Midlands Movies finds footage down at Derby Quad for POV
Continuing the cinema’s excellent reputation for themed events – such as Paracinema and the folk horror day Darkness in the Fields – the Derby Quad put together a programme of local and international found footage films.
It kicked off with the shorts Exhibit B and Royston Vale Road, with Q&As with directors David Gregory and Chris Annable. The first film of the day was Beyond the Witching Hour, John Williams terrifying ghost hunting film (reviewed in full here). This was paired with the short film Arrival (Dir: Rob Ullitski), said to be the start of a multi-format franchise based around the fictional village of Egglemore. Think a Midlands-based Welcome to Night Vale.
At a brisk five minutes, it does a good job of building some lore around the locale, with ‘visitors’ being integrated into the population. It’s a popular concept at the moment, both in films and in video games, and while Arrival doesn’t add anything new to the mythos, it does create an unsettling visual representation of these uncanny valley monsters – one that owes as much to 28 Days Later. It’s an exciting start to a new world; one that fans of the ‘visitor’ sub-genre should keep an eye on. 3/5
Hi! You Are Currently Being Recorded (Dir: Kyle Garrett Greenberg and Anna Maguire)/ In Our Blood (Dir: Pedro Kos)
The US short, Hi! You Are Currently Being Recorded suffered from being a little dated. The idea of constant surveillance was nothing new a decade ago, so in a film made in 2024, it feels less like a dystopian nightmare and more like a day-to-day annoyance.
Co-director Anna Maguire steps in front of the camera to play a woman lost in a Los Angeles suburb; caught in the constant gaze of the various video doorbells and security cameras. A wrinkle of intrigue is added by the fact that the character is stoned, posing the question of whether she’s paranoid from the drugs, or justly paranoid due to the surveillance. Unfortunately, at just 8min in length, it doesn’t have enough time to build on that. 2/5
It was paired with the feature In Our Blood, a real slow burn film that follows Emily Wyland (Brittany O’Grady), a filmmaker who heads out with cameraman Danny (E. J. Bonilla) to document a reunion with her mother (Alanna Ubach). This is no family drama; after Emily’s mother goes missing it becomes a mystery that builds to a twist about the two-thirds mark which is subtly hinted at throughout. The performances are excellent throughout, especially Bonilla, who adds real depth to what, in lesser hands, would have been some light relief or expendable. It’s also conscious about integrating its more fantastical elements into the real world, tackling the hardships of immigrants in the United States, as well as racial profiling and the way in which people of colour are seemingly pushed towards drug addiction and violence.
In fact, the film excels at this social commentary, leaving the late-stage horror aspects feeling unimportant, and the final stinger falls completely flat, undoing a lot of what the previous 90min had built up. Horror can be an excellent medium for discussing real-world issues, but Pedro Kos, working with writers Steven Klein, Aaron Kogan, Clay Tweel and Mallory Westfall, doesn’t give the final twists enough time to make those connections.
3/5
Beholder (Dir: Evan Churchill and Thomas Pardo)/It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This (Dir: Rachel Kempf and Nick Toti)
We got two winners from the Unnamed Footage Festival next, starting with the analogue horror short, Beholder. Starring the directors, it is a montage of heavily distorted video tape, showcasing shadow men and other dimensions that gradually drive the characters to madness and murder. Purposefully obtuse, it never spoon feeds the audience, switching timelines and assaulting the viewer with sudden bursts of static. It’s well done, and some of the visuals are truly unsettling, but your mileage will vary drastically. Those who have embraced the ARG community will relish the chance to dive in and piece the background clues together, where others will dismiss it outright. It’s sure to provoke conversation amongst those who get the chance to see it. 3/5
The same is true for It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This; a film you’ll have few chances to see as the creators have promised to never release it on streaming platforms or physical media. The cinema screen is the only place to see it, and it demands your attention. The basic set-up of two horror fanatic filmmakers buying a haunted duplex becomes a meditation on obsession, as the bizarre happenings both in and out of the house start to affect them. From people staring at the house, to an altar – complete with burning candle – in the attic, the film takes tropes and puts two very real characters in the centre of it.
It doesn’t use jump scares, instead our dread builds with the characters, as does our complicated feelings towards them – especially after one sequence which highlights a darker, more malicious side to them. It also showcases the utterly terrifying effect that sound design can have in two key moments. It's a film that everyone should seek out, not just because of the unique way in which it is being distributed, but in the way it will provoke genuine conversation between those who see it. Had it made its way to streaming, this could have been the new Skinamarink, splitting the audience in two. Instead, it will be a very exclusive group that get to whisper about this strange, unsettling film. 4/5
The Tunnel (Dir: Brendan Cleaves)/REC (Jamie Balageuro and Paco Plaza)
The final short of the day was The Tunnel, directed by Brendan Cleaves and following a group of friends who find themselves trapped in a canal tunnel. The performances are excellent, considering the young cast, and there are some brilliant effects work as the group are picked off one by one.
It has one major issue though: our lead decides to film his friends because he knows that they have secrets that need to be brought to life – in his words it will add drama to his final project at film school. However, the reason they are trapped in the tunnel is because they have all lied. Having two plot threads that both rely on the same conceit overcomplicates it, whereas you could have reached the conclusion more naturally by having these secrets slip out due to the tunnel. 2/5
And to close, we have a found footage classic, REC. Bastardised in the American remake Quarantine, this was a brilliant reminder of how brutally efficient the storytelling is in the original. A news crew shadowing the fire department end up barricaded inside an apartment block as a virus runs havoc, turning the residents into bloodthirsty zombies.
It's bloody and still shocking in places, with the jump scares still having a great effect even when you know they are coming. After a full day of seeing the varying ways that found footage is being used to scare audiences in 2024, this was a great reminder of what a simple format it can be when used in a precise, brutal manner. 3.5/5
Matthew Tilt
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/tiltmatthew90/
