A very well made film
PROS:
Mostly subtle:
The film has no music, even in the credits, adds to the realism and tension.
The Operator is mostly in the background/caught in it's distortion. In a second viewing, I found more appearances that I didn't see the first time, really spooked me.
Subdued jump scares, no ear shattering noises and realistic (Dogs barking, character smashes into lights, one that's a character screwing around).
Slow pacing.
Rock solid tension
Great acting
Subverts some found footage clichés:
They can only see The Operator through the camera, now that's something I haven't seen in a Found Footage horror film yet, bravo filmmakers. May not be what's established in the Marble Hornets universe, but I think it works.
Greatly developed and well written characters:
I believed their personal stories and quirks, while saying and doing things that real people would say in this kind of situation, the acting really sells it.
Intriguing mystery journey:
While most of us know who The Operator(aka The Slenderman) is, I was still intrigued by the characters trying to piecing together the clues, and the lingering fate of the family of which they found they tapes of.
NEUTRAL (may like or hate):
The quick reveal and constant use of The Operator:
I didn't mind it, in my opinion, it worked for the film, but I have seen some reviews from and know some Hornets fans that don't like it.
The opening scene has no real relevance till the end (right before the credits):
once again, didn't mind it, thought it was a nice full circle kind of thing.
CONS:
The Ending:
Now it's not really a bad ending, in fact there are worse endings for a found footage movie (*cough*The Devil Inside*cough*), but with the lore of this universe and the lore of the character(once again, The Operator is aka The Slenderman, they just don't call him The Slenderman because of legal stuff),they really didn't need to go the possession route. They could of used Proxies, like Masky, but instead we got that, which kills the subtlety of the rest of the film. You could of made the guy, girl or both from the beginning scene new proxies and have them do the dirty work, or something, anything then what actually happen in the movie. Like I said, not the worst, but could of been so much better.
FINAL RATING
Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story isn't perfect, but it's one of the best found footage horror films made; with it's well structured and intriguing plot, great characters, excellent writing, and fantastic use of subtle horror, the films flaws aren't constant and they don't ruin this fantastic horror experience, I've only seen one other film based on Slenderman and this film destroys it and kills most found footage films with it.
8/10: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED