Strawberry Estates (2001) watch online HD

Once in a while, a movie comes, when you are just tired of all that Hollywood horror non-sense, when the line between horrific and ridicule is erased by an incredible amount of gore that does nothing for the sake of the film, or the absence of gore in order to get a "PG-13 SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER" label, at that point in my life is when STRAWBERRY ESTATES came into my life. SE tells the story of a professor, a psychic,a student and a filmmaker that trap themselves in an abandoned hospital to record any paranormal activity,then they find out that the hospital is nothing but a gateway to hell, all of this made like a documentary(what we are watching is the tape that the police found in the hospital, the only thing they found). The reasons this movie change my life:1)it was made maybe with the budget of a "fast food" employee salary check, and still it is amazing how good and scary this movie came to be 2) the actors,once the movie start you know, are no career actors and still their performances are convincing to the point when you see them as real people(this thanks to the documentary effect as well) and 3) well, you have to give yourself to this movie and consider this things in mind before watching,THIS IS A VERY LOW BUDGET PICTURE so don't expect amazing visual effects or famous Oscar-winning faces and you have to watch it with the proper atmosphere, a dark room with the least noise possible.The "documentary technique" , the one that make a classic out of Nigth of the Living Dead and was exploited in the Blair Witch Prject is used here very efficiently. But don't take my word for it, watch it yourself and kill your cow.

Favorite scene: The Ax-man in the hall. hair rising.

I know there's a guy going around bashing this movie everywhere he can and he's got all his buddies joining in. Apparently he has some personal issue with the producer hidden behind the guise of not liking the movie. But don't let him and his friends mislead you, STRAWBERRY ESTATES is a very good horror movie. It has some low budget issues, but it's interesting, entertaining, scary and well made. Give it a chance. It's talky for the first hour but then non stop scares. And the scary parts are amongst the scariest I have ever seen. I gave the movie a 10 just to counter the obvious bashing for bash sakes of this movie, in reality I'd give it a 7.5.

I think the biggest surprise of the this movie was the level of acting, which was superb. If more indy movies used well thought out plots and good actors (such as this one), then maybe more people would see them. Mr. Bonk definitely has a future in the business if his standards stay this high.

I am sure many people would draw comparisons to "Cannibal Holocaust", or "The Blair Witch Project", but I believe this film stands out on it's own. It is the story of a documentary filmed in a haunted asylum. As you would expect in a horror movie, bad things happen: as a fan and supporter of independent films, I suggest you seek this film out, therefore I will leave the plot details out. Enjoy!

I'm amazed by some of the reviews I see here. Did these other people see the same movie? I admit, Strawberry Estates is definitely low budget. Director Ron Bonk says on the commentary he spent just $400 to make it. But get past the low budget, the movie is about psychological horror, not gore and digital effects. And despite some shaky acting from two of the leads, the underlying story is brilliant.

Yes, brilliant. One of the best low budget script ever. I kid you not.

First, let's give credit where credit is due – SE was shot before "The Blair Witch Project" and was the first horror movie to 100% utilize the hand held camera style. Second, Ron plays the movie like it's found footage now held by the FBI (government), and idea used by JJ Abrams for "Cloverfield". SE is ahead of its time! First, there is the Professor who is such an egomaniac and hung up on "science fact" that he loses complete control and become possessed by the building, doing it's evil biding. Then there is psychic Jennifer who is so hung up on "religion, God, spirituality" that she becomes overconfident in relying on that as her strength, and also becomes possessed by the building. Sarah is naïve, infatuated with Laurel (which is staged with perfect subtly), has little morals and no clear focus on her life (did Bonk make her a Mary Magdalene esquire character on purpose, or was this a happy accident – he doesn't say on the commentary track) and ultimately she too becomes a victim of the building. The only one unaffected is Jason, the camera man, the person who doesn't believe in science or religion, but himself. In the end though, this leave him ill-prepared for what is coming.

Early on, Jason mocks Christianity when he notes that you can lead a horrible life, kill people, etc, but on your death bed, you can repent and go to Heaven. Sarah argues that it doesn't work quite like that. Then, late in the movie, when he realizes all hope is likely gone, he goes to Sarah and apologies for the way he had treated her earlier. But Sarah tells him it's too late to apologize. It's easy to miss that moment, but it's brilliantly written – one of many subtle touches Bonk puts into SE that makes it a movie far more in-depth than it appears.

The first hour of the movie is almost all dialogue. I for one enjoyed the science vs religion debates between Laurel and Jennifer. But there are moments that keep your blood pumping – a derelict lurches from behind a closed door, a brother attacks the camera – these moments remind you not to relax too much, or you will be caught off guard….

Shortly after the one hour mark, you get Jason talking to the camera, mocking their work as a bunch of people just talking, no ghosts, nothing happening, how the whole thing is like a "bad b-movie" (brilliant again Bonk – listen to the commentary to hear how bad shot on video movies are spoofed here!!). Then, at what I regard as the high point of the movie, the group sees its first ghost. The editing is perfect as this ghost of an infamous axe murder draws closer and closer to them. The scene is one of the scariest I have ever seen – in any movie! In that final night, the building takes total control of the Professor and he kills Jennifer. In a fantastic chilling little scene, we see/hear Sarah and Jason hiding in a dark room (the camera has night vision, which creates a nice creepy effect) as the Professor draws close. How do we know he's getting close – he's dragging a metal bar down the hallway, and the sound is haunting (we also hear him closing and opening doors). The scene goes on for maybe 2 mins as he draws closer to the hiding couple, and we're on the edge of our seats once again (seriously, turn the lights off, watch this scene in the dark, and honestly tell me you're not looking over your shoulder by the end!!). The professor finally spots them, but in a crafty bit of writing (for once, someone leaving their camcorder ON during a life threatening moment actually makes sense!!!!!), Jason has positioned the camera away from himself. The professor thinks he's found them when he see the record light on it, but Jason is hiding behind him. In a great nod to Alfred Hitchcock, Sarah uses the camera's light to flash and blind Laurel (his reaction to it is a bit over the top tho, he yells as if in pain at each flash) and that gives Jason the chance to strike. The Professor is dead, and the couple safe… Well, for a few mins, because Hell finally breaks loose. Now, I do agree that the denizens of hell are a bit disappointing, and listening to the commentary track I understand that Bonk had a lot of people with great costumes not show up, but it's too bad he didn't go back and reshoot this. What he did though was recruit anyone he could find in the building for the scene. It's pretty amazing when you realize you see the director himself and even the actors playing Sarah and Jason are in the scene (incognito of course) – even though Jason is running the camera and talking (well, screaming). The scene is nicely edited to cover this up, and Bonk makes it seem like there are many, many souls there. They just look too… ordinary. Still, the scene was creepy, but after such a great build-up from the hour mark – the axe murder, Laurel going Looney Tunes – an ending with scary looking damned souls would have been a final nail in a beautiful coffin.

I don't know why I do this to myself. After having read a hilarious review at SomethingAwful.com, and having a weakness for both found-footage and B-movies, I decided to take the plunge and rent this movie. Thank God it was only a couple of dollars! It's an insult to Blair Witch Project when any comparison is made of this POS to Blair. This movie (and I use the term loosely) was a travesty: the acting was atrocious, the characters were despicable (I wished them all dead within a couple of minutes of being introduced), the sound was hilarious (particularly scenes where the wind blocked the voices, so they used sub-titles - yeah, that's realistic for "found footage").

There are some movies I've watched that have nearly been this bad (thank God only a couple), but those movies were so bad they were entertaining, and I've actually watched them more than once (such as The Expedition, and Witch Graveyard). But I will NEVER watch Strawberry Estates again, and will remember the director's name (Ron Bonk) as a warning to stay far, far away from anything he's associated with.

I cannot believe the positive User Reviews of this movie that I've read here. If they are in fact sincere and not being sarcastic, I fear for the future of mankind. I strongly suggest reading the aforementioned review at SomethingAwful.com - not only did it make me laugh out loud, but it is spot on (and No, I have nothing to do with that web site).

Let start out first by saying, I LOVED The Blair Witch Project. As a matter of fact I loved The St. Francisville Experiment (for all the wrong reasons mind you, see my review for that one). When I got this one into my creepy lil paws I was excited to say the least! Especially since A- this movie(!) was filmed 2 years before Blair Witch & B- because the acting(!) was rumored to be quite good. I'm a sucker for these schlock-docs to begin with so it was now cinematic party time!

*Fast forward 1 hour & 40 minutes later*

*makes sign of the cross* Please sweet baby Jesus, damn the creators of this friggin' mess. I've seen better acting in high school plays! Hell, I've read better dialog written for high school plays. I've never been so bored. There is NOTHING good about this. Nothing. Did I mention nothing? Wow.

I now present to you my new uses for my Strawberry Estates tape:

5- Doorstop 4- Paper wieght 3- Furniture leg prop (ie: table, couch, etc) 2- A good reason to watch something else. 1- Something other than change or food to offer the homeless should they happen to ask.

The wide availability of video equipment curses the viewing audience with boring crap like this. Ron Bonk not a clue on how to make a movie. This piece of offal is like a bad high school play.

I literally had to hit myself to stay awake to see what happens at the climax...and when it got there... nothing happened.

Here the characters are in a building that is the gateway to hell and they all act like it no big thing. This is less than amateur acting level. It is embarrassing to watch.

I never thought I would see something worse than BLAIR WITCH... I was wrong. This is beyond bad.

Avoid.

I've seen more bad films than most have dreamed. I've suffered through the very worst of underground/amateur movie-making... ...but this...this...THING is the biggest travesty I have ever witnessed. From beginning to end, pure pain; boredom that would drive insurance salesmen to suicide.

This is the only movie I've ever seen where I cannot point to a single solitary frame and say anything even remotely mediocre.

Don't believe me? See it for yourself. You'll recant every bad film you've ever seen.

If you ever read a single positive review of this film, it's a plant. If somebody tells you it's good, then they obviously know the director.

STAY AWAY! You have been warned.

Professor Jonathan Laurel (Fullenbaum) leads a team consisting of a student (Frick), a psychic (Chelenza), and a videographer (Reed) into a haunted insane asylum in New York called Strawberry Estates. The Professor is determined to learn about the haunting, so much so that he locks everyone inside. This early found footage movie actually predates "The Blair Witch Project" but comes off tired and weak. Jason, the videographer is such an extreme A-hole you wish a ghost would come out of the wall and end his useless existence. What most of 'Strawberry Estates' does is talk, and I mean talk a lot. It feels like half of the running time is spent with the Professor standing in front of the camera telling you the history of the place. The film is surprisingly low on atmosphere and the few attempts at scares fall flat. Writer/Director Ron Bonk has quite a spooky location but he does nothing with it. They're far superior found footage movies out there than this.

I just clicked "Contains spoiler" because chances are this will end in me just ranting at which point I will lose track of whether or not I am spoiling anything.

This movie is a sterling example of doing everything wrong in a movie. The acting is atrocious to say the least, the direction is incompetent (which I kind of hate to say as I bought my copy from the director himself and he seemed like a decent guy), the "special" effects include CGI static, gaps in logic, poor sound (which is debatable due to the mockumentary style of the film), and the most boring script I have ever seen. If you think people too melodramatic for a daytime soap debating religion is not horrifying, I dare you to watch this movie and not be repulsed on a base level.

The acting is simply the worst I have ever seen, and in this I am including home movies I made when I was 8. The professor, played by Bob Fullenbaum, is particularly horrible. He injects every one of his lines with over the top ham and is literally laugh out loud bad. This unfortunately brings me to the direction.

Listening to the commentary track for the movie, I expected perhaps a plea for forgiveness, that this was the only person for the part, or they were related to Mr. Bonk or a major financier, or something. But no, Mr. Bonk compliments the debacle of a performance. I am sorry, but keep to producing. If you think that was a good performance, it is little wonder the movie turned out as it did, and you would give Ed Wood a serious run for his money. But to your credit you did not have much of a budget. And trust me, it showed.

After all the dark history that is given (the mere 80 minutes of exposition that is) ghosts are finally seen towards the end. Are they the Native American warriors? The asylum patients? The cultists? No, they are just people in street clothes. Let me tell you, it is currently a bit past midnight where I am, and if I wanted a hospital gown for myself, I could easily have one by 6AM. Voila, low effort low budget asylum ghost. There is no excuse for that kind of sloppiness. The "brand new" camera that the camera operator is using throughout the movie? The only digital effect in the whole movie is adding static to its pictures. A new camera. Digital static (note, I have no proof of this, but if you were to see it you would know what I mean. I do not know that the cave troll in "Lord of the Rings" was CGI either, but I have my guesses).

I could legitimately keep going on about just how bad this movie is. But frankly I feel that I have already given more than adequate evidence that it deserves a 1. Please, unless you are like me and simply enjoy watching the worst movies you can find for the laugh value, do not watch it. And even if you are, get some friends together. Because without conversation, it is just bad. Not even laugh at it bad, just feel your eyeballs burn and question why you are watching it for its entire run time bad.

This film is about as terrible as The St. Francisville Experiment. Here's why: (1) About 99% of the film is talking...(2) The acting is not believable whatsoever...(3) Did I say about 99% of the film is talking?

Well, there you have it. Watch Cannibal Holocaust or even The Blair Witch Project before watching this crap. Like I said, it ranks down there with The St. Francisville Experiment. Avoid!

After sitting through "The Blair Witch Project," which had to be the most boring, poorly photographed, pointless and worst acted movie I'd ever seen, I truly didn't think movies could get any worse! SURPRISE! "Strawberry Estates" takes the cake, big time. What on earth were the filmmakers and actors thinking? What was this movie about anyway? The whole thing was so boring, amateurish and made no sense, I can't believe it was actually made. I can only say "thank heaven for fast forward on the DVD player." A total waste of time. I haven't seen any other films from director/producer Ron Bonk, but if this is any indication of his work, I think I'm going to pass on checking out any of his other titles. Sorry, but the money spent on this film would have been better spent for dinner at a nice restaurant!

STRAWBERRY ESTATES is another cruddy indie flick from director Ron Bonk. It has a realistic low-fi grainy look going for it and that's about it. Once again the story is one of paranormal investigation as a group of researchers look into old legends and stories and do some on-site investigation. There's no horror content, just characters hanging out. As a film, it lacks every single element required to make a successful movie.