In Memorium

2005 Directed by Amanda Gusack

What's scarier than dying?

A man dying of cancer installs a series of cameras in his home to try to capture a paranormal entity that has been causing issues in the home before he dies.

Erik McDowell Johanna Watts Levi Powell Mary Portser Doris Weldon

73 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Andrew Draper ★★

On her podcast "Scarred for Life," Mary Beth McAndrews makes a case for this movie as being of historical interest in a bunch of ways. For one thing, it's a found-footage film directed by a woman in 2005, two years before Paranormal Activity, that explores some of the same techniques that Oren Peli used in that film. Without giving too much away, it's also a movie that's definitely mining the territory of "the real horror is coming from your own family and your own history" a full decade before that would become such a strong trend in the genre. In other words, it's about grief. The characters are somewhat more sympathetic than Paranormal Activity, but with less persuasive actors, and…
Review by Leggsie 🥚 Tibbs ★★★½

What a pleasant surprise! I've been wanting to watch this for probably about a decade now, since the poster always caught my eye. I'm glad I finally did bc this was a very eerie and disturbing take on cancer and the way it can affect families, relationships, and those suffering from the disease itself. This was a really sad one, I found myself tearing up quite a bit at the end. The scares were DEFINITELY effective as well - quite subtle and uncanny which I love. The only flaws I really noticed were cheesy acting (forgivable enough though), and the fact that it felt a bit slow despite having a short runtime. Besides that, this one was awesome! You can totally see where Paranormal Activity got its influence!
Review by Ben Grimm ★★★

🎃🤖👻 HOOPTOBER SE7EN 👻🤖🎃
Film that is set entirely inside one location
A man diagnosed with incurable cancer decides to spend his final weeks at a new home recording the whole experience. The home he moves into has more occupants than him and his gf though.
I heard this was an inspiration for Paranormal Activity and I could see that in some scenes. This is the kind of found footage where there are set cameras throughout the house so we are basically switching between cams throughout. The mystery is sad and creepy. I found my mind wandering at some parts, it could've been edited with a better pace. The end was . . . Eerie.
Recd
Review by Justin Harlan ★★★½

If you didn’t know this already, I love me some good found footage. This is a pretty solid one that uses a lot of the techniques that were later used by Paranormal Activity. Really enjoyed it.
Review by Hanna

this was sad!! :( very quick, quite effective. the credits got me lol i love when ff movies use them!
Review by frankryan ★★★

A thoroughly watchable ff film. There are hordes of unoriginal micro-budget ff films. I find myself to be forgiving of the genre, but this is one that I believe has appeal for those who don't normally gravitate towards these films.
Review by Cuntis ½

Early found footage film, on a SERIOUSLY low budget. So low budget you can't see anything, and not in that good blair witch your imagination is doing the work because the story has done all the build up for you.
The 'acting' wasn't in any way natural, there was one possibly jumpy bit at the end of the first third but honestly its not worth your time. Be thankful that the films that came after this learned from it.
Review by Igor Fishman

More intriguing as a raw predecessor to Paranormal Activity than as a film itself. The plot takes a surprising turn towards an emotional foundation but it's constantly being undone by the subpar acting and grainy footage. There are a couple of nice scares but the lead is not pulling the gravity of the situation off and you can only watch a guy puke blood so many times before it feels like a cheap trick.
Review by Scurveyx ★★½

ok movie about dying and getting haunted in your final days.
Review by The Ron ★★½

Found footage before that was a thing. Your typical scary sounds and images CAUGHT ON CAMERA!
The Ron Says: Skip it.
Review by Michael Haugland ★★½

Overall, In Memorium is a decent film. The gimmick of having video cameras was a clever one (I almost am curious if PA2 got inspiration for that particular gimmick for this movie, as unknown as it is.), as was the idea of having the ghost manipulate the audio and visuals. Despite the awkward dialogue (especially the opening exposition dump) and sometimes wooden acting, the characters manage to have some life and feel like real people in their reactions.
That said, I would have rated this at least half a star higher if it weren't for the misogyny of the protagonist's douchebag brother. He was just insufferable for most of the film's runtime.
52 Films by Women Project- 2/52
Review by dantesring ★½

Jeez. dead mothers can be a real pain in the ass...
Interesting only in that it predates PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, IN MEMORIUM is strictly an amateur affair. I can see the appeal in making a film like this, ability to use a limited budget, a closed shooting environment, grainy video to hide any effects flaws there may be, but ultimately it becomes tedious. The story goes nowhere and there is no satisfying payoff.

