r/foundfootage

Been on a VHS binge to prepare for V/H/S/Mixtape and upon rewatch, I forgot how batshit crazy 99 is!

But to Hell and Back is one of those segments that like Safe Haven, I wouldn’t have minded a full feature length.

Everything about this is so cool. The design, the sets, the pacing and Mabel is a scene stealer, one of my favorite found footage characters ever.

What a fun segment! Definitely in my top 5.

Mannnnn I turned on shudder because I was excited about this movies release. Absolute dog shit.

From the characters to the writing, to the scares and the plot. A complete waste of time.

But what completely pissed me off was this movies lack of self awareness and shitty characters.

The main guy, Ex marine Sniper from Afghanistan, sitting through over and hour of being shit on by some ex cop turned security Gaurd.

The absolute disrespect of the Military and towards the main character , who we are told just got BACK FROM AFGHANISTAN, being called a pussy and a scardy cat by some security Guard boss...was JUST unbelievable and just disrespectful to me as someone who has served... And is doing Security now in real life...nothing was believable.

. Every single time his boss spoke, it completely was just pissing me off of how TERRIBLE the writing was.

Oh btw this movie isn't even scary smh

1.5/10

Worst movie I've seen this year, no joke.

Welcome back, my fellow satanists, it is Day 15 of FDFF with me, Taylor!

Today we’re shooting a show with slavedriver, ambitious Taylor (not me🥴), who is determined she’s going to be a Hollywood Star, as she and her high school best friends investigate if the town of Manitou Springs really is “The Devil Worshiping Capital of the Western World!”

**🎥**SYNOPSIS:
“Determined to get ahead in the competitive world of TV journalism, a woman investigates a local legend of people vanishing at the hands of a satanic cult but finds that she herself becomes the hunted.”

✨MY THOUGHTS:
Y’all… just, lol. I had a blast rewatching this one. It has been a few years, and I just loved it. It will not be for everyone. I can see members who only enjoy the more serious and terrifying films not being into this. Which I understand! I’m that way sometimes, but I can also enjoy a campy / dark comedy / bad film as well. This film knows what it is— and the bits of it are sprinkled throughout.

Taylor is our TV Journalist. She’s the girl who, after high school, moved out of the podunk Colorado small town, to city of bright lights and big dreams, Los Angeles. However, she’s back in town because she’s filming the show that is sure-to-make-her-a-star, “Investigating Urban Legends”. She enlists her high school best friends Brad and Angel to help with the show.

The subject for this episode is none other than the infamous “satanic panic” of the 80s early 90s. It’s the perfect fit because they are right beside the town of Manitou Springs, which is said to be “The Devil Worshipping Capital of the Western World!”. The crew has a mission: is this true? Or is it all just an unverified urban legend.

To begin, we meet everyone. Angel is like an excited little puppy who is still 16 and Brad is just enamored with Taylor. Taylor is already over both of them… and the film just started. And that’s how a lot of the film is: you’re going to ask yourself “THESE people were BEST FRIENDS?” They start by doing what any good found footage film does: interviewing locals about the “Satanic Panic” and that’s just… lol. We have our usual crazy oddballs. I admit, I laughed a couple times.

Interwoven through the film is the B plot which is the old high school sweethearts deal (Taylor and Brad) and an issue (Brad and Angel recently hooked up) along with big problems since Taylor left (Angel experienced alot of tragedy and Taylor wasn’t there for her… for any of it).

Like any good found footage film, their investigation leads them to the woods to camp because it’s almost the “autumn equinox”. That is when the cult is supposed to be sacrificing someone, thus Taylor wants to be there to capture it— if it’s actually going to happen. Angel is scared of everything. She’s constantly yelling and stomping around like a child. She thinks Brad and Taylor are not taking the investigation seriously.

While we’re trekking through the woods, we find all kinds of goodies: pentagrams made out of sticks, satanic markings, skinned dead animals covered in blood hanging from trees (don’t worry, it doesn’t look like anything bad), candles arranged in suspicious ways, inexplicable time loss, loud noises, but still… Taylor’s not convinced. Maybe it’s true, maybe it’s just kids messing around. The ending has a slight twist, which was fun.

