From Discovery to Discomfort in the Mountains

Read Time:4 Minute, 41 Second

MOVIE REVIEW
Tribe
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Genre: Horror, Found Footage, Psychological, Supernatural
Year Released: 2025
Runtime: 1h 20m
Director(s): Dan Asma
Writer(s): Dan Asma
Cast: Ray Buffer, Justina Biosah, Tyona Bowman, Keaton Asma, Nicole Jones
Where to Watch: showing at Grimmfest 2025

RAVING REVIEW: This film aims to blend found footage, on-screen storytelling, and a documentary-like curiosity into one unsettling journey. From the very start, it’s clear there’s an emotional spark behind the camera — a genuine desire to build a story with layers of mystery, isolation, and creeping dread. The early sections manage to pull the viewer in, offering a premise that feels both personal and expansive: a central figure embarks on a video-based project. It gradually becomes drawn into an investigation with unnerving implications.

One of the strongest aspects is the setup. The use of time-stamped footage, varied camera perspectives, and a plausible reason for filming helps the story feel rooted in its chosen format. The structure moves between personal logs, recovered recordings, and moments of more polished imagery, giving the sense of a layered record rather than a single, linear account. These choices make the first act compelling — the mystery feels tangible, and the fragmented visuals create the impression of piecing together something dangerous.

The location work is a major asset. Remote, rugged terrain becomes a character in itself, amplifying the sense of being cut off from safety or reason. The deeper the investigation goes, the more oppressive the environment feels, and the more the possibility of unseen forces comes into play. Even without over-explaining the threat, the film injects moments of tension that range from subtle unease to more visceral body horror. It’s in these moments — when restraint is balanced with disturbing imagery — that the project feels most assured.

However, the same stylistic choices that give the film personality also create problems. The frequent use of heavily edited sequences, even in material meant to appear raw or decades old, can break immersion. For viewers who prefer their found footage rough and unpolished, this approach may feel too staged. The blending of formats, while ambitious, sometimes works against the genre’s strengths by making certain moments feel more like a traditional narrative film than a discovered recording.

The middle section maintains intrigue, introducing unsettling hints about an isolated community and its strange practices. There’s a slow build toward a confrontation with the unknown, and the clues are layered in a way that suggests bigger revelations ahead. Unfortunately, when the final act arrives, it can’t quite live up to the promise of the earlier build-up. What could have been a shocking or deeply unsettling payoff instead feels comparatively muted — not without impact, but lacking the lasting punch the setup deserves.

Performance within the found footage framework is generally serviceable. The central figure carries most of the emotional weight, with reactions that are believable in the quieter moments but less convincing when the horror escalates. Supporting roles — some brief, some more involved — help flesh out the backstory and motivate the journey, though the film’s narrow focus means these characters rarely leave a lasting impression.

On the technical side, the project shows care in its practical effects and occasional use of digital enhancements. When handled subtly, these elements blend seamlessly into the captured footage, enhancing the atmosphere. At other times, the effects draw a bit too much attention to themselves, reminding the viewer that they’re watching a constructed narrative rather than something truly unearthed.

Perhaps the most notable takeaway is that this is a film made with clear passion for its concept. There’s a sincerity in the way it attempts to merge different horror subgenres — cult mystery, psychological tension, and cosmic horror — into one cohesive vision. That ambition is admirable, even if the execution doesn’t always land. The heart is there; it’s just that the final delivery doesn’t consistently match the promise of the ideas at play.

For casual horror fans open to experimentation, there’s enough here to warrant curiosity: the journey offers an atmosphere, discoveries, and moments of genuine discomfort, for purists of the found footage style, the polish and structural choices may be more challenging to accept. It’s an ambitious hybrid that reaches for something unique, and while it doesn’t fully nail it, the effort behind it is undeniable.

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