Wink Wink, Nudge Nudge, Nobody’s gonna survive
Horror fans, we ceretainly know our genres and subgenres, don’t we? There are the theater of the mind movies, the torture porn, the supposed “based on a real life event” story, and others. We’ve watched aliens, monsters, mutants, body snatchers and hack and slashers. And, yes, we’ve bought into the concept of found footage films.
Found footage is the horror subgenre where viewers are made aware of the last recordings of those who have gone missing or have been murdered. This concept isn’t anything new, but it was only produced in a movie every few years until The Blair Witch Project leveraged this formula for massive success. That launched the Paranormal Activity and Cloverfield franchises, among others.
Now, horror fans are nothing if not savvy. Kevin Williamson and Wes Craven built the Scream franchise on the premise that slasher fans knew slasher films. They had rules. They knew the necessary cast members. They brilliantly led viewers to watch themselves watching the very slasher films they loved. Scott Glosserman took that formula and filmed Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon as a VH-1 Behind the Music type of approach to the slasher genre.
So, with found footage needing that type of treatment? Enter Found Footage 3D.
This movie is the tongue-in-cheek take on found footage movies in general. It hits every ingredient in the filmmaking formula, 90% of the tropes, and a few unexpected WTF moments resulting from amazing visual and sound production.
FF3 follows a minimalist cast (because of course it does) as they meet and head out to film the first ever found footage movie in 3D. The characters are exactly who they need to be. There is a douchebag producer trying to run everything. The director is that hero of the genre we all wish to be who just wants to tell a wonderful story. The sound guy is skittish. The production assistant is invited even though she has no skills. The lead actress is talented but she’s only there to finish out a contract.
The bottom line: Everyone is participating at least somewhat against their will. They soon find out that the set is a genuine haunted house. From Day One, things begin to seem strange. They quickly deteriorate into infighting, violence and distrust. But, they do so in a way that tells a creepy story that evolves over the course of the film.
The thing that FF3 does masterfully is hide the (literal) devil in the details. There are several instances of subtle shift in visual phase or that one thing moving in the background. There are probably a dozen blink and you’ll miss it moments that ramp up the atmosphere. Sound tricks follow suit. The film achieves a level of audio misdirection that plenty of other films haven’t. There are moments of panning the audio left to right or fading it up and down that serve the tension very well.
The cast is perfect for this film. Carter Roy is a complete alpha male ass who audiences will hate. Alean von Stroheim covers the entire emotional range as lead actress Amy. Chris O’ Brien is the guy who just wants to do the right thing. Tom Saporito is the geek who just keeps getting outvoted. Scott Allen Perry is a gem as Carl the sound guy. Viewers will pity Jessica Perrin as the poor girl in over her head from frame one.
Writer/director Steven DeGennaro and crew leverage a wonderful technique over the course of the story reveal. Repeatedly, the would-be film crew shoot a scene but fail to get the shot. As soon as they cut and the only actual camera is the behind-the-scenes camera, they nail it. This happens with increasing frequency as the film progresses. It’s a wonderful approach.
In addition to the adept knowledge of the genre, the crew behind FF3 really nail several aspects that immerse the viewer into the experience. The set design is brilliant. The pacing is well written. They use every shot and gimmick that users have seen before, but manage to do so in exactly the right order.
Found Footage 3D is a treasure for fans of the subgenre and of horror films overall. It’s definitely worth a watch and for aspiring horror filmmakers, a complete breakdown.