15 Second Review: Closed Circuit Extreme (2012)

The only thing “extreme” about Closed Circuit Extreme is the amount of patience required to sit through this yawnfest.  Clearly this has been made to ride the found-footage wave, which is a good choice for a micro-budget filmmaker (the film was apparently made for 160 Euros). Less wise were some of the other decisions made, many of which are downright odd. The film is made in Italy, and features Italian actors, yet the script is in English. The result is that the actors – who are already barely credible  - are forced to deliver lines in a stilted manner. Found-footage lives or dies by the credibility of the acting: if The Blair Witch Project epitomises getting it right in this respect, Closed Circuit Extreme encapsulates getting it wrong.  In addition, the flow (and thus the credibility) is frequently broken by strange computer Crime Scene Investigation animations. These are every bit as pointless and irritating as the film’s other elements. The plot, such as it is, offers no respite. The story revolves around a fat man who sits around in his underwear and a couple who decide to film him for apparently no reason at all. Thankfully their endeavours are not wasted, because the overweight and under-dressed man coincidentally begins to interview young women for a non-existent babysitting job, then kidnaps, rapes and murders them. The CCTV cameras the couple install capture it all … well, not quite all…well, some of it … well, plenty of shots of the man in his underwear at least. If that is your idea of a good time, this is the film for you.