User reviews

Mr. Jones is a relatively fresh take on the found footage format, with an intriguing premise which involves the occult and has a Lovecraftian vibe to it.

As a horror fan, I was at least hoping for something interesting, if not scary ('cause I think found footage films lost their touch a while ago). Unfortunately, the film fails to provide any thrills throughout its brief running time, and ends up being very annoying (especially in its second half).

Mr. Jones himself is probably the most interesting aspect of the film, and manages to build up a bit of tension with his appearance, but whenever he goes offscreen we're back to a flat, suspense-free movie. Both of the main characters were okay and acted quite well, but they were given very little backstory, thus ending up being unsympathetic. But hey, at least they weren't screaming all the time...

Another good thing about the movie is its somewhat captivating first half which is presented as a documentary about nature (though switches its main subject to mr. Jones when the main characters become aware of his presence). But the second half betrays its found footage format and turns into a trippy, nightmarish mess. It's an unwelcome change of pace because it tries too hard to scare and fails.

Anyway, if you're planning on watching it, lower your expectations considerably or you will be disappointed. If you don't like found footage horror films, or trippy experiences, then I suggest you skip it.

Mr. Jones is now streaming on Netflix, and when I came upon it I think I was taken in by the striking cover art (it's not the one listed here on IMDb). It's of one of the "statues" in the movie, silhouetted against a plain background, with some relatively cheery looking writing underneath it. It's a hell of a poster, and a great advertisement for the film.

It's a pity I can't say as many good things about the film, because I really wanted to. Something about the film doesn't quite click, and it's hard to pinpoint exactly what it is. The action is good, the villain is creepy, and there's a good story. All ingredients that a horror movie needs to nail. Even the acting is good, much better than it needs to be.

As I said though, it just doesn't... click. The format chosen for this film was a really, really bad choice. It's completely overdone, and it doesn't suit many films at all(I can think of 2 films where this choice worked). All it really does here is serve to rip us straight out of the action on screen, made even worse by those obligatory moments where the camera dramatically cuts out and random, documentary-style interviews littered throughout the middle sections.

The closing sections of the film are also strewn with bad choices. It slips into a slinky, Lynchian nightmare for the last half hour, which is good on a purely visceral level (it's well made) but it feels practically unrelated to the rest of the film and offers us no progression on what we've already seen. It's all style and no substance, which is a shame when the film actually sets itself up so well.

This is a film that may be enjoyed by some, but not by most. Some films don't need an ending, and do well by leaving out a definitive one. This is not one of them.

If you've seen any of the reviews, you already know this movie seems to abandon all reason in the last half so i wont bother but to me the entire plot felt like it was thrown together last-minute like the screenwriter failed to do their homework and threw this together in 10 minutes. A couple moves to the woods to make a nature documentary (because the world doesnt have enough of those?) But almost instantly abandon their entire plan after the male lead loses his car keys and decides to go rummaging through their neighbors basement. There was a very brief suggestion that the male lead has some sort of mental disorder but that led nowhere and had no impact on the script. The female lead somehow recognizes the crap in the basement to be the work of some unknown reclusive artist, so they decide instead to ditch their documentary and go about making a film about "Mr Jones" instead. The husband decides to fly off to interview random ppl about mr jones and leaves his wife alone in the woods for 2 mo with no means of communication. The film initially markets itself as yet another found-footage movie but abandons that format so often it feels almost annoying. Im sure the art dept had fun creating tons of weird and creepy totems but unless you have a thing for scarecrows, you probably wont find this movie entertaining.

Convoluted tale of a young couple who drop everything to move to a house in the woods for a year while the husband films a documentary starts off sort of interesting but fails miserably in the last 30 minutes.

Scott and Penny notice "totems" or scarecrows around their property and eventually follow an enigmatic man famously known as Mr. Jones, who has been documented since the 70s. As they investigate further they are drawn into a nightmare world from which there seems to be no escape.

Unfortunately none of this continues to be interesting as the director seemingly abandons the found footage format for the last third of the movie and seems to use this ending part to experiment with different filming techniques.

I lost my interest and felt it dragged on and on and even though I barely understood what was going on, I didn't really care anymore. At least the female lead was a lot of fun to look at.

I am writing this after watching Mr Jones. I don't write many reviews, only about a dozen in a few years and only when something really interests me. Mr Jones falls into this category.

To begin with I found the introduction a little thin. A guy wants to create a nature documentary so uproots his life and with his girlfriend they go into some rural wilderness. So lets assume that they have the money to do this.... then what? There is no mention of a pending deal with a film distributer, and from what I can tell the 'wilderness' is not really wild; there is hardly anything that warrants a nature doco. And his girlfriend Penny is really going to put of her photography dreams for this!? As I said, thin.

