Synopsis
When a routine traffic stop results in the unexplained, grisly death of her colleague, a cop realizes footage of the incident will play for her eyes only. As the attacks mount, she races to understand the supernatural force behind them.
Directed by Malik Vitthal.
Written by Nicholas McCarthy and Richmond Riedel.
Starring Mary J. Blige, Nat Wolff & David Zayas.
Released available now to buy. or watch on Now TV.
Review
I'd been seeing this floating around for a while and finally decided to give it a go, I was intrigued by the mix of genre with Mary J. Blige in the top spot.
An unexpected death on what should have been a routine traffic stop leads a cop down a dangerous path to uncover the truth within her own department.
Body Cam is where cop thriller meets horror... in an intriguing and slightly disappointing way... as I write that, disappointing doesn't feel like the right word. Maybe it is just unusual, I don't remember seeing anything like this combined before.
The combination of footage works very well, it added to the suspense for me and I liked the cuts between body cam/CCTV, real life and unexplained. It allowed for a lot to be held in reserve for later in the film.
If you combine that with the effects it gives quite a strong foundation for everything. The palette was dark, but that helped to make some of the effects shine with drama and suspense. The one scene that particularly liked was set in the convenience store, but I don't want to spoil that for you. As a warning, the film is rather gory and there's the appearance of bugs at one point, it doesn't feel like it holds back.
Normally I'd talk about the acting early in my reviews, but if I'm honest, this is where the film seems to be lacking. I can't really pick out anyone to mention as being standout. That and a slightly uninspiring script didn't do this story justice.
The one thing that I take away from Body Cam is the idea of it, and that one particular scene. It makes me think, but about what I would have liked to see rather than what I did see. I'd be interested to know what you think if you've seen this one... I would have liked to see the film in silence apart from the cam footage and music... but that's just the weird feeling in my head.
Body Cam has the basis of something great, and the execution of the technical aspects felt impressive, but it lacked a spark to elevate it above everything else.
What you should do
If you enjoyed Black and Blue and you enjoy horror then this might be one for you. There is definitely something in it that has me umming and erring, in the end it probably lands somewhere on the "watch it" and "watch it, but don't rush" divide.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
I actually think I'm probably okay without anything from this film... too much comes with added danger.
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