"Lost Tapes" is one of the most inconsistent shows I have ever seen in my life. On its best episodes, its one of the scariest and most well made horror shows ever made. On its worst episodes, its equivalent to the very worst of the SyFy channel's schlock in terms of effects and acting. That said, good or bad, "Lost Tapes" is NEVER boring. Whether screaming in horror (Okay, maybe not SCREAMING, but jumping and/or getting a MAJOR case of goosebumps is frequent) or laughing in hysterics, "Lost Tapes" is almost always an insanely fun watch.
The episodes are all fast paced 30 minute "found footage" shorts spliced with background information on the particular subject of the episode. (Bigfoot, Aliens, Werewolves, e.t.c) The subtlety of the scares in the better episodes is surprising. Many times, the monster itself will never be fully revealed, but merely heavily teased via shots of its shadow, eyes or distinguishing features. It uses your imagination to terrify you, never revealing its monsters, but giving you enough information for your brain to conjure up something more terrifying than the best of effects can produce.
The acting is, like the quality of the show, inconsistent. Episodes like "Hellhound", "Bear Lake Monster" and "Dover Demon" boast solid, very realistic performances while others like "Zombies" and "Poltergeist" contain some truly laughable acting. The performances in these episodes are the biggest source of comedy to be found in the show, seemingly acted by unpaid interns or friends of the director rather than professional actors. Season 2 seems to contain the most consistently well acted episodes.
The characters aren't particularly deep (How deep can they really be in an under 30 minute short after all?), but they're likable to the point you don't want them to die and are, for the most part, surprisingly intelligent. Sometimes the characters are smart enough to actually survive their terrifying brushes with certain death, and when that's not the case, their decision making is at the very least reasonable.
"Lost Tapes" is FAR from a perfect show, but my GOD is it always entertaining. Whether scary or funny, the LAST thing anyone can accuse it of being is boring. It really was ahead of its time as far as the "found footage" thing went (Found footage movies existed upon its release, but the film was a couple years early of the real "craze" of the genre), and it's a shame, as this is one show that DEFINITELY deserved more seasons.
