Director: Anthony Cousins
Year: 2024
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Creature Feature
Plot:
Desperate to uncover a burning mystery, an aspiring filmmaker returns to his hometown with his sister and friend to find proof of the existence of a legendary creature rumored to haunt the outskirts of the area, but when they find there’s more going on in the swamp tries to get away alive.
Review:
This was a rather enjoyable found-footage creature feature. Among the main factors to be featured here is the rather fun setup that provides the impetus for the guy to go back and try to capture proof of the creature’s existence. The initial video that was taken back when he was a kid showed the potential sighting of the fabled beast and the resulting folklore established about its presence in the community since the footage is a fine way to show off the lackluster world he’s been thrust into since. With the failing prospects everywhere around him and finding himself on his last legs to make something of himself using the fame from the footage to try to find it, this sets up the desire to go back out with his crew and get the conclusive proof he can to find it.
That allows for the fun to be had when they arrive at a particular point in the woods where the creature is set to be hiding. These scenes provide far more intriguing and impactful sequences where the folklore established earlier plays off incredibly well, with the eerie sounds in the distance, physical secretions being left behind, or the one team member arriving at a spot in the woods seemingly possessed or under its influence simply like the stories relayed to them. That sets up the big final half where the revelation is given not only about its presence in a genuinely terrifying ambush sequence perfectly playing up its found-footage origins but also a nice reveal about the origins and connection it has to the locals which are quite shocking leading to a fine series of scenes that end this on a high note for quite a lot to like about it.
There are some factors here that hold it down. One of the main issues is the rather sluggish first half which manages to include some unnecessary elements here that don’t need to be included in a film in this particular style. Working at this already abbreviated running time, the exaggerated recruitment scenes show how he grabs the cameraman and his sister into the trip, much less the scenes of the group goofing around at the clothing store or reminiscing in the car along the way. Thankfully, none of these are too long individually and don’t impact this one too much, but the fact that it all comes together to keep the group from getting into the woods to find the fabled creature until later in the running time is the main issue. As well, there are also some expected issues involving the found-footage format as well as the low budget on display, these few factors are what hold this one down.
Overview: ***.5/5
A genuinely effective found-footage creature feature, there’s a lot to like with this one which manages to provide a great base to string a great series of elements that make this enjoyable overall. Those who are fans of the style, are fans of indie creature features, or are hardcore found-footage fanatics will have the most to like here while only those who are turned off by those features should heed caution.
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