From the infamous Dear David Twitter thread to Gr3gory88 and The Sun Vanished, the internet is hooked on following ‘real-life' hauntings and unusual phenomena, solving the mystery at their heart. Whether we truly believe in the supernatural or not, the thrill of these hyper-realistic ghost tales lies in immersing viewers as they unfold, heightening the terror. But as they thrill, the lines between fact and reality blur, and we often lose sight of the real person at the centre of the haunting, whose life is affected not only by the events they experience, but the constant surveillance online. It's a viral experience explored in the unique and skin-crawlingly eerie Man Finds Tape, which had its world premiere at this year's Tribeca Film Festival.
Directed by Peter Hall and Paul Gandersman, Man Finds Tape is a found footage flick told from the perspective of documentarian Lynn Page (Kelsey Pribilski), who has compiled interviews, archival footage, and more to tell the story of ‘The Larkin Incident.' Lynn is the sister of Lucas Page (William Magnuson), an internet personality propelled to fame after his Man Finds Tape channel went viral, in which he documents his investigation of a mysterious tape he found in his deceased parents' barn. When Lynn receives a cryptic call from Lucas urging her to watch a tape and record what she sees, she returns to her small Texas hometown to investigate the haunting footage that no one seems to remember taking.
Man Finds Tape is the perfect example of stripping horror films back to basics and highlighting that all you need to really chill viewers to their bones is a great story. The central premise of the narrative is horrifying at face value – how can you investigate sinister events surrounding you if you can't remember exactly what is happening? And as a documentarian, how do you tell the story of The Larkin Incident if you cannot rely on the recollection of anyone involved? Man Finds Tape twists and turns more than you could possibly imagine, never allowing the audience to form a theory as to what is happening before blowing it up.
A palpable sense of dread permeates every scene of the film, from the terrified reactions of Lucas and his descent into madness while sharing his experiences with the world, to the grainy and grimy footage captured by Lucas and on CCTV around Larkin. A feeling that something isn't right and you must stay on alert will likely settle in your stomach from the first few scenes right upto the explosive and downright bonkers final act. Man Finds Tape begins as one film, a documentary that would not be out of place on Netflix, before a sharp right turn transforms it into something else entirely. The word unique is thrown around all too often in the world of film, but Man Finds Tape is truly distinctive among the boom of found footage and screenlife films we have experienced in the last 10 years.
The mockumentary medium immediately immerses the audience in the tale, and thus makes the scares so much more effective as it's easy to suspend your disbelief when faced with the familiar lens of a Zoom call, a YouTube video, and a vlog captured by a smiling content creator. But what really drives the impact of Man Finds Tape is its central performances, notably from William Magnuson, who is captivating and unsettling as Lucas, and Kelsey Pribilski as Lynn, whose tension with her brother is constantly at odds with her journalistic hunger.
An intriguing mystery wrapped in chilling scares that will fester in your brain long after the credits roll, Man Finds Tape is a nightmarish found footage film blending a relatably horrifying scenario with familiar cinematic and storytelling tropes that reel the audience in to take them on an investigation like no other.
Man Finds Tape had its world premiere at Tribeca Film Festival on 8 June
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