Found footage films are finding their way back into vogue. It's impossible to forget the success of The Blair Witch Project, which shocked the world as it rode a wave of breakout popularity in limited release to huge box office returns. It suffered from shaky cam syndrome, made people sick and perhaps didn't have the tightest story in the world, but it was original as it made people believe that three students were lost in the woods and possibly killed or taken by a malevolent force that lives within.
Early 2008 will see two such found footage films. The first is Cloverfield, which has generated substantial buzz and interest off the strength of its early trailers and footage. The other, lesser known project is The Poughkeepsie Tapes, which is passing itself off as a real documentary at its official site and through trailers that are circulating.
The film will hope to appeal to the Saw set as it will be graphic, disturbing and sadistic. The premise begins when police discover 10 bodies buried in the backyard of a residential home. Once they begin investigating further, they find in the male resident's house more than 800 tapes that cover in graphic detail the crime spree he has been enacting for more than a decade. He films his murder victims from the moment he begins stalking them to their last moments on earth, and it's not pretty.
This movie sounds like it might appeal to gorno fans who are looking for something just a little bit different. The only question is how well it's marketed, which is no guarantee when you're looking at a studio like MGM. Viral marketing is likely to be key. (Kim Hollis/BOP)
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