Old Jerusalem isn’t often glimpsed on the big screen, but in this case, it simply serves as the backdrop to rampaging demons.
Much like the villains of the horror genre it's usually based within, the "found-footage" conceit is hard to kill.
Despite the pseudo-documentary technique reaching its artistic peak in 1993's Man Bites Dog (or, if we're being generous, 2008's Cloverfield), filmmakers with low budgets and even lower expectations continue to exploit the cinematic trick, with increasingly diminishing returns.
Enter the Paz brothers Doron and Yoav, who frame their new horror flick JeruZalem as found footage captured via their main character's pair of definitely-not-Google smart glasses.
The filmmakers score half a point for at least avoiding the old "hero-who's-constantly-filming" device, but fail to add anything else to the proceedings, except, perhaps, the movie's unique setting.
Old Jerusalem isn't often glimpsed on the big screen, though it's a shame that, in this case, it simply serves as the backdrop to some rampaging CGI demons and half-baked theology about the gates of hell.
Oy vey.
Barry Hertz