Trace (2015) User Reviews (22)

Jeffstanding FRAUD review

[namaGemo · 4/10 · 30 November 2015]

This movie is not even close to a 10/10. It's not as horrible as "Eaters", but 4 stars is about right. It had some tension, but wasn't really scary nor was there gore if that's what you're into.

As to jeffstanding and his review, let's see, he joined right after this was released and what a shock, only has one review and it's for this film which he gave 10 stars and claims is the greatest film of the year. It's obviously he worked on this film in some capacity.

This film is somewhat entertaining and probably more so if you actually buy into the ridiculous idea that evp's are actually paranormal, despite all factual evidence proving the opposite. It's a typical cheap horror film made with non actors for the most part on a low budget. If you know this going in and just have to see the latest at red box or Netflix, take a watch, but just don't expect to be too impressed.

TAKE OUT YOUR NUMBER 2 PENCIL

[nogodnomasters · 3/10 · 4 May 2018]

Using information on the Internet some young adults contact a demon who plays "10 Little Indians" with them. That is pretty much it. Heck, the guy from the Internet doesn't even make house calls. The camera angles were bad and shaky. Too many heads in the way of what they were attempting to film. I thought I was watching a bootleg being shown to an overactive bladder convention.

The film did have a couple lines that I liked:

"Just because I'm hot doesn't mean I'm stupid." " I'm not really a big fan of demons and disembodied voices."

And one that didn't work but should: "Hell on Earth is not a metaphor."

Once the film got serious I got bored. The low budget prevented any decent special effects. A guy playing with a sound board for much of the film didn't make it. The dialogue also fell off of a cliff. Acting wasn't that great, but then again neither were the lines.

Guide: F-bomb. No sex or nudity.

It Started off Well But...

[icocleric · 4/10 · 28 February 2022]

I liked the set up, and the ideas were pretty good, but I don't think the execution was there. I know EVP is something horror films are covering now, and even though EVP itself isn't a good theory. It's a great theme for a horror, and the beginning of the film is right it was studied in Russia during the Cold War.

I liked the fact they were meant to be students studying sound. It was a nice touch.

The actors weren't that good, I wasn't really drawn in, or find it remotely scary and the ending was a bit boring. It's certainly no Banshee Chapter which covers a similar theme but it's much scarier. It had potential, but it didn't quite reach it.

Watch something else

[davannacarter · 1/10 · 14 November 2015]

First off, this movie isn't scary. It doesn't have any suspense leading up to the kills, a dreadful atmosphere, or a eerily told story. If you're looking for gore, there is none here. Nothing in this movie is gory. If you're looking for suspense, as I said, it's not here. What is here in abundance is bad acting. Throughout the movie I kept saying, "God, that's some terrible acting." If you want to watch a movie filled with actors who aren't any better than you then by all means watch "Trace."

Another thing I didn't like was the swaying cam. That's where the camera isn't shaking but not steady. It kept jarring me out of the movie because it was painfully obvious the cameraman was tipsy. I don't like watching scenes with people lying in bed and the camera is swaying constantly. But that's the type of stuff I saw. The camera was still for less than 30% of the time. I couldn't get into the movie at all.

Lastly, the kills were too abrupt to be scary. That's what I don't like about modern horror. There's no suspense leading up to the kills where you're tensing up, thinking, "Oh, this douchebag is gonna get it." Instead, they victim just gets stabbed out of nowhere and the impact of his death is too sudden to feel any emotion about it. In this movie, some of the kills are off-screen and the ones that are on screen aren't original, innovative, or surprising. The characterizations are so lame and the kills so boring that I couldn't even muster up the strength to say, "Meh." when someone got killed. All in all, there's no point in watching this movie. No suspense, no gore, no nudity, no interesting characters, nothing.

