-RAY REVIEWS
  • BGPS BLOG
  • COMPS
  • ABOUT
    • Contact Us
    • Join The Team
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Gays On Film – A Short History

Big Gay Picture Show

Taking a look at the world of film through gay eyes - news, reviews, trailers, gay film, queer cinema and more

Taking a look at the world of film through gay eyes - news, reviews, trailers, gay film, queer cinema & more

Tape 407 – The Mesa Reserve Incident (DVD)

May 15, 2012 By Stephen Sclater Leave a Comment

Starring: Abigail Schrader, Samantha Lester, James Lyons, Melanie Lyons
Director: Dale Fabrigar, Everette Wallin
Running Time: 89 mins
Certificate: 15
Release Date: May 21st, 2012

Think horror, think Lost meets Jurassic Park! On second thoughts scrap that thought, but Tape 407 does involve a plane crash and some sort of dinosaur hell bent on killing the survivor.

After Dark productions have given us some great little horror gems over the last few years, some slightly better than made for TV productions, and some not, unfortunately this release falls into the latter category.

The premise is this: two girls are flying from NY to LA on NYE, one is absolutely determined to catch everything on her camera (yawn – as if we not had enough of these real events captured on camera films already – Cloverfield, The Last Exorcism and Paranormal Activity). The plane unfortunately does not meet its final destination due to turbulence and crashes into a Government Testing Area. The traumatised passengers are then hunted in the darkness by some unknown menace. Wow – two horrors for the price of one!

As with many of these recorded ‘real life’ event films, the fact that the footage has been found, does not usually bode well for the unfortunate victims.

What’s wrong with the film? The first girl holding the camera has the most annoying whiney American accent I have ever heard, so we can#t wait to see her demise! She proves to be more annoying than Jar Jar Binks! The film is split into two halves, the plane journey and then the aftermath. After the plane crashes only the fuselage remains, there are no flames, no smoke, just lots people running around shouting over each other looking like a walking advert for Dulux Crimson paint. It literally looks as if they have been painted with red syrup.

They are then systematically picked off one by one by the dark menace. The fact that it is set in the dark obviously means very little money needs to be spent on effects, as you never actually really see the creatures until the end, and in the meantime we are nauseously given the now compulsory shaking camera, often blinding at times as the lights bounce off the ground.

There is no tension and the victims always seem to do the wrong thing. Do I stay in the relative safety of indoors and  wait until sunrise or do I run around cluelessly in the dark waiting to be killed by an unknown predator? And I’m sorry, but if you were in a plane crash would you not be more concerned about your survival rather than zooming into the faces of those dying! Or would people respectfully ask you to switch the bloody thing off?

I suppose the excuse for running with the camera with the light showing was to help them see? Perhaps I’m unnaturally gifted, but I can see quite well in the dark thank you very much! Turn the camera off please! This is unimaginative film making at its very worst!

Overall Verdict: If this is tape 407, let’s hope the other 406 have been destroyed!

Reviewer: Stephen Sclater

Wanna share?:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Flipboard
  • More
  • Reddit
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
  • Print
  • Pocket
  • WhatsApp
Overall Rating 2outof10

Related

Filed Under: DVD and BLU-RAY REVIEWS

Leave a Reply (if comment does not appear immediately, it may have been held for moderation) Cancel reply

Search this site:

We're Needy, Be Our Friend

RSSTwitterFacebookStumbleUponMySpace

E-maily Stuff

Get the latest in our daily e-mail

Most Recent Posts

Young Hunter Trailer – First teen gay love takes a dark turn into blackmail

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie Trailer – The hit gay, drag West End musical is coming to the screen

Iris Prize Festival LGBT+ International Short Films 2020 – Part 3 (Short Film Reviews)

Iris Prize Festival LGBT+ International Short Films 2020 – Part 2 (Short Film Reviews)

Iris Prize Festival LGBT+ International Short Films 2020 – Part 1 (Short Film Reviews)

The Scottish Queer International Film Festival 2020 Has Opened, & It’s Online Across The UK

The Iris Prize LGBT Short Film Festival Returns Next Week, & It’s Online & Free!

An Apology From Big Gay Picture Show

Win The Miseducation of Cameron Post DVD & Book!

Seventeen Trailer – The vagaries of teen romance erupt in the lesbian-themed film

My Best Friend Trailer – Gay romance flickers between two teen boys

New Sauvage Trailer – The gay prostitute movie that divided Cannes is coming soon

Copyright © 2023 Muser Media · Powered by WordPress & Genesis Framework · Log in

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're OK with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Read More Accept Reject
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT