Found Footage: The Making of the Patterson Project review
The passion of independent filmmaking battles the forces of evil in Found Footage.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Found Footage: The Making of the Patterson Project
Directed by Max Tzannes
Written by David San Miguel and Max Tzannes
Starring Brennan Keel Cook, Chen Tang, Erika Vetter, Dean Cameron, Del Alan Murphy, Suzanne Ford and Rachel Alig
Found Footage: The Making of the Patterson Project Review
Like most people the movie that sits atop my personal list of favorites changes by the day. One of the most common movies to settle in the position is Tim Burton’s 1994 comedic masterpiece Ed Wood. I find every line in that movie funny. But that isn’t why it’s routinely regarded as my favorite. It’s the way in which the legendary maker of bad films moves from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm. It’s inspiring. Burton turns well-known failures into achievements worthy of celebrating. Because Burton understands something that the decades of jokes about Wood’s work don’t. Getting a movie made is akin to performing a miracle. Especially when you’re doing it yourself…outside of the studio system…with friends, family and similarly underqualified people. Found Footage: The Making of the Patterson Project doesn’t feel anything like Ed Wood. It isn’t trying to. But it understands miracles.
Found Footage: The Making of the Patterson Project may seem like a bit of clunky title…but it’s doing a lot of heavy lifting. It tells you everything you need to understand about the set-up right from the jump. The Patterson in this case is Roger Patterson. If that name isn’t familiar to you…he’s one of the guys who shot that famous footage allegedly of Bigfoot back in 1967. It’s called “The making of” because the movie we are watching is a mockumentary following the crew making the Bigfoot related, wait for it, found footage movie. It’s all in there. Wordy…but clever.
The cleverness doesn’t end at that mouthful of a film title. Found Footage: The Making of the Patterson Project is a consistently witty and engaging film. The underdogs hellbent on making a dream come true…even if Hell itself threatens to turn it into a nightmare. At least…eventually.
The specter of supernatural evil comes later. First, Found Footage establishes itself as an interesting documentation of director Chase Bradner (Brennan Keel Cook) and his pursuit of making his first feature film. Chase is a likable guy whose passion for the project wins over some intentionally placed shortcomings. He’s oblivious to the growing affection between his girlfriend Natalie (Erika Vetter) and best friend/frequent collaborator Mitchell (Chen Tang). Two people doing everything they can to help Chase make his movie…and feeling the vacuum created when doing so overtakes his entire life.
Found Footage: The Making of the Patterson Project keeps everything lighthearted in the early goings. Problems plague pre-production and bleed into production, of course. Misunderstandings over a first name threaten the start of production…the lead actor’s inability to hold a camera in a found footage movie threatens every shot. How did he make it through the audition process without being able to perform the most important task he had on the film? Well…he acted like he knew how to use a camera. How could they have known otherwise?
The crew sets out into the woods to make Chase’s passion project unaware that they may have unleashed a demon in the process. Found Footage was always going to have to end up twisting its narrative towards some kind of antagonist…but this one leans a bit too much on happenstance. Perhaps finding a real killer Bigfoot would have been too on the nose…but you can’t help but think it would have fit the story better. Instead, Chase ignores the strange phenomena occurring around him and powers through with his film. Even if it kills everyone along the way.
That’s actually a poor way to put it. The horror elements of Found Footage begin to happen partway through the production…but we aren’t losing characters throughout the story. It saves its horror segment for the end…largely, I believe, to allow The Making of the Patterson Project to focus on what matters most and works best. Chase’s drive to complete his film. Early in the movie we see Chase giving a welcome to production speech to his closest crew members. It’s the kind of speech that doesn’t inspire so much as let you know how the film’s dynamics are going to work. Chase is passionate beyond understanding what he’s talking about. The others are happy for him…believe in him, to a fault, and are going to go along with him despite not being as enraptured by the story.
There aren’t many better ways to describe the do-it-yourself ultra low budget filmmaking that Found Footage highlights than that. From casting misunderstandings and financial issues through personal betrayals and demon possession…Chase is going to finish his picture. Inspiring and misguided in equal measure. Another perfect commentary on setting out to perform this miracle in the first place.
Scare Value
Found Footage: The Making of the Patterson Project is an amiable affair. A light-hearted comedy about the joys and pitfalls of low-budget horror filmmaking eventually interrupted by actual horror. The passion of the work and commitment to finishing the film drives the narrative forward at a solid pace. I’m a sucker for stories about small productions powering through major inconveniences. Ed Wood and One Cut of the Dead are two of my favorite movies largely because they nail that concept. Found Footage: The Patterson Project is another good one.
3.5/5
