the inception of the thought that there is excellence, or at least intrigue, to come. The duplex where we spend most of the runtime comes with its own sense of terror. It is derelict and run-down, which doesn’t stop Rachel and Nick’s excitement as they explore the home to its deepest depths, uncovering unnerving polaroids, graffiti on the walls, and a dozen doors detached from their frames and strewn around unwittingly. A part of what makes this film unique and such a joy to watch is that our main protagonists are lovers of horror. They are obsessed with the paranormal and are experts in fright, so with each occultic twist they grow more intoxicated with thrill. This makes for a fascinating narrative journey that is in direct opposition with many pieces that fill the horror medium — they aren’t running away from evil, they are chasing it. It’s not all fun though. Many moments are genuinely skin crawling and anxiety inducing, a display of the right ways to do a found footage horror film. The strengths of this sub-genre lie in exploration of the unknown - much of the third act is a shaky camcorder exploring the dark crevices of the creepy home with a flashlight as the only source of light, or running through the ominously empty streets of Kirksville, Missouri - but where others would punctuate these moments with a jump scare, Toti and Kempf buck against the tropes they know all too well to underline these sequences with character and heart. This is at full display when build up leads to a three-minute seance in the attic of the haunted duplex that is done in complete silence over an abandoned altar. Three minutes of Rachel and Christian with closed eyes, their hands joined together over a flickering flame, the only source of illumination. Nick captures them silently with his camcorder that sways ever so lightly, something he’s done so many times over the years. It’s innocent, a group fascinated by the paranormal doing what comes naturally. This is an unwaveringly bold sequence crafted by artists who don’t wait for permission to break rules, who follow truth and dramatic potential rather than standard convention. The story comes to a halt in the third act when Nick takes a moment to reflect as he vomits in a ball on the floor. Through his retching he strings along a monologue, coming to the realization
that what they’re doing doesn’t feel good. None of it feels good. A hell that they brought upon themselves because of their morbid curiosity, their macabre desire, their selfish need as filmmakers to create a film based on their experience facing the supernatural head on and willingly. This is where both Toti and Kempf really shine as performers, in particular Kempf’s mania and obsessive transformation in pursuit of the truth of what lies inside of the home. The characters bring us along on their voyage and we watch as they make every wrong decision. A classic tale of hubris, they are Icarus — chasing a story they could put on film that flew them too close to a hellfire burning sun. This film does a lot for the evolution of the found footage film, and the real life-narrative entanglement makes for a jolting attack on the perception of the audience — we spend so much time in the story that we get lost in the question of where reality ends and where the story begins. Modern audiences have evolved with these aspects of storytelling and are privy not to be fooled as ones once were with The Blair Witch Project, but this proves that the concept isn’t a broken one. This is a good fllm, a great horror film, and an audience is out there waiting for it: to theorize, to break down every moment frame by frame, to argue over the ending (and it is a fantastic ending). But the filmmakers never plan to release this movie online. “Our intention is to never release it widely… so you should tell all your friends about it. Maybe we’ll create some buzz and they’ll be interested and they’ll watch,” Toti made clear. He goes on to state that as filmmakers, they are interested in doing things the “wrong way”. He hopes that many will still be given the opportunity to see it, but rather travel across the US and screen the film in person. It is an alternative way of doing things, yes, but by a pair of alternative filmmakers who are working in a historically alternative genre of filmmaking. So, this is me doing my part in this strange saga. Tell these filmmakers that their film wants to be seen so that it may rightfully live on in the pantheon of transformative horror.