Film Review: 'Man Finds Tape'

Fake documentary films are having a moment right now, or maybe they've been having a moment for a while. There's something about fiction told in a convincingly documentarian style that just clicks in our present moment. At a time when it feels harder than ever to know what to believe sometimes, films that play with that anxiety, when done right, hit you right in the gut.

And Man Finds Tape did indeed hit me in the gut. I've seen Peter Hall and Paul Gandersman's faux documentary/found footage hybrid twice now, and each time it's given me something more. What begins as a very entertaining package exploring viral videos and the impact their spread has on communities soon transforms into something more, a meditation on faith and trust and perception that's one of my favorite horror films of the year.

The man of the title is Lucas Page (William Magnuson), a YouTuber in the small town of Larkin, Texas who gains viral fame when he starts a series of videos simply known as the "Man Finds Tape" series. The series is so named because it started, quite simply, with Lucas finding a tape in his parents' old barn, a tape with dark connections to Lucas's own past that may point the finger at the local preacher, Reverend Carr (John Gholson).

Then again, maybe not. According to Lucas's documentarian sister Lynn (Kelsey Pribilski), her brother's done stuff like this before, chasing viral fame through videos that blur the line between fiction and reality. Now, Lucas's videos are sending shockwaves through Larkin, but how much of what he's uncovered might actually be real? It's up to Lynn to find out.

Man Finds Tape unfolds as Lynn's search for the truth inside the ever-widening conspiracy web Lucas is weaving with his videos. Along the way, the film touches on the Page siblings' whole lives, from the early death of their parents to the rift Lucas's antics opened in their relationship. At its core, when all the horror trappings are peeled away, this is a film about a brother and a sister who are trying, bad as they might be at it at first, to understand each other. It's a rock-solid emotional base on which to build the film, and Magnuson and Pribilski paint it all in subtle shades, lending tremendous verisimilitude to the film.

But as much as this is the story of Lucas and Lynn, it's also a story about a small town tormented by a mystery, and Man Finds Tape's verisimilitude extends into its portrayal of Larkin. One of the great anxieties of our time is the way something like a viral video, or a documentary, or even a simple rumor moving at the speed of the internet can ravage a small town, change its shape, darken its streets. It doesn't even matter if it's true or not. If you're from a small town like Larkin, you've seen it happen, and Man Finds Tape drills down into that phenomenon with astonishing clarity.

Which brings us back to the faux documentary/found footage format that drives Man Finds Tape as a narrative, and the way Gandersman and Hall wield that format to their advantage. We grow up learning to believe in what we can see with our own eyes, but what happens when those eyes deceive us? And worse, what happens when someone finds a way to manipulate the very senses we use to perceive things, turning our own bodies against us in crucial moments? It's these questions which lend an air of the comics to Man Finds Tape, and make it one of those films that seems to grow fuller and clearer the more you watch it. I've seen it twice and been rewarded with new understanding both times, so I can't wait to find out what happens on viewing number three. If you're looking for dynamic, inventive, can't-miss indie horror, you should be looking right here.

Man Finds Tape is now available to rent or own on demand.