This is a film that in my heart, I know it is bad, but it’s also good… it’s so bad that it’s good, okay? I laughed out loud a few times. I am so glad u/ohigetjokes wrote a review about this and he sums up my feelings perfectly:

“Weirdly I don't hate it, despite the fact that it's kinda bad. I'm not sure why. The dialogue was awful, the script annoying, there was more than one incredibly awkward performance, and the love triangle stuff was about as tedious and annoying as all love triangle stuff always is (why do writers do that??), but... idk. The scenery is nice, the props are nice, the desecration of the altars was funny, everyone was hot, and the finale was fun.”

Well said, my friend, well said.

**📈**MY RATING: 5.5/10.

**📌**FILM INFORMATION:
- Watch the Trailer: here
- Stream on Plex: here
- Stream on Fawesome: here
- Stream on YouTube: here
- You can also rent on AppleTV & Google

**🍭**FUN FACTS:
▪️Summer Moore, who portrays, Taylor, not only starred in this film, but wrote and produced it.
▪️She says: “This project holds a special place in my heart because I grew up near Manitou Springs, Colorado, and based the script on real 80s and 90s accounts from people I interviewed about the local rumors. Playing this reporter character allowed me to weave in a ton of my natural sarcasm, blending standard found footage horror with a bit of dark, ridiculous comedy.”
▪️You can follow Summer on IG: here

⚠️DISCLAIMER:
Forty Days of Found Footage is little project is just a fun side venture I decided to do during Spooky Season this year so that your lineup can be stacked with all of the new releases that are coming and already out, along with these I am sharing— hopefully a few 'new to you', or maybe one you forgot about and want to rewatch. I am deliberately not sharing the "best of the best" and the most popular films, as they are mentioned enough. I decided to share films that I have enjoyed and that are not mentioned often or maybe at all. A lot of films will be very independent and/or sometimes amateur, thus I'm asking to please manage expectations.
🚨If you want more information about what I am doing, please click here to read the “Master” post I made🚨

Hello my fellow haunted asylum enthusiasts. I wanted to recommend a few movies that I never see mentioned. I enjoyed them and feel like if you’re looking for something similar to Grave Encounters or Gonjiam, you might enjoy these too. ( I stole the synopses from imdb)

• Sanatorium (2013): Our intrepid paranormal investigators are at where on New Year's Eve in 1955, Richard Howell, a patient at the Hillcrest Sanatorium, went on a bloody rampage, killing three children before he hanged himself.
• Reel Evil (2012): Struggling filmmakers - Kennedy, Cory and James - finally catch the break they were looking for when they are hired to shoot a 'behind-the-scenes' documentary for a major studio production. But their dream job quickly turns into a nightmare when they explore the legendary, haunted location and find something far worse than anything Hollywood could create. Terror becomes reality for the filmmakers as they uncover the malevolent secrets of the hospital, and the sinister doctor who once ran it. Trapped inside the hospital with no apparent way out, our crew is tormented by the evil, unspeakable
• Hollows Grove (2014) A young filmmaker documents his ghost-hunting, reality show friends as their routine investigation of an abandoned orphanage turns into a nightmare from which they can't escape.
• 100 Ghost Street: The Return of Richard Speck (2012): 45 years after the massacre, paranormal investigators search for America's most notorious mass murderer. A group of paranormal investigators sojourned to the Chicago walk-up where deranged drifter Richard Speck systematically slew eight student nurses back in '66, looking for restless spirits. Their unfortunate success gets shockingly documented in this fear-filled found footage foray featuring a bright young cast.*

Ok, the last one’s title is atrocious but the events in the movie are pretty harrowing. The movie has a pretty explicit SA scene kind of early on, so you may want to skip it.

Welcome back, my fellow insects, it is Day 14 of FDFF with me, Taylor!

Today we’re helping Amanda find out the truth on what really happened to her brother.

**🎥**SYNOPSIS:
“Amanda and her boyfriend Tim set out to shed light on the case surrounding her missing brother. After finding his lost archive, she uncovers a truth that leads her down a path to the horror her brother unwillingly encountered: Mothman.”

