Distort review
One of the most found footagy movies to have ever been found.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Distort
Directed by Richard Waters
Written by Richard Waters
Starring James Devlin
Distort Review
Reviewing found footage movies can feel like you’re talking to a wall. Don’t take offense to that…I don’t know if you’re the wall in this story when I say that. It is, however, undeniable that a large section of horror viewers won’t be lining up to hear someone talk about found footage movies. They’re even less likely to seek out one for viewing. It’s completely understandable. Even though many films have made great use of the format…the subgenre is never going to overcome its “shaky camera shoots things out of focus in the woods” allegations.
When I tell you that Distort is a found footage movie…you’ve likely already decided if that’s enough for you to stop reading. Wait until I tell you that Distort is, in some ways, the most found footagy movie that has ever been found. It is, quite literally, 76 minutes of a man running around a forest shakily shooting footage that is largely out of focus. Outside of the customary talking head moments…there isn’t a second style choice here. There is, however, a clever narrative concept at play. If you’re one of the people who kept reading beyond the first paragraph…you might even enjoy it.
James (James Devlin) heads into the woods to record an album. Distort is set in Ireland. It takes place in October 2020, in the midst of the pandemic. James wants to get away from the world as much as he’s looking for inspiration among the tall trees. This is where I like to remind horror movie characters to stay out of the woods. No matter the film technique you choose…nothing good ever happens in the woods. We hear James play some music and walk around the forest…hardly groundbreaking stuff. It’s a one man show, and Devlin does a fine job keeping things as engaging as watching a man walk around the woods with a camera can be.
But Distorted has more going for it than what it shows on the surface. Just sending a man out into the woods isn’t a plot, after all. This isn’t the first found footage movie to explore an urban legend of its own creation…The Blair Witch Project basically perfected the concept over 25 years ago. Distorted unveils its version in a new and interesting way, however. James begins to find audio cassettes hidden throughout the woods. On them, a woman (Charlotte Hall) who seems to have gotten lost in the forest narrates her experience. She set out to investigate an urban legend surrounding a weeping man and his barking dog. Two animals defined by the distinct sounds they are making. Soon…James begins to hear the sounds.
As we’ve seen in a recently successful found footage film, The Outwaters, sound is an incredibly effective way to make these types of movies work. While Distort can’t replicate that movie’s uniformly excellent sound design, hearing a weeping man and a barking dog cut through the silence of night works really well.
James decides to stay in the woods and get to the bottom of this strange phenomenon. Which, honestly, feels a bit refreshing. Most “horror in the woods” stories settle on getting their characters lost. Distort allows James to have agency over his choice…even if it’s one no one in their right mind would make. One night of hearing crying and barking noises would be enough for me.
And…that’s basically Distorted. There’s no second trick. There isn’t even all that satisfying a conclusion. It’s certainly the stereotype of the shaky out of focus film techniques that turn so many people off. The kind of low budget filmmaking where a couple/few people head into the woods and just start rolling. There’s always a charm in that…at least in my view. Do-it-yourself horror movies usually end up in the woods…often in the found footage style. Distorted doesn’t reinvent that wheel. In fact, it doubles down on it. It’s every fear of people who hate the format realized. There’s a kind of charm to that too.
Scare Value
If you’re a horror fan who can’t stand found footage movies…nothing I have to say about Distort is going to change that opinion. In many ways…Distort is the most found footagy movie that has ever been found. Shaky camera shooting out of focus images in the woods. It has everything that people who don’t like the subgenre hate. It does have some interesting ideas in how it creates its own urban legend and disperses that information…but you already know how you feel about watching it. I liked it. I also understand why some wouldn’t.
2.5/5
Distort Links
Streaming on Plex
Rent/Buy on VOD from Amazon