Really annoyingly bad

[lopezpatricia-06139 · 1/10 · 15 December 2019]

Tedious Californian 21 yrs olds. Whom can't act and are offensive to the eye. I'm sick and tired of gratuitous scenes of coke snorting. If it's a film about drug misuse then fine. Also the production was so so bad that the iPhone they have 1 between them has a white tape across the back over the logo. Obviously Apple want nothing to do with this film and I don't blame them.

how to make a movie about something you don't even know what it is

[phenomynouss · 1/10 · 30 September 2017]

the only reason I tried out this movie was because it had the EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) gimmick attached to it. I first saw this in a horror movie "White Noise" 2004 with Michael Keaton and it was fun, even a bit scary for how young I was at the time.

The people making this film seem not to understand what EVP even is. Of course it's not a real thing --- there's no such thing as ghosts --- but the idea of the phenomenon, being able to hear very faint voices in static or empty background noise of audio recordings, is a fun and scary concept to play with. This film seems not to understand this at all, as every instance of EVP that is shown involves no soft, barely audible sounds that might be voices, but some loud as hell stereotypical "demonic voice" clearly and unambiguously speaking words, easily understood and understandable just by turning the volume up slightly.

On top of that the film seems to give up on this gimmick around half-way through and begins to resort to the stereotypical haunting gimmick, with visual hallucinations and spooky dreams. Just listening to an EVP once seems to cause the demon to just instantly attack the person and try to kill them. No subtlety, no suspense, no slow-burn creepiness, just a full-blown Big Scary Face In A Mirror and then kill.

Underlying the failure of the main gimmick, the writing and dialogue is abysmal. It's so terrible it's impossible to tell if the actors are genuinely bad or just too inexperienced to make anything worthwhile out of the script

Feel ripped off

[preaypr · 3/10 · 23 March 2021]

One of those films you think isnt bad until it just ends with no end to the story. You can guess what actually happened but that's it.

Watched this to try and make me sleep...

[AndyVanScoyoc · 3/10 · 14 January 2020]

Instead, it was SO bad I had to watch it all the way to conclusion to see how it ended.

EVPs are a joke, this movie was a good try, but it was a joke too.

Maybe if the cast hadn't been so juvenile and immature, I might have thought better of this film, but the whole...let's summon a demon for fun...crap is old, weak and done to death.

I wonder how many stupid kids will watch this equally stupid movie and emulate it?

Now, THAT would be a horror movie.

Avoid, avoid, avoid...

Open the Hellgate by EVP.

[suite92 · 1/10 · 2 December 2016]

The Three Acts:

The initial tableaux: First, the film flashes back to a Soviet research facility in the Kuril Islands, 1992. The well-funded ongoing work concerned paranormal activity and EVP (electronic voice phenomena). During the economic slide of the USSR, the research was officially abandoned, but a few scientists continued research while keeping to the underground parts of the facilities. While supposedly in contact using EVP, one scientist, Victor Konski, is assailed and killed after hearing from 'Abigor.'

Second, we flash forward to Los Angeles in the current day. Three couples plus Duffy discuss EVP after consuming a number of drinks at the audio studio run by Duffy and Nick. They go to the basement to listen to this and that, such as the website 'Voices in Static' which mentions Abigor and Professor Konski.

Delineation of conflicts: The fools try to recreate the calls to Abigor. Soon enough they get a reply, plus more than they bargained for. Can they close up this process?

Resolution: This movie is from the 'How do I close the Hellgate?' subcategory of horror. The resolution is about how well the remaining humans do at constructing a solution once they figure out a solution needs to be constructed.

It could have been better.

[kjohn-77891 · 4/10 · 23 June 2023]

I have given this movie a four star rating even though it was just okay, why?

Well I enjoyed it even though stories like this have been done and been done better than this movie.

The acting was not bad for this b movie and the story carried itself pretty well for most part and that is where this movie falls apart.

Like a lot of cheap movies sometimes even if the time of the movie is less than an hour and a half they tend to fall short of the running time and just go over old ground and this is where this movie went.

The scary bits were not scary at all, the effects were very minimal which was fine for where this movie was going but overall it just went flat.

Watch this if you don't have anything better to watch.

enjoyable horror

[xsagaroth · 8/10 · 18 June 2017]

I am someone who tends to watch films over and over again, but generally only films I enjoy watching, I have watched this film many many times. I also don't bother writing reviews very often (usually just leave ratings).