We learn that the Scott is on 'meds' which he decides he doesn't want to take while out there, which causes him to become sullen and lazy, and his documentary falters.... until one day whilst filming some one dressed in what looks like black robes takes his bag and runs off. Does Scott chase him? Sure, but he has to get his girlfriend first! Together they break into the house of this person who after looking at some of his 'art' Penny identifies (without a doubt) that the person is the infamous and illusive Mr Jones, an mysterious artist from the 70's who created dozens of pieces and mails them to different people around the world.

Of course Scott believes her and takes off for NYC to interview a number of people with some knowledge of Mr Jones. Must be great being rich! Of course he leaves Penny there alone. I know I would knowing there is a strange man wondering around who makes strange 'art' and has already stolen from them, and knows they were in his basement.

From here the movie turns. The best way to describe it would be to possess the body of some one having an acid trip. Though experiences and those of others it is expressed that the art are Totems or Talismans and for some reason the characters who are sent the art start experiencing bizarre images and dreams. Wont say more as it would give away to much. The best comparison would be yellowbrickroad.

Premise aside the movie is quiet decent. The character of Penny is much easier to watch and care for then Scott who comes across as a pretentious selfish prat. The tone and atmosphere presented is very successful and I was brought into the movie. The overall direction is convoluted and a straight out film may have worked better then the handycam nonsense that hasn't worked for me since the The Last Exorcist (though Paranormal Activity 5 is a guilty pleasure).

Overall I give this film a 6.

Found footage with a twist? How many times have heard this one? Too many times to count. And not only was I skeptical, the movie kind of showed me that it was as I expected (which means not very good). But if you can stay with it through the end, you might get something of a "reward". By that I mean the really wicked ending, that is kind of psychedelic, even without the use of any enhancing drugs.

The effect is built up during the movie, which takes it sweet old time. Something that is sort of boring. Plus the characters are not really helping, doing what other horror movie stock characters do: wrong decisions, even when faced with consequences. But again, the ending almost makes up for that, if you like weird.

Right up until its final act, "Mr. Jones" (2013) amazed me by how good it was. Here was a creative, thoughtful and extremely frightening found-footage horror movie. It was so damned good that I was surprised that I hadn't heard about it before.

The story idea was fresh and interesting — a young couple moves to an isolated forest cabin, only to discover that a mysterious neighbor is "Mr. Jones," a legendary anonymous folk artist. This hermit produces grotesque artworks — "scarecrows," totems and dreamcatchers that he then mails to apparently random recipients around the world. Not all of them are pleased with their macabre gifts, and their benefactor's identity and motivations become the stuff of urban legends. (Try to imagine H.R. Giger with a modus operandi like Banksy.) There is a lot more going on here than a cliché yarn about a supernatural bogeyman.

The script is smart, the story is well developed, and the tension builds slowly and effectively as the tale unfolds for our two protagonists. My only quibble is that the couple does incredibly stupid things, and are cheerfully curious about discoveries that should scare the hell out of them. But that is a failing of so many horror films that I decided not to let it bother me.

Then the movie loses its way. I'm disappointed to share here that this otherwise great film suffers because of its disjointed, meandering and consequently frustrating climax. It's too long, it's too confusing, and it spends far too much time repeating redundant shots and scare-moments.

We see one character, for example, pursued by multiple adversaries … repeatedly. Well, these adversaries stop being scary when the viewer eventually arrives at the conclusion that either A.) they can't catch this person or B.) they can't hurt this person.

At another point, a character must do something urgent, but receives contradictory instructions from different sources. This plot development could have been damned unnerving in the context of our story, but it's nearly lost in a confusing barrage of repetitive images and sounds. Writer-director Karl Mueller strives to immerse the viewer in a kind of surreal "nightmare." But he makes a mistake that is common for surreal horror films — portraying confused and disoriented characters does not always require the viewer to be confused and disoriented. A shorter, sparser, cleaner script would have saved what might have been a classic.

Oh, well. This movie was still fun enough. Again … much of it is quite excellent. And another viewer might not be as turned off by its conclusion as I was. I still recommend "Mr. Jones," if a little reluctantly. I'd rate it a 7 out of 10.

I don't even know where to begin. What was this movie about? What the hell just happened?

This movie is shot in a way that will both confuse and anger you. Every 5 minutes the camera fades out and initiates a new scene. The characters voices dub over shots where they clearly are not talking. About an hour in, the director says "fuck it" and basically dumps the found footage aspect of the movie for 10 solid minutes.

