Rise of the Bubons

Random moments from a random artist.

[nekkotheodd]

31 days of Horror - Found Footage List: Day 31 - Strange Harvest (2024)

This has to be my second favorite movie of this year. Strange Harvest is another crime mockumentary but honestly it has to be one of the best made of the lot. The story spans a serial killer's 20 year murder spree and two of the detectives that are trying to catch him. If you've seen something like Investigation Discovery's Joe Kendo that's sort of how the tone is set. The acting is the best i've come across. I could totally believe that most of these people were real witnesses and victims. The cops were the real stand out however. Truly a treat and i would love to see more in the universe. My strongest recommend.

And with that my list has come to another end. It was fun (mostly) to watch some things i'd never seen and i hope if you check out some of these you will feel the same. Now you will excuse me I have treats to give and tricks to plan. The the lanterns lit and i'll see you next haunt.

[nekkotheodd]

31 days of Horror - Found Footage List: Day 30 - Late Night with the Devil (2023)

I didn't get to talk about this gem when it came out last year. While the opening of the movie is a bit weird since it makes it feel like it's going to be a mockumentary and there are some back stage things that would not have happened in the time period, everything else is great. The story follows a late night host that is trying to save his failing show. He decided to bring on a supposedly possessed girl and a famous skeptic to boost the ratings. Halloween has a few tricks up it's sleeve however. Again, i fucking love this movie. It lived up to the hype for sure and is so worth the watch. Check it out.

[nekkotheodd]

31 days of Horror - Found Footage List: Day 29 - Savageland (2015)

When I was a baby horror head one movie really scared the absolute crap out of me, Night of the Living Dead. I'm talking about the fear lingered for a looooooong time. Maybe it was because I live between a stupid mount of graveyards but i think it was more how real it felt at the time. Why am I bringing this up? Because many decades later I jaded as fuck so it takes quite a bit to actually unnerve me. Savageland succeeded where so many others have failed. The movie is set up like a crime doc, something like Dateline, and it covers the mass murder of a small town in Arizona. There was only one suspect, a small illegal migrant man, and it was the conclusion that he was the culprit. But then we see the pictures he took of what happened and oh boy do some of those images linger. That's right, this is more found picture than found footage and it really works for the tone and easily makes it one of the top 5 found footage movies i've ever seen. Now I will say this, there is very vocal racism in this movie and it is very hard to watch. I don't mean that the director is racist but rather the racism serves a purpose. It is a big plot point but that doesn't make it any easier to stomach. I have heard people say similar things where i live for example. Still it's worth suffering through that dialog. it feels REAL. I cannot recommend this movie enough and you can see it a lot of places.

[nekkotheodd]

31 days of Horror - Found Footage List: Day 28 - Afflicted (2013)

Derek and his buddy Clif are about to travel the world and vlog. Why? Well, Derek has a terminal illness and since Clif does documentaries for a living they figure why not turn the vlog into a sort of bucket list. When they get to Paris, Derek meets a girl and she leaves him with a parting gift that changes both guys' lives forever. I really wanna spoil this one but i wont since figuring out what's going on is some of the fun of watching (though it's pretty obvious pretty early on). The effects are some of the best in this list for sure. It does not shy away from the gore and it's not obvious cgi. I will say there is a bit of animal murder at a point so you can just skip that bit when it comes up. The shaking isn't terrible like most found footage. Since this is shot a bit like a high production youtube channel (something like Buzzfeed) there isn't a lot of shaky cam. Even on this second watch i had a good time. Check it out.

[nekkotheodd]

31 days of Horror - Found Footage List: Day 27 - Butterfly Kisses (2018)

A found footage in a found footage, Butterfly Kisses is part urban legend and part critique of the found footage genre as a whole. Gavin comes into some student tapes about an urban legend in a shoe box in this in-laws' house. Being a former film student himself he sees this as his big break and decides to make a documentary about the tapes and the people that made them. Nothing goes the way he plans and some things are better left unknown. Something about this movie in a movie really scratched an itch for me. The story of peeping Tom is an interesting legend. The justification behind why the methods the original crew used work is interesting. The fact nobody seems to like Gavin is even a plus. In fact the only part that kind of had me roll my eyes was the fact there is a cameo from the director of The Blair Witch Project in the movie. That felt a bit too force for me but it's more because i thought the movie was strong enough without him in it. I never heard about this one when it came out and that's a shame. Great movie that deserves more praise. Check it out.