✨MY THOUGHTS:
I have a confession: I’m not the biggest fan of the typical cryptid’s. I’m really not into the Bigfoot, Dogman, or Sasquatch(esque) creatures. I have definitely enjoyed films about them, but they just aren’t the type of movies I eagerly seek out. Conversely, I do like the more seemingly “supernatural” crytpids such as Wendigos and Skinwalkers as they can take the form of a human. That piques my interest more.(Sidenote: we really need more found footage films with those 2 creatures!)

Additionally, I am a fan of Mothman. Sure, he’s a giant moth— that my cat would have a ball with, but the lore attached to it is fascinating. And in the words of the character Max in this film, “Mothman is more than a typical cryptid; called the ‘Harbinger of Doom’. It’s a being than transcends time and space— and generally brings death and chaos.”

When I first watched this films a few years ago, it was nothing like I thought it was going to be. I remember watching this because it was a “spur of the moment” choice and by the end, I was pleasantly surprised. However, I think some of you will disagree, which I expect. That is what this project is about— the more “hidden”, not mentioned films. Sometimes that’s for a reason, but I believe this film deserves more, which is why I included it in my list.

Amanda and her boyfriend Tim are going back to Wither Falls, Ohio because her brother, Dakota has been missing for over 8 months. When he initially disappeared, Amanda was not around because she was away at school amongst other things. We can see she feels intense guilt and remorseful about not being there for his initial search and everything that ensued.

Now she wants to make amends. She is making a documentary about her brother because she wants to uncover the truth about what truly happened. There is still no closure and the investigation has halted.

The first half of the movie is the “slow burn” — it is Amanda interviewing her parents, Dakota’s girlfriend named Kennedy, the officials in the investigation, and prior coworkers of Dakota. It’s the emotional and discovery aspect of a Mockumentary that draws from typical documentary elements.

It held my attention. The characters are likable and real. We learn about Dakota’s life, when he changed, the gradual breakdown in his behavior, and we learn that this may not be such a surface level disappearance. People are being odd. Some are acting secretive. Law Enforcement doesn’t seem very open. I was not ever really sure where this film was going to go.

Patience pays off in “Mothman”. I appreciate this films unique take on a popular cryptid and I loved the visuals. There are a couple of genuinely unnerving moments. I think the journey through this film is very well done— a thorough plot that is correctly explored, an ending I did not quite see coming.

PS: Y’all ever heard of Ingrid Cold? I hadn’t. Now I have. :::shivers:::

**📈**MY RATING: 6.5/10

**🍭**FUN FACT:
▪️Joshua Brucker, the writer and director has created many found footage films, he is part of the lovely “Horror Dadz Productions” that really work hard to keep this genre alive. You can follow him on IG: here

**📌**FILM INFORMATION:
- Watch the Trailer: here
- Stream on Found: here
- Stream on YouTube: here
- Stream on Prime: here
- Stream on Tubi: here
- You can also rent on AppleTV & Google
- IMDb: here

**⚠**️DISCLAIMER:
Forty Days of Found Footage is little project is just a fun side venture I decided to do during Spooky Season this year so that your lineup can be stacked with all of the new releases that are coming and already out, along with these I am sharing— hopefully a few 'new to you', or maybe one you forgot about and want to rewatch. I am deliberately not sharing the "best of the best" and the most popular films, as they are mentioned enough. I decided to share films that I have enjoyed and that are not mentioned often or maybe at all. A lot of films will be very independent and/or sometimes amateur, thus I'm asking to please manage expectations.
🚨If you want more information about what I am doing, please click here to read the “Master” post I made🚨

If y'all wanna show your support by subbing to our little indie filmmaker crew channel and eagerly await the full movie release, I ain't stopping you lol.

And feel free to ask sruff in the comments! I'd be more than happy to answer.

Per imdb: A group of amateur paranormal investigators enter an abandoned insane asylum to discover if the stories they have heard are actually true.

It takes place in Mexico and is a hidden gem.