This was yet another example of being duped by the movie artwork and description, which hit all of my bullet points when I saw it at Wal Mart. The only thing that even comes close to redeeming this shitshow are the huge tits on Penny - and you don't even get to see them.

Avoid this one.

2/10.

As you can tell by my opening line I am NOT a fan of found footage films. To me it is a gimmick, not a genre as people keep asserting it to be, and more often than not used to pass talentless schlock which can't get any funding off to the public. Despite this I HAVE seen many, and I always watch whatever I start to the very end, even if I find the experience painful.

With that said I will admit that Mr. Jones pulled it off for me. The plot is a little off beat, the acting is decent even if not brilliant, and the setting and atmosphere move solidly into the realm of creepy quite successfully. It uses found footage in a plausible way... the protagonists making a movie for a legitimate reason just as Mr. Jones does what he does for a legitimate reason. What started as a simple documentary turns surreal also for a legitimate reason. People who, as a rule, really enjoy the majority of found footage films, might not like it, and judging by the mixed reviews I would say this is so, but I think it is because it does defy conventional found footage stereotypes. There is not a lot of running around and screaming, and people frantically looking into the camera and blubbering. There are no scenes of what is happening in their rooms while the people sleep, which I think is the allure this gimmick offers to the fans of it. The 'watch what happens when no one is looking' appeal... 'it could also be happening to YOU!!!' It actually offers a surreal Hollywood ready story, with all its narrative elements boldly displayed on the surface, in a found footage format... and while I don't always love Hollywood either, in this case it was a relief to get a half decently crafted tale instead of the... you know... usual.

This one would have been rated so much higher by many users if it tried to be more coherent and not rely so much on the state of confusion/dream/hallucination. I'm not gonna tell them how to do their job, but I will state my opinion about it.

It has a little touch of "In the mouth of madness", don't get me wrong, I am not comparing them, the first one is truly a masterpiece, I mean, Carpenter, come on, but you can see some familiar drops here and there. The premise is good, the execution is good, the tension builds up nicely, Mr. Jones has quite the mystery air on him the only bad part, well, the really bad part, is that as time passes, this movie loses itself. I never fancied plots that needed too much thinking after it was over, sure, some brainstorming with friends is enjoyable, but when nobody can't put their finger on it, or there are just so many supposed meanings, it makes you not care at all in the end.

So, now that you know what's wrong with this one, it's up to you to decide if you'll give it a chance or pass it. I would definitely recommend it to most, cause I did enjoy it, sad it didn't end quicker.

Cheers!

I can honestly say that this is quite possibly the worst film I've ever seen. It's just complete and utter nonsense from start to finish. Don't watch it if you have epilepsy because there are just constant annoying dazzling flashes interspersed with predictable fade to blacks every few seconds throughout the entire film.

The plot is dull and the stupid first-person camera work is irritating beyond belief. I fast-forwarded the last 30 mins and actually stopped it before the end because I couldn't take any more. Believe me I have watched some naff films, but this really is awful. Don't waste your time.

I was inspired to watch Mr Jones simply because of my love and fascination for the found-footage genre that has become so popular in the past decade, however this is no REC or Blair Witch Project.

Mr Jones is a horror flick that begins with prophesying beauty and an artsy introduction that would probably throw off a mainstream audience from the get go, which is kindly of the director to do really, because Mr Jones doesn't pretend to be normal and I respect that. Unfortunately, it does seem to take itself too seriously to be considered serious at all, in its attempts at being a memorably scary film.

It has its moments for sure, there were times watching Mr Jones that I was genuinely shook and in fear, which makes it even sadder when it declines to a scramble from idea to idea. Mr Jones just cant find its footing. Is it a found- footage story of survival? Is it a mind- bending Lynchian dreamscape? Is it a slasher film? Who the hell knows, but what we do know is that the director, cast and everyone else involved really don't seem to know either, this is obvious.

The acting is good and the idea behind the story could've been brilliant as it is original and creepy, but its smothered under lashings of a scrambled script and frantic meandering of the plot. At the end, Mr Jones is unfortunately nothing but a pile of twigs and dirt.

Not recommended.

I have mixed feelings about this found-footage-esque experimental drama-horror film. On the down side, it often blurs the lines between a nightmare and real happening horror, which is disturbing at times. I didn't get really tense in the moments I should've because It kept me asking whether it's just in their minds or really occurring and it got worse towards the end. Also the fact that it has a very ridiculous beginning with soundtrack and all..very unappealing. On the up side, there are some decently creepy moments and it does get more sinister as it progresses. It doesn't follow the general lines of other same category movies, and does a good job on the overall level. The couple, when together, is sometimes idiotic and unconvincing, but separately they make pretty satisfying performances. Still, it has some flaws regarding the title's mysteriously sinister character and about the origins and aspect of the entities that manifest through out the whole film. The main issue,for me I guess, remains that it tries too hard to be stylish and artistic, also making the movie too deep for what it really wants. The surreal manages to scare away the horror. The last part of the movie is messy and very little frightening. Disappointment is the major mood this film induces. Still, I give it a 6 for the effort..

