Laura's screening with Laura Weaser

Chronicle. In cinemas now. Directed by Josh Trank.

In the same vein as Cloverfield, Paranormal Activity, and the original genre maker The Blair Witch Project, Chronicle ushers in a new era of ‘found-footage' feature films, cleverly playing on our addiction with technology to capture every terrifying moment of a teenager's demise.

Andrew (Dane DeHaan) choses to unleash his rage with serious consequences.

Bullied at school, bullied at home, and a sick mother to take care of, high school student Andrew (Dane DeHaan) is your classic American outcast.

His only friend – his stoner, philosophising cousin Matt (Alex Russell) – and the most popular guy in school (Michael B Jordan) stumble across a strange glowing rock buried underneath the ground at an out-of-town rave.

A strange encounter leaves them with supernatural powers of telekinesis.

What starts out as fun and games, turns deadly serious when Andrew's dark side begins to creep in.

Chronicle is essentially a clever, well-modernised update of the 1970s film/Stephen King novel Carrie.

While Carrie develops telekinesis out of some kind of religious repression, and these boys pick it up form a glowing rock, it is essentially the same thing.

Both films focus on the downtrodden high school student who gets new found powers and goes on a rampage, getting back at those who bullied him in his life.

While the story remains the same, it is a classic storyline that can easily be uprooted to the modern world.

Anyone that has been to high school can understand the feeling of social hierarchy that fickly dictates where you sit for the rest of your teenage years, and the pressure you feel at an impressionable age.

Taking this idea, Chronicle is high-adrenalin ride following the boys as they closely document their escapades, playing with their new psychic powers.

Harmless fun – moving toys around the store in front of children's eyes – almost just as quickly takes a sinister turn.

Andrew grows stronger and more vengeful, and to the dislike of his friends he starts to become a real threat.

It is a tense ride as you watch in horror as Andrew slowly and steadily sinks into insanity, armed with the power of his troubled mind.

Like most found-footage these days, the central characters happen to have a camera and just ‘feel like' filming their daily activities.

In Chronicle, this awkward problem is avoided by also using footage from classmate's iPhones, police cars, and even a fellow student doing a video blog.

It is a smart way to show the film like a feature film without limitations and off-screen activity, but also a way to keep true to the genre.

Yes, there are a few discrepancies – both in the camera work and the reality of the plot – but overall Chronicle is a fun thriller.

The characters could be kids you went to school with, the town could be any town you grew up in, and Andrew could be that kid at school that nobody knew of, until it was too late.

Reel Moments

The crowd pleaser – The clever use of multiple found footage cameras that means we are sent right into the action at every turn, and the reasons why everything is documented doesn't feel forced unlike other films in this genre. It also doesn't distract form the plot, as the camera action doesn't feel shaky, obtrusive or difficult to follow.

The stage dive – Discontinuity in the plot. There are some serious plot flaws, but the intensity of character relationships gloss over the reality of the situation.

Final curtain call? – The best found-footage film I have seen in a while. With a pretty decent plot and relatable storyline of high school life versus X-Men super powers, the movie created tense moments of anticipation and a darker side to comic book powers.