Dane DeHaan in "Chronicle," Directed by Josh Trank A slick, modestly scaled science-fiction fairy tale with major box-office aspirations, "Chronicle" is the latest big-studio release in indie-sheep's clothing. It's a classic pop creation in that its hook - three teenage boys mysteriously acquire fantastic powers - seems fresh even if the whole thing feels inspired by someone's Netflix queue: a revenge-of-the-outsider tale like Brian De Palma's "Carrie"; the first-person perspective of "The Blair Witch Project" and "Cloverfield"; and average Joes turned super-Joes as in the television shows "Heroes" and "No Ordinary Family." "Chronicle," written by Max Landis and directed by Josh Trank, who together came up with the story, warms up slowly. Mr. Landis, 26, is the son of the director John Landis, best known for horror films like "An American Werewolf in London"; Mr. Trank, also 26, has worked as a film editor, including on "Big Fan." It opens with Andrew (a very good Dane DeHaan), the only child of a raging alcoholic father (Michael Kelly) and a mother who's dying at home (Bo Petersen), recording himself in his bedroom mirror with a digital camera. The mirror hangs on a door that's shaking because dear old drunk dad likes to play the Big Bad Wolf. For reasons that are never satisfactorily articulated, Andrew has decided to record everything in his life, or at least the highlights. Banalities like bathroom visits and classroom lessons don't make the final cut, but a party that his cousin Matt (Alex Russell) coaxes him into attending does. After the usual cacophony of beats and revelry, and the introduction of an obligatory female lust object, Casey (Ashley Hinshaw), the movie gets down to business. Along with a popular student, Steve (Michael B. Jordan), Max takes Andrew over to a large hole in the ground. My, what a big mouth it has. Laughing, dizzy from booze and high on youth, the boys enter the void, dropping down, down into the black. For a while the mysterious hole and its cave hold out the promise that "Chronicle" will be as creepy-freaky as "Carrie," and that the filmmakers will mine the cavity's depths for all its psycho-sexual terror instead of settling for a boy's super-neato adventure. No such luck. Mr. Landis certainly is clever - the garrulous Matt, who looks and sounds as if he's in college, name drops Schopenhauer, Jung and Plato - but these citations are largely self-aware icing on a genre cake. Early on Matt explains to Andrew, CliffsNotes style, Schopenhauer's concept of will, vaguely paving the way for the actions and themes to come. The hole, the boys soon discover, has left them with extraordinary powers, including telekinesis, gifts that eventually lead to a battle between untamed will and choice. Matt and Steve embrace their new powers with giddy enthusiasm and while Andrew initially seems just as blissed out, he soon goes dark and then darker. From the start there's an undertow of cruelty to the teenagers" high jinks as they learn what they can do, as when they levitate a stuffed animal to frighten a child. Mr. Trank brings a light touch to these self-discovery scenes - the three are flexing fast-evolving muscles - as well as a creeping sense of menace. In this respect, Mr. DeHaan, whose vulnerability and physical awkwardness here can evoke the young Leonardo DiCaprio in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape," is invaluable. Mr. Russell and Mr. Jordan are as likable as their characters, but it's Mr. DeHaan who pulls you uneasily in. Mr. Trank's shrewdest move is to give "Chronicle" visual polish. That and the neat trick of making South Africa pass for Seattle. The movie is primarily seen through Andrew's eyes, or rather his cameras, which gives the opening section a grubby, smeary, consumer-level digital video look. After he loses his original camera, though, and somehow obtains a better one, improving the image quality (and how! the movie was shot with an Alexa, which can start at $60,000), he increasingly uses his telekinetic powers to operate his new toy. The superhero stuff is all fine and good enough, but it's this vision of a lonely boy with his swooping, dipping, flying Tinker Bell of a camera that truly lifts the movie. "Chronicle" is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned). Bloody noses, a car accident, super-violence and death. Chronicle Directed by Josh Trank; written by Max Landis, based on a story by Mr. Landis and Mr. Trank; director of photography, Matthew Jensen; edited by Elliot Greenberg; production design by Stephen Altman; costumes by Diana Cilliers; produced by John Davis and Adam Schroeder; released by 20th Century Fox. Running time: 2 hours. WITH: Dane DeHaan (Andrew Detmer), Alex Russell (Matt Garetty), Michael B. Jordan (Steve Montgomery), Michael Kelly (Richard Detmer), Bo Petersen (Karen Detmer) and Ashley Hinshaw (Casey Letter).