[nekkotheodd]

31 days of Horror - Found Footage List: Day 26 - Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi! (2012 - 2023?)

I don't even know where to start with this series. Yes, series. There are like of these movies and they progressively get more bat shit as they go. Actually Bat shit isnt even strong enough for how metally this jumps all the sharks. Yes, I know metally isnt a world. No i dont care. Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi is a mock Japanese paranormal show and revels in all the weirdness that only a Japanese show can. The main character's usual solution to whatever paranormal thing they run into is to beat the absolute fuck out of whatever it is. This also extends to his co-workers, clients, and whoever else he feels the need to put hands on. Does it work? Sort of? Seriously to explain more of this is to ruin the pure mind blowing WTFkery of it all. There are 10 flims to date (who knows if there will be more but damn i hope there are). They are all on youtube with subs. Also for those that have seen Occult or Noroi it's the same director/writer and he plays the camera man. I cannot recommend this enough. In fact, here, have the start of the playlist. GO WATCH IT DAMN IT.

[nekkotheodd]

31 days of Horror - Found Footage List: Day 25 - The Possession of Michael King (2014)

Sometimes you shouldn't keep looking for answers to questions you are better off taking up with a therapist. The titular Michael King is a documentary film maker that has recently lost his wife. He decides to take the Houdini method of disproving the afterlife in a desperate attempt to prove to himself that his wife's spirit isnt actually out there looking for him, but with a twist. Michael takes every single method he can find to try a contact a demon rather than his wife. After all, if he can do that then clearly there must be an afterlife. Weird reason but whatever, it makes a great movie. The movie is violent. It doesn't pull a lot of punches once Michael gets into the real meat of ritual for his summonings. Man even turns to a necromancer. I won't get more into but I will say this movie was just as disturbing the second time I watched it for sure. Worth the watch!

[nekkotheodd]

31 days of Horror - Found Footage List: Day 24 - V/H/S Halloween (2025)

Next up is this year's V/H/S offering and this time it's all about halloween baby! If you are a long time reader you know that the current VHS series is my favorite and it was nice to get one focused on the reason for the season. I have noticed that this year's addition to the library is a bit polarizing but i give no fucks. There wasnt a single segment that i didnt enjoy. Favorite segment? Probably Home Haunt but Fun Size is a close second. Will be getting added to my yearly watches for sure. Check it out!

[nekkotheodd]

31 days of Horror - Found Footage List: Day 23 - Out There Halloween Mega Tape (2022)

One of my favorite halloween traditions of the last few years is watching WNUF Halloween Special. I'm a xennial and sometimes nostalgia is one of the few things that keeps me from spontaneously combusting under the weight of the world's stupidity. So what better to scratch that itch than a faked vhs of a fake tv special with fake tv commercials. It's not for everybody but this weirdo eats that shit up with a spoon. So color me surprised when i found out there was a sequel in 2022. I was so ready to just inject that shit right into my eyeballs. The price tag was a bit steep for my blood. however. Sadly for the longest the only way to get Out There Halloween Mega Tape was through the director's website (nothing wrong with that and I love he did it but i wasnt able to buy it at the time). So I waited, hoping that it would hit streaming in some form. Never did, director's decision which i fully support, and i kinda gave up and figured i would just save for it. Life always has other plans however. So after accepting my search would continue to stretch out, I see that this year (about 3 weeks ago from this post) that cesspool of humanity Walmart has a double pack of both movies for halloween. I wont go into my struggles to get these blu rays but i will say it was worth it. While the original WNUF focuses on a haunted house, Out There is a parody of two 90s staples of trash tv, a talk show (this one is pretty much Ricki Lake) and the show Sighting that focused on alien conspiracy. Best part is the sequel actually addresses the ending of WNUF. Totally worth the wait. The commercials are awesome. The mock shows really captures that era of tv. A great time if you love nostalgia for sure. Grab your copies while you can, and if you cant you can still find the original WNUF on a few streaming platforms. Check em out!

[nekkotheodd]

31 days of Horror - Found Footage List: Day 22 - Grave Encounters (2011)

Getting back to the more standard fair of the found footage landscape, Grave Encounters is a bit of a spoof on the actual show Ghost Adventures. What if the ghost adventure guys really found what they were looking for? Yes, yes, i dont want to get into the argument on whether those guys are legit or not. For this movie you just have to imagine that they actually find some serious undeniable fully interactive not so friendly spirits and get trapped with them. This movie really is a lot better than the poster art makes it look for sure. Check it out.

