Jeruzalem (2015)
Opening years earlier during a Jewish exorcism, the film pulls no punches as a Dybbuk possessed woman suddenly sprouts demon like wings and is taken down by a single shot to the head. This is all really grimy and disturbing. The bulk of the film is taken up with three American friends taking a trip to Israel for a holiday of exploration and partying. Once there the three detect all is not well, religious tensions are naturally high but there's something else. Biblical style premonitions of doom and all hell breaks loose one night as the city air raid sirens begin screeching and the army lock the streets down.
It's not often we see a found footage / shaky cam film with a difference but Jeruzalem is certainly one of those. Not just because the usual hand held camera, stare at the ground for 70% of the film usual found footage problems are dispensed with during the opening scenes - A big welcome to Google Glasses - and replaced with fun scenes such as face recognition and first person zombie killing games - ideas which are both rather morbidly reused later on in the film. It's not often the lead character is off screen for the majority of the film but due to the use of the glasses it's a necessity here. Jeruzalem is different because of it's Israeli setting and tension filled runarounds in the old city of Jerusalem, the religious tensions adding to the folklore Dybbuk horror especially in some grim asylum scenes as we discover its full of Jerusalem syndrome sufferers - those affected by being at the centre of a religious war zone...or so the official story goes.
At times Jeruzalem takes it's cues from Cloverfield (2008) as we get snatched glimpses of something huge stomping round the city but the main of the film centres on the attempt by the Americans and people they met up with over the course of the film to get out of the city via the streets and catacombs. It has a claustrophobic feel as winged demons attack from all sides even from within.
The only other Israeli horror film i've seen is Big Bad Wolves (2013), a superlative effort, and whilst Jeruzalem doesn't come close to that gut wrencher, it is a very interesting film with a lot of new ideas which i loved, culminating in one of the best found footage horror films i've seen.
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