The blending of horror and comedy is no easy task. Many films have tried the hybrid approach, and there have been exceptional entries such as An American Werewolf in London, Evil Dead 2, and Shaun of the Dead. There have also been many duds who have tried the same approach, polluting the landscape. 

 

Found Footage, a new film by production company Dirty Shot Clean and recent scary flick heavyweights Radio Silence is the latest film to splash into the mix. While this film is not going to rocket to the top of best horror/comedy movie lists, it carries enough passion, heart, and even laughs to merit consideration to join the club.

 

The plot is as hokey as it can get. Chase (Brennan Keel Cook) is an aspiring auteur pining to explore the Bigfoot mystery in his feature debut. Surrounded by his girlfriend, best friend, and financial backer, Chase is singularly focused and driven to craft a documentary-style horror film and assembles a crew and cast in, you guessed it, a cabin in the woods to make his big picture. 

 

Naturally, this cabin, a timeshare owned by the parents of Chase’s girlfriend and first assistant director Natalie (Erika Vetter), has an ominous altar in the basement. The crew innocently disturbs this altar to unlock the evil contained within. This mishap causes accidents and spoiled food to befall the cast and crew. Gradually, the evil presence begins consuming the cast as they rush to finish production and maintain their professional and personal relationships. 

 

What that summary is not illuminating is how funny Found Footage is. The filmmakers loaded this film with plenty of horror movie accoutrements, such as sound effects, gore, and creepiness. All of which is boring, outdated, and completely on purpose. What sells Found Footage is a precise computation of meta-awareness as a mockumentary eating itself because of its savory taste. 

 

There are running gags about an investor meeting Alan Rickman as an incentive to pour money into the film and the bimbo casting agent telling the filmmakers she landed them Daniel Radcliffe for their film, leaving out the small detail and pronunciation nuance of Danielle Radcliffe, prompting their surprised dropped jaws when a woman joins the cast instead of Harry Potter. The subtle two-hander bits with the crew chewing over using a Bigfoot suit as is (the stunt guy was shot while wearing it by a hopeful hunter) or using a motion-capture suit feel like lost Monty Python bits. 

 

What is surprising about this film is that it doesn’t punch above its weight class and instead stands tall over its peers. Other horror-comedy hybrid films do not work because there is an uneasy tension on screen as the movie tries to placate the audience. Found Footage knows exactly what it’s doing and stays in the pocket the entire time. 

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I don’t recommend this film because it’s the funniest film or the scariest film or funniest scariest film. The plot of this movie is so washed up it makes eyes roll. Found Footage is not about the plot, it’s about energy and vibes. From the opening shot of Chase proselytizing to the camera to the eerie final scene, Found Footage wants you to enjoy yourself. This film is a campy, fun time headed on a long runway toward the cult classic pantheon.