Grave Encounters

 The 'paranormal investigators run into the real thing' subgenre of found-footage horror is actually older than Paranormal Activity or even The Blair Witch Project; It started with Ghostwatch, a legendary 1992 BBC program that fooled many of its viewers into thinking it was the real thing thanks to its pitch-perfect, deadpan execution. It's a bit of a legend here in the UK even among those who didn't watch it when it originally aired.

 As for its more modern, cynical form - one that takes into account shitty ghost-hunting reality TV shows and youtubers, the ur-text is probably the very enjoyable Canadian shocker Grave Encounters from 2011. I've been thinking about it off and on for a while now - since watching Gonjeam: Haunted Asylum and The Deadtectives, at least. And yeah... its influence is undeniable.

 The film kicks off with an introduction from the producer of a reality TV show called, of course, Grave Encounters, who explains that the show was cancelled after its whole crew went missing during the filming of the sixth episode. Which is a pretty solid reason for cancellation, if you think about it; No amount of online petitions are going to help there. Anyhow, the footage they shot during the filming of that episode - set in a spooky abandoned mental hospital - was retrieved after their disappearance, edited from hundreds of hours into ninety minutes for our viewing pleasure.

 The crew consists of:
 Lance Preston (Sean Rogerson), the host, your typical charismatic faker.
 Sasha (Asheligh Gryzko), a goth-y occult specialist, the true believer (though she's still pretty cynical).
 T.C. Gibson (Merwyn Mondesir), the main cameraman and all-round 'fuck this noise' type.
 Matt White (Juan Riedinger), Tech wizard, laid-back.
 And last but not least Houston Gray (Mackenzie Gray), a fake medium and amiable charlatan.

 They're all douchebags who are not above slipping some money to a gardener to make up a ghost story about the building they're going to be covering on the show (the film can be pretty funny when it wants to, as in that aside). They're not influencers, so they come off more as entertaining grifters/hacks than as complete wastes of flesh. The film proceeds pretty much as you'd expect: a long introduction where we learn about the characters and the building they're going to be spending the night on, the surveillance setup, the 'supernatural hotspots' which may or may not figure prominently later, etc.

 When weird shit starts happening, it's also the usual gradual ramp-up from gentle weirdness: for a while it's all mysterious noises, equipment failures, and things moving on their own. The film finally hits its stride when the panicked crew try to leave the building, which leads to a House of Leaves-style twist and the strongest moment in the film (complete with a very funny callback to an early laugh*); From there things get a lot more hectic, with some pretty cool horror moments as the hospital's ghosts torment our crew. Cheap CGI does mar the proceeds... as does a whole lot of wandering around dark hallways with swinging flashlights and/or night vision cameras.

 It's this ratio of thrills to a very specific type of tedium that makes this horror subgenre somewhat hard to recommend; I think that, thanks to some pretty cool horror scenes, Grave Encounters lands comfortably on the green, but I'd be lying if all the hysterics and wobbly-lit running down darkened passages didn't wear on my nerves.
 The cast do a decent job; Even if their characters remain little more than sketches, they're likeable enough that it keeps this from having the audience rooting for the ghouls. Writer/Directors The Vicious Brothers have some neat ideas for their scares, but the format they're working on mercilessly thrusts function over form. Or rather: the more artless its form, the more effective it is - there's some really good horror imagery, but its impact is conceptual, not visual, if that makes any sense.

*: Death Awaits indeed.