Some horror fans are into some strange films. Movies like The Bunny Game, which I thought was one of the biggest pieces of garbage I’ve ever sat through in my life has a cult following, apparently. A movie that I’ve never seen, which also gets tons of love is entitled Dog Dick… yeah, you read that right. A little while back, I started noticing rumblings of another indie horror flick that was quickly selling out of stock. Because of the demand, fans started selling their copies on sites like eBay or in private auctions and fetching dollar amounts in the hundreds. Really…? An indie movie that just came out, causing this much of a fuss? I would be lying if I said my curiosity wasn’t growing. It’s a good thing I waited because after a while, an official US distribution deal was made, when XLrator Media got in on the action. Scott Schirmer’s instant cult “classic” was now more accessible and while I did think it was a decent film, I am still kind of shocked at how well received Found has been.
Marty is a 12-year old boy who gets picked on and bullied in school on a daily basis. He loves horror movies and creating graphic novels with his one and only friend, David. Marty has discovered that his older brother, Steve, has a really dark secret — he kills people and keeps their heads in his closet…
Based off of a novel written by T. Rigney, Found is a pretty intense look at what it’s like to be living so close to a serial killer. It’s amazing how well a twelve-year-old child is able to handle knowing his brother’s secret, as I’m sure I’d fall to pieces if I ever discovered anything even remotely as disturbing as this. Mom hides love letters from an old fling, Dad has porno magazines, and Steve… well, Steve has severed heads in a bowling ball bag in his closet! What!? Really!?
Found is meant to be shocking, creative, and artsy and it does all of those things quite well. While I enjoyed the massive amounts of gore (mainly from the movies inside the movie, Headless and Deep Dwellers) and loved the use of practical effects, something was still lacking here. I’m going to assume that if the acting was a little better, I would have enjoyed this film way more than I actually did. Gavin Brown being so young and being able to pull off his role as Marty is certainly impressive. This script for this film is very raw and the subject matter extreme, so I give him kudos for being able to pull it off as well as he did. It’s the rest of the cast that I had problems with. Steve, played by Ethan Philbeck, was definitely a creepy killer type of performer, but I was really only impressed by his last few scenes. Everything else before that was pretty mediocre and almost seemed like a joke. “I said hi…” Watch that first scene that features Steve in it and tell me it doesn’t make you chuckle a little. Sadly, the rest of the cast was nothing special and it made Found feel like every other indie horror flick.
I feel as though there is a fine line between being artistic and just being gratuitous and Scott Schirmer was riding that line the entire time. I like messed up horror films as much as the next guy, but there has to be some sort of rhyme or reason for it, right? Like I already stated, I loved all of the gore this film had to offer and I think the final scene before the closing credits is one of the sickest things I’ve ever seen — It was awesome and made a lasting impression for sure. I do think, however, that some of the stuff shown in the movie within the movie, Headless, was unnecessary and over-the-top for no reason. I don’t want to sound like a snobby horror fan, but I really feel think certain filmmakers throw in super gory stuff just to try to up the shock value, not really adding anything to the story.
If you’re a supporter of independent horror, Found is definitely a film I’d recommend. It offers some things you’ve never seen before and you may enjoy more than I did. The film will be available on DVD on September 23rd, so if you are interested in purchasing a copy, be sure to visit XLrator Media’s official website.
I give Found 3 severed heads out of 5.