Summary: Mr. Jones is definitely one of the worst found-footage films I've ever seen. 10/100 (F+)

I don't want to waste more of my time reviewing this "movie", so I'll go straight to the point. The first minutes of Mr. Jones are quite well done and the main leads are likable. Unfortunately, it falls flat after the second half because it becomes very confusing, the whole plot is difficult to follow, the film turns out dull and uninteresting. This is one of the worst found-footage films I have seen, and I have seen a lot. Seriously, the last 30 minutes are a torture but I gave it a chance because I love found-footage movies, I saw it until the end credits. Sadly I didn't find a payoff.

Mr. Jones (the dude, not the film) is terrifying, he is creepy and in some scenes he gave me the creeps, but the worst thing about this flick is how that is the best thing about it. Another issue is that the characters became atrociously stupid in the second half and they started to make brainless decisions. I just read the plot line on IMDb, it's so freaking awesome!, maybe with another director it would have been great. Moving on, the final act is very strange, these dumb characters begin to hallucinate, then they leave the found-footage style and after several minutes of boredom, it finally ends.

Mr. Jones ends up being confusing, boring and a disappointment. There are only a couple scenes that I liked, but they don't make any sense. One of these scenes is when the guy goes down to a weird place underground and he finds a dead baby. Anyway, Mr. Jones had potential but it was so boring, tedious and it lacks of character development. I really like the camera work but the characters are dumb and the plot is confusingly strange. In conclusion, Mr. Jones has a few scary moments and good acting, however the film wastes its creepy villain in a confusing, uninteresting tale. (F+)

Found footage was never my thing. Blair Witch bores me to tears and made me feel travel sick when watching.

This film at least does something a little different with it. Not as shaky and the story attached is kinda interesting. The scarecrows were great and I wanted one myself.

Good acting from the two leads.

The ending seemed to just rely on edits, flashing lights and confusion to try to create the chaos but it was all left a little too confusing. I like the subtle Evil Dead camera shots in places also.

Better than most Found Footage films which have become a lazy cheap way to make a film and been done to death. But this was just different enough to keep my interest. Not a masterpiece but not nearly as bad as some drama queens on here are making it out to be. "Worst movie ever" really!?!? Shut up. Ha ha.

I love this genre and can usually forgive alot when it comes to it, I totally thought this would be better than it really is. Hell, I even thought Red Woods was a 6 and the storyline is all over the place, but the camera work is amazing so it's way more watchable.

Its really visually just dark and not scary in the slightest. It's just a mix of As Above, So Below and Blair Witch. Super mediocre. The acting is good though and the sound design is nicely done, I know it's found footage, but it wasn't enough to really distract me from the movie. You can tell that there was care and effort put into the movie, which sucks that the cinematography is horrible.

The self cam thing is unnecessary and annoying overall, why would you even need that for a nature doc. It's the super amateur-ish cinematography that drags this movie down. Oooo scary dutch angles and creepy quick cuts. You don't have to switch angles every second. It's alot of unnecessary shots for the sake of trying to be artsy but it drags everything down. It's not increasing tension or helping to portray an emotion or feeling. I has no reasoning. let your audience see the cool visuals and prop design for a moment. Stop showing me the dudes face every two seconds when nothing has really happened for him to react to, its not adding anything to the scene, its just breaking any tiny bits of tension your trying to set up.

Go watch Afflicted, Hell House llc, Rec, Last Broadcast, Be My Cat, The Conspiracy, Creep, The Good Neighbor, even The Poughkeepsie Tapes, all of em are better than this. They're Watching was even a more fun experience overall, even with its super cheesy effects ending.

Straight the point.... If its found footage, who put the music or the sound effects over the footage?

The movie is ok I guess tho

I'm a hard adventure and thriller fan. It might sound a bit iffy but it never happened before that I watched an adventure movie and didn't like it. I thought all the adventure movies were cool. But this one has definitely changed my viewpoint.

I'm sorry but I must say that this movie is a total waste of 90 or so minutes. The biggest problem I found is the camera setup. The other active footage movies are not so creepy as this one. I watched a lot of movies of this type, but this is the first time I'm writing a serious review against a movie on the internet.

Just wondering what interesting things I could do in this 90 minutes of time. How did they consider this thing as a movie and release it in theaters? Don't watch this if you don't want to regret wasting your time.