I simply do not understand why the rating for this film is so low. The acting is mostly of a good standard, cinematography, special effects and score are also of a good standard.

Story line is believable, and has a good atmosphere about it though there are some slight changes I would have made, but i would encourage any horror/scifi fans to give this film a chance as i don't feel that the current rating and reviews do it justice.

Xsagaroth

Tried and Tested Formula

[eddie-32826 · 6/10 · 7 July 2019]

So, you're having a few beers with your mates, and start to talk about studies etc. One of you says what about EVP, ghosts etc, and as you don't have an ouija board handy, you try out some audio stuff instead. Luckily, the house you're in has a recording studio in the basement, which makes most other basements look stale and musty. So, you trot on down, and then do some recording, think its all for fun, until the next day.

Yep, its a similar story line that a lot of demon type horror films tend to have. Also, think Final Destination, in the way that both films play out. Still, its an interesting concept, the EVP.

Also, word to the wise. If you hear a sound in your apartment/house etc late at night, please tun on the lights. I guarantee the intruders will leg it, or you can see nothing is there. Why, even in this day and age, do people in films hear a noise, and creep around in darkness, asking if anyone is there, when the only residents of the house are calling out that phrase.

Not Even A Solid 3

[wandernn1-81-683274 · 3/10 · 16 October 2020]

This movie gets a 3/10. That's being generous really also.

These other high scoring reviews, are pretty pathetic.

Also known as Straight from Hell

[david-radlett · 2/10 · 6 March 2022]

This film should have been called Straight to DVD instead of Trace or Straight from Hell. It is the usual death-fest with a banal twist that is not fully explained. At the end of the day it is predictable and tedious in the extreme.

Watchable, but somewhat generic...

[paul_haakonsen · 5/10 · 28 January 2024]

Stumbling upon the 2015 horror movie "Trace" by random luck here in 2024, and thus opting to sit down to watch it, since it was a horror movie that I had neither seen nor heard about.

Writer and director Ryan Brookhart put together a fair enough script and storyline for the movie. It does incorporate some rather generic supernatural tropes, but it ultimately proved to be adequately entertaining nonetheless.

I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie, and that is something I actually do enjoy when I sit down to watch a movie. The cast ensemble in "Trace" was good, and they performed quite well in bringing the characters and storyline to life on the screen.

"Trace" wasn't a movie that made use of an abundance of special effects or CGI, but it hardly needed so in order to effectively tell its story. There were some effects, and they certainly worked out well enough to further the narrative of the movie.

It is an adequate enough movie for a single viewing, particularly if you have an interest in EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena). And while I did sit through 90 minutes that the movie ran for, I doubt that I will ever return to watch it a second time. Why? Well, simply because the storyline and script doesn't have the contents to support multiple viewings.

My rating of writer and director Ryan Brookhart's 2015 horror movie "Trace" lands on a five out of ten stars.

Well, I got scared!

[steve-98094 · 9/10 · 17 December 2017]

It totally worked for me. I don't watch scary movies much. But what I liked was the psychological tension and the fact that we never see "it" but feel the terror. Or at least I felt terror!!! And I liked the premise with the EVP. Different. It had honest characters who made really bad choices. I was emotionally involved. I felt something, which is all I can ask of any art form.

While not mind blowing or especially "original", Trace does manage to work...

[jswindter01 · 6/10 · 3 November 2015]

As I said, while this lil' horror flick may not be mindblowingly scary, or add a "new" level of fear inducing cinematic magic, it does however manage to work in delivering a few thrills and entertainment throughout its short runtime.

I know that I'm quite likely to be in the minority with a positive review for this lil' film, but in all honesty I did enjoy this movie, and unlike the majority of horror films these days this one was able to hold my attention throughout. It's a sad day in the horror genre history when one finds themselves hitting the fast forward button more often than not when "attempting" to watch the entirety of a horror film..yet, thats exactly what I find myself doing time and time again when trying to just make it through a film to the end. ..and that is downright pathetic that this is the "norm" for us horror genre fans.. Instead of attempting to make it all the way through to the end of a horror film(and by any means possible even scanning/fast forwarding through large parts of a film)..one should be clicking to check the runtime left and just hoping and praying that it doesn't come to the end because you find yourself loving every minute of the thrill ride that comes from viewing really good horror films.

