It's hard to argue that the "found footage" genre isn't played out at this point, especially with a third entry in the Paranormal Activity franchise (and a prequel no less!) about to assault eyeballs nationwide. That's not to say it can't be done well. September Tapes was the first film I saw that really seemed to use the convention in an interesting way, and Cloverfield was one of the most entertaining audience experiences I've ever been a part of, but for the most part the concept has been stuck in the horror genre and has become repetitive at best and laughable at its worst. (i.e. Apollo 18.) But Max Landis looks to be doing something a little different here, using the found footage gimmick in the superhero genre.
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First of all, I think the younger, largely unfamiliar cast works in his favor here, as the idea of kids who develop special powers and then use them to fuck around at school or in a toy store actually lends itself to the convention. Every teenager today is walking around with a video camera in the pocket, so it feels 100% plausible that they'd start recording everything that happens to them. Granted, the scale of the story certainly seems to grow exponentially, so we'll see if the convention remains effective throughout the film.
And yes, Max Landis is the son of John Landis, i.e. the man who gave us Animal House and The Blues Brothers, but before you get up on your nepotism high horse, you have to admit that Chronicle, while having a lame title, looks darkly entertaining. Besides, I actually love that I once again live in a world where there are filmmakers named Reitman and Landis who are cranking out interesting and creative movies. Maybe Bill Murray and Harold Ramis have some kids who can act...someone get on this.
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