Recent reviews

Review by Karen Wan ★★

Well done creepy entity, but they overdid it with the cameras, like three per area and at awkward places! Really stupid ending.
Review by Andrew Draper ★★

On her podcast "Scarred for Life," Mary Beth McAndrews makes a case for this movie as being of historical interest in a bunch of ways. For one thing, it's a found-footage film directed by a woman in 2005, two years before Paranormal Activity, that explores some of the same techniques that Oren Peli used in that film. Without giving too much away, it's also a movie that's definitely mining the territory of "the real horror is coming from your own family and your own history" a full decade before that would become such a strong trend in the genre. In other words, it's about grief. The characters are somewhat more sympathetic than Paranormal Activity, but with less persuasive actors, and…
Review by Igor Fishman

More intriguing as a raw predecessor to Paranormal Activity than as a film itself. The plot takes a surprising turn towards an emotional foundation but it's constantly being undone by the subpar acting and grainy footage. There are a couple of nice scares but the lead is not pulling the gravity of the situation off and you can only watch a guy puke blood so many times before it feels like a cheap trick.
Review by Ariel ★

This movie isn't very good but I want to talk through it. I think the story is really strong, there could be a good version of this movie. It has touching and relatable themes of illness, family, and loss. The acting is the worst part, though I always feel guilty knocking acting, because I can't act to save my life.
Let's go through the necessary questions a found footage movie must answer:
"Why are you filming?" The guy wants to document his final few months dying of cancer. Morbid, but the answer works.
"Could all the shots have been captured with the cameras we know about?" Kinda, at first. We know he sets up cameras and mics throughout the house,…
Review by Jeff ★½

This was pretty poor. Not only did it feel super dated in a way that other films from this era don't, but the acting was pretty atrocious, especially from the brother, Frank. Also, I'm unclear on the purpose for the footage in this film. Because he's dying, he and his wife decided to temporarily move to another house and then record everything to make a record of his final months? If you were traveling the world in those final months, it makes sense, but just staying at home? Odd. A bore and a chore to get through.
Review by John ★★½

Difficult to explain. It wasn't bad, but for some reason, I really didn't like it. For the life of me, I can't put my finger on why.
Review by Leggsie 🥚 Tibbs ★★★½

What a pleasant surprise! I've been wanting to watch this for probably about a decade now, since the poster always caught my eye. I'm glad I finally did bc this was a very eerie and disturbing take on cancer and the way it can affect families, relationships, and those suffering from the disease itself. This was a really sad one, I found myself tearing up quite a bit at the end. The scares were DEFINITELY effective as well - quite subtle and uncanny which I love. The only flaws I really noticed were cheesy acting (forgivable enough though), and the fact that it felt a bit slow despite having a short runtime. Besides that, this one was awesome! You can totally see where Paranormal Activity got its influence!
Review by Joey_Phillips ★★½

Nothing groundbreaking but fans of the genre will enjoy it.
Review by ille ½

oof! literally nothing about this was good
Review by Ben Grimm ★★★

🎃🤖👻 HOOPTOBER SE7EN 👻🤖🎃
Film that is set entirely inside one location
A man diagnosed with incurable cancer decides to spend his final weeks at a new home recording the whole experience. The home he moves into has more occupants than him and his gf though.
I heard this was an inspiration for Paranormal Activity and I could see that in some scenes. This is the kind of found footage where there are set cameras throughout the house so we are basically switching between cams throughout. The mystery is sad and creepy. I found my mind wandering at some parts, it could've been edited with a better pace. The end was . . . Eerie.
Recd
Review by Justin Harlan ★★★½

If you didn’t know this already, I love me some good found footage. This is a pretty solid one that uses a lot of the techniques that were later used by Paranormal Activity. Really enjoyed it.
Review by eyeballqueen ★★

MOTHER OF THE YEAR