Man Finds Tape

by Mike McGranaghan

Man Finds Tape is a tantalizing combination of the found footage and mockumentary formats. Lynn Page (Kelsey Pribilski) is making a documentary film about the strange goings-on in the small town of Larkin, Texas. Her brother Lucas (William Magnuson) achieved a measure of fame through a viral web series suggesting the town’s locals were involuntarily placed under some kind of spell. The movie weaves their two formats into one, with Lynn utilizing many of Lucas’s videos as she searches for answers.

The primary symptom is that people suddenly go into a trance. Well, not all people. Just those affiliated with local preacher Endicott Carr (John Ghoulson). By interviewing affected citizens, Lynn comes to believe that Carr is somehow behind the mystery. Then an unknown “Stranger” (Brian Villalobos) shows up, spinning the case in a harrowing new direction.

I’ve deliberately left out anything that might specifically indicate where Man Finds Tape is heading. Filmmakers Paul Gandersman and Peter S. Hall have devised a twisty, increasingly eerie tale that puts fresh spins on familiar horror elements. What most stands out is that they earn chills by taking an intelligent, thoughtful approach to the story’s ideas. Loading up a movie with shock beats is easy; grounding those beats in something that engages your brain is much harder, but it’s precisely what happens here.

Everything is staged with authenticity, making it easy to buy into the plot. Lucas’s found footage, especially a nightmarish incident in one of Larkin’s main intersections, maintains enough reality to avoid the cheesiness that has marred many other found footage pictures. Lynn’s documentary scenes feel similarly real, thanks to a cast of actors who are good at recreating the impromptu speech of someone being interviewed. Mixing the formats successfully proves that Gandersman and Hall understand the strong points of both – and take care to avoid the weak points.

Special recognition deserves to go to Ghoulson, who deftly avoids all the over-the-top cliches of horror movie preachers. Carr isn’t your typical fire-and-brimstone religious zealot, screaming and carrying on like a lunatic. Instead, he’s menacing in quiet moments, where the intensity of his beliefs comes through in his eyes and vocal tone. It’s a really terrific performance that helps the movie’s overall impact.

Man Finds Tape also has a few scenes guaranteed to get viewers squirming and possibly even watching through their fingers. The film delivers what horror fans come for, wrapped up in an inventive new package. Here’s yet another example of how the indie horror scene is currently thriving.

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