Man Finds Tape

"Man Finds Tape" is a smart, slow-burning directorial debut that delivers layered, imaginative horror with strong performances and compelling mysteries. Written and directed by Paul Gandersman and Peter S. Hall, is a fascinating blend of filmmaking. It’s part found footage, part faux documentary, creating both an intimacy and distance from the story. The film follows siblings Lynn (Kelsey Pribilski) and Lucas Page (William Magnuson) as they investigate strange things happening in their small Texas hometown. The film’s most interesting idea is found in its opening half hour, detailing the phenomenon of the titular creepypasta-style YouTube series that kicks off the strange occurrences throughout the town. Lucas goes viral online after publishing a video in which he finds an old tape showing someone entering his room as a child, and the subsequent video series follows him as he hunts for the truth behind it becomes nothing short of a sensation. He soon reaches out to his sister for help, and she returns home from the city to assist him as more things are uncovered. The video series, "Man Finds Tape," perfectly encapsulates performance art that has been developing over the past decade. Is what’s happening to Lucas real? Or is it all crafted well enough to seem real? Does it ultimately matter if it’s entertaining? What is the creator’s responsibility to keep the act going or eventually debunk their own theories? All of these questions are explored in the first act of the film and set up a compelling mystery to dig into as the movie progresses. John Gholson’s performance as Reverend Endicott Carr, the town’s local prominent preacher, is by far the standout. He’s introduced early on through a video of his regional public access prayer show, and he elevates every scene he’s in. He’s able to portray a feeling of earnestness that a lot of pastoral characters lack in other films, but also gives off the feeling that he’s hiding something, the more you get to know him. The film’s editing and style really pop off the screen, mixing handheld, first-person camera work with distant one-angled shots from security cameras or stationary cameras. The technical work behind the editing and cinematography helps evoke a unique emotional response from the viewer, both bringing them in and keeping them at arm’s length. Some things are hard to see, while others are unmistakable as you continue to put the pieces of the story together. While the first act is thrilling and sets the stage for a solid conclusion, the film loses steam towards the end as it has to halt any momentum to provide exposition for what’s going on. A character enters the fray in the second half that seemingly is only there to make sure the audience knows exactly why these things are happening and how to stop them. It’s particularly deflating as Lucas and Lynn worked well together as characters, and adding another person into the mix takes away from the chemistry between them. Man Finds Tape honestly goes the way of Lucas’s YouTube series: gripping at first, but it falls apart as you delve deeper into the story. Gandersman and Hall certainly have the style and talent from behind the camera; that much is clear. They put themselves in a conundrum by forcing this film to contain a mystery that necessitates solving, and the script gets bogged down by the explanations in its latter half. Overall, "Man Finds Tape" is still a really compelling piece of filmmaking at a technical level and contains a really cool concept at the center of the story. John Gholson’s shining performance and solid turns from Pribilski and Magnuson make this horror mystery worth the watch.

Energetic, creepy, technically remarkable and with something to say about the pernicious effect of social media, the only really bad thing you can say about Man Finds Tape is that it’s not particularly scary – unsettling, maybe. Scary, no.