“Found Footage: The Making of the Patterson Project” is a bloody, hilarious love letter to the chaos and terror of making an indie film. It’s part “This Is Spinal Tap” and part “The Blair Witch Project,” and co-writer / director Max Tzannes keeps us 100% in on the joke. What could’ve easily been an overdone parody turns out to be a sharp, self-aware mockumentary that’s both funny and surprisingly spooky.
The setup is fun but simple: a French documentary crew follows a wannabe auteur who’s dead set on creating the greatest Bigfoot found footage horror film ever made. This is a director with big dreams, but also one with almost no money, a barely functional crew, and way too much ambition.
The characters are written from a place of experience, each one a loving skewering of film industry stereotypes, from the overly serious “visionary” director to the increasingly exasperated sound guy who just wants to go home. The writing is packed with wit, authenticity, and gags that will land hard for anyone who’s ever been to a film festival, worked on a low-budget shoot, or just loves behind-the-scenes chaos.
What really works here is how well Tzannes blurs the line between parody and actual horror. As things start going wrong behind the scenes (with equipment mysteriously vanishing, unexplainable noises in the woods, and the fear that there may be a real cryptid lurking nearby), the laughs take on a darker edge. By the end, you’re not sure whether you’re watching a comedy about a horror movie or an actual horror movie about the nightmare of making movies.
If you’ve ever made a film, wanted to make a film, or just love watching people spiral into madness trying to make one, “Found Footage: The Making of the Patterson Project” is for you. It’s clever, creepy, and just meta enough to work without feeling smug. This one could very well be a cult classic in the making.
By: Louisa Moore
Screen Zealots 