MovieChat Forums > Exists (2014) Discussion > The Cliche Checklist

The Cliche Checklist


Found footage - Check
Group of young friends who say 'Dude' a lot - Check
Heterosexual romantic couples - Check
Token black guy - Check
Odd one out friend who isn't romantically involved with anyone, and is the crazier, goofier one of the gang - Check
Cabin in the woods - Check
Torches in the dark - Check
Most of the scares at night - Check
Pretend scare on friend by other friends - Check
Pretend scare on friend by other friends, interrupted by real scare - Check
Means of way out of there, destroyed - Check

I only made it to about 45 mins of this film before I couldn't be bothered anymore, It's just one boring cliche after another, and I could probably predict the way the rest of the film panned out fairly accurately.

You could turn watching this, or films of this ilk into drinking games where you have a list of horror cliches written down and have to take a drink whenever you come across them. You'd probably get so drunk you'd pass out before the hour for this one, which might make the rest of the film a more enjoyable experience.

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It really does not strive for originality.

It's that man again!!

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Another awful shaky camera film with the added bonus of a stupid unbelievable ending. Also the idiots staying in the cabin then the caravan was stupid ... arm themselves with the rifle, make weapons such as spears from the sharp objects in the cabin and walk out as a tight-knit group ... job-done ... ride around on BMX bikes singly and as a group then retreat to the cabin when the car's wrecked - stupid again !

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Obligatory posters on IMDb ripping on it - Check

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I thought one of the main purposes of IMDB was sharing opinions on films, whether they be that the film was good or stupid ?

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Posters who can't seem to understand that films are allowed to be disliked, as well as liked - Check

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I disliked the movie too, it was filled with cliché.

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Posters who can't seem to understand that films are allowed to be disliked, as well as liked - Check


Fair enough, but here's another:

People who claim to hate found footage films nevertheless watching them and coming to FF boards to complain that all "shaky cam" films are crap (especially ironic when the film in question isn't even FF) - check.

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I thought the movie was OK, but you missed a cliche:

No cell phone service or cell phones broken/battery dead - check

But, you know, lots of us like horror movies that tick all the boxes. It's like eating in a chain restaurant; sometimes you want something that's going to give you exactly what you expect. The variation comes in how well they do the cliches, and I thought Exists did a decent - not great, but decent - job.

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Sounds like you were hoping for a gay cabin orgy, but then shut it off after 45 minutes because you were too disappointed in the lack of man on man action.

I drink and I know things

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Lame!

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Seems to me you're obsessed with man on man action.

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That's why it's fun.

Found footage isn't a cliche it's just an overused sub genre which isn't getting the originality needed to justify itself.

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'Found Footage'

This isn't a cliche, it's a filming style.

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Heterosexual romantic couples - Check


That fact that you think hetero couples are "cliché," tells a lot about you.

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