Infirmary review

By David Dent

The ‘found footage’ genre, which as a concept is highly effective, has been rendered unpalatable these days by the sheer number of second-rate filmmakers who have all tried their luck at it.

Nicholas Pineda’s feature succeeds where so many before have failed, by carefully learning the lessons of his cinematic antecedents ie having a credible cast, surprising location; and actually being scary.

Infirmary is occasionally a three but mainly two hander. Ed (Paul Syre) is an ex-marine, still young (he was 3 when 9/11 happened), plunged back into civilian life following a war injury. Like many before him, he’s taken a job as a security guard, in a soon to be closed hospital, the Wilshire. It’s a tough move for him, as evidenced by his interview with the facility’s HR person Ms Downey (Danielle Kennedy). 

But the person he really must impress is senior guard Lester (Mark Anthony Williams), an ex-cop whose worldly bitterness translates into treating quiet, reserved Ed as a subordinate. “You sounded much bigger on the phone” says Lester as he shows the Ed the ropes and indulges in the odd newbie hazing ritual.

Wilshire Hospital may be scheduled to be shut down but looks, to all intents, like a functioning but empty hospital. And it’s the combination of this location, which for the most part eschews the darkened corridors of those FF movies set in abandoned buildings in favour of brightly lit rooms, and the well scripted ‘odd couple’ relationship of Ed and Lester, that lifts Infirmary above the overfamiliar constructs of the FF genre.

It also means that when Pineda’s movie gets dark – and it certainly does – you get to care about Ed’s predicament; a man who’s seen too much too young being thrown back into a state of combat, only this time the enemy is far weirder and shadowy. Also worth mentioning is the truly frightening score by Stephan Bolch aka Theatre of Delays, his discordant tones effectively soundtracking the groans and echoes of the movie’s haunted hospital. Excellent stuff.

Infirmary had its World Premiere at  Dances With Films NY 2026.