We went to see Chronicle without knowing much about the movie solely based on the fact that it was rated highest on the Tomatometer (84%) on the day we were looking for a good movie.

There we were, the only two “old” people surrounded by dozens of teenagers on all sides. Chronicle is a teenager movie, made for teenagers, and it feels like it’s made by teenagers. The premise is that the main character starts filming everything in his life. This of course labels him a dork in high school. At a party out in the country, he and two friends stumble upon a strange cave. They enter and find odd machinery, strange lights and otherworldly vibrations. They do make it out okay, but they are slightly changed, as we soon find out.

Within the next few days they discover they have strange new powers of telekinesis. With typical teenage spunk they start using it and get into mischief. It does not take long until a darker perspective surfaces and people start getting hurt.

The movie is shot with a shaky camera to simulate the amateur high school kid making his own movies. Many scenes are grainy and the colors seem off at times. It creates this eerie mood of strange forces in a mundane teenage world of high school halls, illegal drinking and parties. There is a little of Blair Witch and The Ring in this movie, except the subject matter is not as dark – to a degree.

I like movies with people who have strange powers. This one is well done. Being surrounded by real high school kids in the theater added to the reality and I was half expecting to see some of them floating out at the end as the credits rolled.

Rating: ***