[nekkotheodd]

31 days of Horror - Found Footage List: Day 21 - REC (2007)

I don't remember if this was ever in one of my halloween lists. If it was it was many years ago and this movie is good enough to be relisted, though I do find a few plot points rather stupid. This time we follow a reporter and her camera man as they are doing a ride-a-long with some firefighters. On a call to an apartment they all wind up being quarantined with the residents of the complex as a virus has broken out making people extremely aggressive and they seem to have a taste for human flesh. Now that is about all that I can say about the plot without spoilers. The reveal of what's actually causing the outbreak is pretty innovative, especially for the time. I did find myself being more critical after not watching this movie for many years. There are some choices characters make that are absolutely stupid but then again people in stress do stupid things. The last 20 minutes of the movie are just crazy with how quickly things go from back to the worst possible thing and make the movie so worth watching. Only other thing I have to say it Manu is my favorite character and he deserved better.

[nekkotheodd]

31 days of Horror - Found Footage List: Day 20 - Creep (2014)

Creep is an ff that really lives up to its title. A videographer answers a listing for a job filming a dying man. Once there all the red flags ensue.

Creep is a dark comedy at heart but my goodness does it have some unnerving moments. This movie is really like being trapped in an elevator with that really shifty guy. He might not hurt you...but he keeps making eye contact and smiling so you cant be completely sure he wont. Anyway you should check this one out for sure.

[nekkotheodd]

31 days of Horror - Found Footage List: Day 19 - The Last Exorcism (2010)

An oldie and a goodie. This is a mockumentary following an evangelist famous for performing exorcisms. The man has gotten a bit jaded with this grift and decides to expose his ministry and fake exorcisms as he takes on one last case. But maybe this times things may be a bit different for him. It's been a long time since i saw this one but it's always stuck with me. Maybe it's that I enjoy a good exorcism movie. Maybe it was the wild ending. Either way it's a keeper and worth the watch. Enjoy.

[nekkotheodd]

31 days of Horror - Found Footage List: Day 18 - Apartment 143 (2012)

This one didnt really feel like a found footage for me. Maybe because most found footage strikes me as really being found because the people went missing or died or...ya know, just aren't there. This one is more a scientific study that we get to see the tapes of. A group of investigators have been contacted to help a family who are suffering from a very intense haunting since the death of the family's mother. Probably one of the best acted of the films i've listed so far, I really only have one problem with this movie. I don't feel like it stuck the landing. I can't say why as it would be spoilers, but yeah...that ending really took some of the steam out of the sails for me. Not enough to keep it off the list however. Check it out.

[nekkotheodd]

31 days of Horror - Found Footage List: Day 17 - #ChadGetsTheAxe (2022)

There is something that is super soothing about watching people you dont like getting what's coming to them. Tonight we follow a group of youtubers that decided to, once again, investigate a violently haunted house deep in the woods. None of these people actually like each other mind you, and though I wanted to see about 90% of the protagonists die there were a few that i was rooting to survive. There is a bit of a twist towards the end btw. This is part black comedy, and part serious deaths. I had fun with it and most likely this would be enjoyable with friends on a week end. Check it out.

[nekkotheodd]

31 days of Horror - Found Footage List: Day 16 - The Borderlands (Final Prayer) (2013)

A group of investigators from the Vatican are sent to investigate an old church where a miracle is being reported. Is it a hoax or something much older? I enjoy movies that dabble in folk horror and this one certainly dips more than a toe into that realm. It also gets into a lot of philosophy about religion and faith. It's not preachy by any means but it is nice to not have people from the church thinking the answer is paranormal. Of course, logic can lead you to the other extreme as well. Certainly a strong movie and well worth your times. Do check it out.

[nekkotheodd]

31 days of Horror - Found Footage List: Day 15 - Last Radio Call (2022)

I like the idea of a horror film on body cam, and this one kind of delivers on that part but only for a bit. The story follows a documentary of a woman trying to find out what happened to her husband after he disappeared on a police call in a haunted hospital. At least i think it might have been. I honestly dont remember. Not a lot happens. The effects arent that great but the idea is solid enough I wasn't bored.