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clarkwlittle
Reviews
He's Watching (2022)
Arthouse Found Footage Horror
There are three kinds of found footage fans; those who love found footage horror specifically ala The Blair Witch Project, Lake Mungo, What We Do in the Shadows, etc.; the kind who love the departure from traditional visual storytelling and thrive on the nuance offered by the narrative stylings of in-world-camera stories (definitely not exclusively horror fans). This group enjoys faux-docs, POV, and non-horror found footage (The Midnight Swim, David Holzman's Diary, Incident at Loch Ness, etc.) The final group enjoys both. This last group is primed to appreciate subtle found footage horror satire/commentary like Creep, Shadow of the Vampire, He's Watching.
He's Watching is a found footage horror film that allows us to see through the eyes of kids while they figure out life without their parents during a lockdown. At the same time He's Watching takes a look at the modern phenomenon of streaming indie horror and attempts to raise the stakes.
I personally found He's Watching to be a fun think-piece, especially when considering how anxiety can conjure existential horrors. The complete lack of narrative handholding allows for plenty of interpretation but clearly has turned off a large part of the first group of found footage fans I mentioned. If you count yourself among this group, please give the film a rewatch and think about moments like having to reassess personal objects for esoteric value. That's an incredible idea for a haunted house film, let alone an interesting project to carry out in our own lives.
Strange Nature (2018)
Redneck John Morrison battles a mutant
An ex-pop star moves back home with her hermit father. She soon discovers the local frogs are mutating, possibly because the mutants living across the lake are poisoning the water. It only gets worse as the town refuses to take action because Kim Sweet previously slandered it on national television. Oh, and local kids are starting to disappear.
STRANGE NATURE is great. The story has a lot going and manages to not feel the slightest bit winky, Redneck John Morrison battles a mutant, and the special effects are A+. Honestly, I kinda dig Kim Sweet's single too.
The Fear Footage (2018)
3 red balloons
The Fear Footage is an indie gem! When you have too many masters to feed and still try to hit a four quadrant market, that's when you get stale stories and 90min nap. This film delivers in a way only an unfiltered microbudget auteur could, with plots you would've never imagined (Storm Chasers), jumpscares delivered via puking, and a mocking of the Holy Trinity with 3 red balloons. The Fear Footage isn't winning any Oscars, but play it loud with the lights off and it'll scare the **** outta you.