So, while I am not at all claiming that the movie, Trace falls into the latter category of being a thrill ride that the viewer doesn't want to end, it does however manage to "work" in at least holding my attention throughout, as well as my feeling no desire to scan/fast forward through large parts of the movie.

best movie of 2015

[jeffstanding · 10/10 · 3 November 2015]

you have to see this film the story and cast are great I think Maddie McGuire as( Heather) will get the best supporting Oscar for her work in this film. I hope to see a lot more of her on film. as for the rest of the cast they all shine. The special effects and story line draw you in and keep you guessing. I cant wait to buy this when its for sale. Director writer Ryan Bookhart will be the next Hitchcock I hope to see more from him soon. And Jesse Pepe as Parker was scary . this young man is going places. Maddie McGuire again I cant say enough about her extremely talented as I said before I cant wait to see more of the actor. She has a command of getting in to her character and making it hers.

Not Bad

[bhsfacebook · 6/10 · 9 April 2019]

Sure, it's a bit Banshee Chapter meets Final Destination, but that said it's solid. Good production values, decent cast, and a plot strong enough to keep a jaded horror fan like me entertained for an hour and a half. Certainly worth a watch for those who like their horror supernatural. Give it a chance.

Low budget but exciting and gripping

[RoyMince · 8/10 · 27 September 2023]

Thee storyline really made it for me. Being a huge fan of horror films, I might come off as a little biased, but in a nutshell, this film takes the horror genre to the next level and on the right path not relying on cheesy jump scares And quick camera pops this movie allows you to use your imagination and keeps you glued to the seat the entire time almost putting you in a hypnotic state it's one of those films that I might have to watch a second or third time just to make sure, I fully understand what took place. Kudos to the cast and crew, job well done and I would definitely recommend this film to this who are junkies of the horror genre.

I will not Trace it, just in case. But I actually liked this.

[KikyNez · 7/10 · 14 January 2016]

It is unusual for me to like this kind of movie. They usually get me bored. It is slow, yes. An it has just small amount of jump-scares. It is for me most like Supernatural Thriller than Terror, I found it a good exercise in suspense built with paranormal dyes, needless to say with psychological dyes or para-psychological. Convincing performances must say, except for "Parker" whom I found something bland, but he is supposed to be ... I think. Now, "Rebecca" was less than nothing, in what she is seen, only her voice convince me of something (when you see it you will know what I mean). The end worth the movie, really , especially for the effects, I liked that part. Surely some (as I did) will find something "illogical" in the actions of the character at the end (I had run, and you will realize what I mean) and the post- credit scene, apart from not being strong, it's a little useless there. I give it 7.5 / 10, for some things I did not like and that could be polished, but would be 8/10, and I repeat that I liked the end. See the movie and rate it (or do not see it if you hope horror o more action and gore)

I Actually Liked It...

[nyawaiting · 6/10 · 11 December 2020]

Although it seemed like a step-up from like a film school final project (which I don't mean as an insult), I liked the simplicity of it... it was straight to the point and I would've given it a good grade. Another paranormal film but I haven't seen anything that was heavy on the EVP. So that's what intrigued me to watch it.

The only part of the film that I would change is the phone call to Nick from Abigor. Not the phone call but the exchange. I understand the need for the exposition but if it wasn't for the content I would've forgot that Abigor was a demon. It was because his voice wasn't distorted as in other scenes. Even the scene with Jenn, although his voice occasionally mixed with her mothers voice, it was eerie and had my attention. But with Nick I eventually got distracted and then annoyed.

Would I buy it? Nah... Would I watch it again? Maybe... probably, but not anytime soon... and as long as I don't have to pay for it, lol -- 12/24/15