FRIGHT FEST: SMALLS TRAVELS TO JERUZALEM

Sarah (Danielle Jadelyn) and her BFF Rachel (Yael Grobglas) decide to take a vacation to Tel Aviv. On the flight there they meet anthropologist wannabe Kevin (Yon Tumarkin), who convinces the girls to go with him to Jerusalem. Things take a turn for the worse when the third gate to hell opens in the city. The three find themselves in a fight for survival as they try to escape while the end of days commences.

First, the positives: Our three main leads are likable enough and actually resemble real human beings. They aren't douchbags or sluts (with the most likable one being Kevin) . It's also an interesting choice to film the whole thing with Google Glass, although the result is the film can feel like an advert for the product at times. I also like that the horror here is steeped in Jewish mythology, which is a different road I commend the film for taking (although not much is really done with this novel idea). Having been to a few destinations outside the U.S, I can say that JeruZalem captures how it feels to be exploring a foreign land. It's also appreciated that Danielle Jadelyn shows us her goods in one brief scene (wasn't expecting that).

Unfortunately, all the good will I had built up for this film just about evaporates during the last 30 minutes where things get stupid fast. Our heroes find themselves battling demon zombies via some bad CGI (and yes, this plague is contagious. *FACEPALM*). While it starts out promising enough, JeruZalem winds up descending into your typical dumb found footage horror film (with a complete lack of scares, tension or suspense and an abundance of shaky cam footage during the last act). If you're curious, I suppose it may be worth a watch but don't expect to remember it after the credits have rolled.

2 STARS