When Making a Movie Becomes the Scary Part

Read Time:6 Minute, 3 Second

MOVIE REVIEW
Found Footage: The Making of the Patterson Project
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Genre: Comedy, Horror
Year Released: 2025
Runtime: 1h 29m
Director(s): Max Tzannes
Writer(s): Max Tzannes, David San Miguel
Cast: Brennan Keel Cook, Dean Cameron, Erika Vetter, Chen Tang, Rachel Alig, Chelsea Gilson, Suzanne Ford, Mindy Montavon, Corey Landis, Dan Jablons, Marie Paquim
Where to Watch: in select theaters June 20, 2025, and on demand June 24

RAVING REVIEW: There’s something satisfying about watching a horror mockumentary in which the chaos of filmmaking becomes the real monster. That’s the strange charm of FOUND FOOTAGE: THE MAKING OF THE PATTERSON PROJECT. This movie captures the desperation and absurdity of trying to complete a passion project with minimal resources and then flips that setup into a nightmare. What begins as a playful behind-the-scenes chronicle gradually transforms into a much darker experience, blurring the line between production issues and something genuinely dangerous.

The story centers on a passionate first-time director determined to make his breakout feature—something raw, gripping, and captured entirely as found footage. The premise within the movie is simple enough: a horror film about Bigfoot. But what elevates the concept is the presence of a French documentary crew, who arrive to follow the shoot's progress. As things unfold, their documentary morphs from a curious observation into a record of unraveling sanity, strange events, and a production that seems increasingly haunted, whether by budget constraints, creative burnout, or something unexpected.

One of the most intriguing choices is how the story layers its perspective. It’s not just a film about a film; it’s a documentary of a documentary crew embedded in a fictional production that slowly becomes all too real. That recursive setup brings a unique energy, allowing the project to function both as satire and as a legitimate descent into horror. Unlike mockumentaries that wink at the audience every chance they get, this one commits to its format, allowing the narrative to unfold through tension instead of relying on constant meta-commentary.

Visually, the film leans into its format with purpose. It begins with interviews that mirror the initial order and control that the crew thinks they have. But as the situation spirals, so does the camerawork. Grainy images, shaky framing, and abrupt cuts dominate, reflecting fear and a loss of clarity and stability within the group. It’s a smart way to evolve the visual storytelling in sync with the emotional collapse on screen. However, there are moments where it might have benefited from restraint—letting a shot linger just a little longer, holding a frame in silence before the panic resumes. Those moments of stillness can be just as unsettling as the chaos.

The ensemble cast walks a line, balancing the absurdity of their situation with the realization that their low-budget horror project may have inadvertently summoned something more than stress and confusion. Brennan Keel Cook brings a grounded urgency to the struggling director, while Chen Tang, Erika Vetter, and Dean Cameron round out a cast that feels comfortably disorganized—a believable collection of misfits who seem like they’ve endured several failed projects together already. That rapport goes a long way in establishing a believable dynamic, but the film occasionally leans too hard on broad character types. The overworked assistant, the eccentric director, the skeptical crew member—these roles serve their purpose, but could’ve used more depth or unexpected vulnerability to make their journey resonate more fully once things start falling apart.

What helps keep the story compelling is its attention to dialogue. Conversations about equipment failure, last-minute script changes, and team arguments over nothing in particular feel like they were pulled from behind-the-scenes footage. That realism helps ground the film and gives it a strong foundation for future outlandish turns. When something inexplicable happens, it lands harder because it breaks the rhythm of mundane exchanges. A sudden noise off-camera or a recording that doesn’t match anyone’s memory becomes genuinely unsettling when set against the drudgery of a production day.

The humor throughout the movie mostly lands, though not always at the right times. A few jokes arrive just when the tension builds, cutting through the atmosphere instead of enhancing it. A better tonal balance would have gone a long way—there’s nothing wrong with mixing comedy and horror, but timing is everything. Letting the humor taper off as the horror rises could have sharpened the film’s more disturbing elements and kept the audience immersed in the dread rather than jostled out of it.

That said, one of the film’s best qualities is how it leans into the unpredictable nature of indie filmmaking. When short on money, time, and help, even the smallest problem can feel catastrophic. FOUND FOOTAGE: THE MAKING OF THE PATTERSON PROJECT captures that sense of mounting pressure well, using it as a springboard to explore deeper themes about control and the illusion of safety. The longer the production goes on, the more it becomes clear that no one’s steering the ship anymore—not the director, not the producers, and maybe not even the people holding the cameras.

The film finds a clever angle on a subgenre that often feels recycled. It builds on a familiar framework but finds its own identity. There’s plenty to appreciate in how it handles tone, character dynamics, and structure breakdown, both in the production and the storytelling. While it doesn’t completely avoid pitfalls like uneven character depth or moments of tonal misfire, it’s still an engaging experience with a concept that mostly holds together.

For anyone who enjoys seeing horror stitched into the framework of messy creativity, where ambition constantly clashes with limitations, this project captures that energy well. It’s not perfect, but it has a clear point of view—and sometimes, in the world of found footage, that’s enough to pull you into the dark with it.

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