Found footage filmmaking, particularly within the horror genre, has become a tired trope. While the boom that followed in the wake of Paranormal Activity has largely come to an end, a few indie movies still attempt to utilize the technique in order to pull off high concepts on a minuscule budget. But filmmakers who choose to do so must offer something exciting in order to win over viewers fatigued by the trend.
Unfortunately, neither #Screamers (yes, the hashtag is part of the title) nor The Monster Project - a pair of found footage horror movies recently released as a Blu-ray double feature by Epic Pictures’ Dread Central Presents - brings anything new to the table to justify the tactic. That's not to say they're bad movies by any means, and found footage fans will surely enjoy them, but they fail to rise above the inherent limitations of the filmmaking style.
#Screamers is posed as a documentary about Gigaler, a YouTube-esque tech startup that tracks users' online habits and mines their data to tailor videos to their individual tastes. When a purported snuff film that turns out to be a "screamer" video (a short clip that abruptly ends with a scary face flashing on the screen accompanied by a loud scream) goes viral, eager co-founders Tom (Tom Malloy, The Alphabet Killer), the ideas guy and a natural showman, and Chris (Chris Bannow), who is more reserved and handles the tech side, begin to investigate its creators.
It may not reinvent the wheel, but #Screamers’ strength is in the fact that it feels like an actual documentary. The found footage setup provides an easy excuse for copious setup and exposition to be provided directly to the viewer upfront. Although the details as to how Gigaler actually operates are a bit murky, at face value it's a believable concept. Its brief addressing of user privacy is timely, given the recent Facebook controversy.
Director Dean Matthew Ronalds (Netherbeast Incorporated) co-wrote the script with Malloy, and they completely commit to the concept, going so far as creating an actual Gigaler.com. The film was outlined and rehearsed, but the dialogue is largely improvised. As a result, the performances feel genuine. The script also works in the Jack the Ripper lore, although it ultimately has little tie-in to the plot; it's apparent that the filmmakers merely had access to it and threw it in to add production value.
#Screamers, like so many found footage movies, offers little payoff and even fewer answers by the time the credits roll, but, at only 82 minutes, it's a well-paced slice of entertainment. Its special features include an audio commentary with Ronalds and Malloy, which offers interesting insight into the making of a found footage movie (and even addresses the hashtag in the title), along with deleted scenes with optional commentary and the trailer.
The Monster Project marks the feature directorial debut of Victor Mathieu. It concerns an aspiring film crew - mastermind/host Devon (Justin Bruening, Grey's Anatomy), comedic relief cameraman Jamal (Jamal Quezaire), director Murielle (Murielle Zuker), and production assistant Bryan (Toby Hemingway, The Covenant) - making a documentary about real life monsters. Bryan is a recovering addict, which adds an interesting angle, but there's an entirely unnecessary love triangle that detracts from the plot.
A Craigslist ad miraculously yields only genuine responses, so the crew rents out an old, rundown house to conduct interviews with three alleged monsters: a vampire (Yvonne Zima, The Long Kiss Goodnight), a demon (Shiori Ideta), and a skinwalker (Steven Flores). The skinwalker - a Navajo take on the werewolf mythos - also happens to be a police officer, so he wears a body camera that's always recording despite being off-duty.
I was already turned off by the mess of genre cliches, but The Monster Project completely lost me in the third act when there's a found footage dream sequence (!), in which a demon apparently possess a crew member and the audience sees their vision through a GoPro. I'm willing to suspend disbelief for the sake of entertainment, but I couldn't take the movie seriously after such a logical inconsistency. It's a nice looking scene, complete with atmospheric smoke and shadows, but it should have been cut; it doesn't fit in the movie and does little to advance the plot.
Although the concept is interesting, the execution leaves something to be desired. Where #Screamers benefits from feeling genuine, The Monster Project is contrived. The performances feel scripted (although Hemingway shines as the most natural of the bunch), and characters are constantly filming and commenting on everything for no reason except to tell the story. At 99 minutes, the film is in dire need of a tightening. A good 15+ minutes could have been cut from the self-serving first act, which needlessly doubles down on the setup.
Jim Beinke (who previously worked on creatures in the likes of Men in Black II, Planet of the Apes, and Cursed) handled the film’s practical special effects, which are well done but largely marred by the overuse of night vision. (With the exception of a couple shots, the entire last 40 minutes are filmed in night vision.) The practicals are augmented and supplemented by visual effects. The CGI is quite good considering the limited budget, but it can be distracting.
The story of The Monster Project making its way to the screen is perhaps more interesting than the film itself, as explored in the Blu-ray’s 44-minute making-of featurette and the audio commentary with Mathieu, Beinke, and cinematographer/editor Phillip Sebal. They discuss the trials and tribulations of making a low budget movie, like being forced to recast a lead actor to appese investors, the challenges of night vision, and illegal downloading. The Smiling Man web series that was created to promote the film and the trailer are also included.
If you're already burnt out on the found footage trend, neither #Screamers nor The Monster Project are going to change your mind. But those who still appreciate the technique certainly won't be bored by these two. #Screamers, in particular, stands out for having an interesting story that nicely builds with a fair bit of intrigue, a couple of tense moments, and a great jump scare.
#Screamers / The Monster Project is available now on Blu-ray via Dread Central Presents.
#Screamers - yes, the hashtag is indeed part of the official title - will be released in select theaters on April 5 and on VOD on April 17 via Dread Central Presents. Check out the poster above and the trailer below.
The found footage film is directed by Dean Ronalds, who co-wrote the script with producer Tom Malloy (The Alphabet Killer). Malloy also stars alongside Chris Bannow, Griffin Matthews, Emanuela Galliussi, Abbi Snee, and Theodora Miranne.
Read on for the trailer and synopsis.
Internet Gurus Tom Brennan and Chris Grabow know what sells on the internet. They’ve built their viral video site gigaler.com into a money-making machine, primarily by providing the audience with web #Screamers - videos that distract the audience then scare them to death. When the two internet gurus investigate the authenticity of a series of these viral videos, they uncover something far more sinister and terrifying about the people behind them.
Jahr: 2023
Genre: Horror / Thriller
Regie: Gary Barth
Hauptrollen: Tom Sizemore, Hannah New, Vince Lozano, Tom Malloy, Megan Tremethick, David Josh Lawrence, Courtney Warner, Stephen Corrall, Jamie Scott Gordon, Gordon Holliday, Craig J. Seath …
Filmbeschreibung: Der Selbsthilfe-Guru Tobin Vance (Tom Malloy) ist ins britische Exil gegangen, um einer Verhaftung in den USA zu entgehen. Mit…
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