‘Found Footage: The Making Of The Patterson Project’ Review – Mockumentary Delivers Something Frightening & Hilarious

Found horror is nothing new. Blair Witch Project and its subsequent success created a whole cottage industry within the genre. Found Footage: The Making of the Patterson Project taps into that storied legacy with its blend of humor and terror. Under the clever guise of a mockumentary about the making of a movie, the film straddles the line between comedy and horror. Much of it documents the outlandish shenanigans facing a band of misfits, allowing those resistant to horror to enjoy. However, when this film turns, it turns like a knife, leaving an unsettling mark. Gone are the memories of humor, leaving us with something that feels right at home alongside The Blair Witch Project.

Found Footage is a mockumentary horror movie about Chase (Brennan Keel Cook), a budding filmmaker who, along with his friends, attempts to make his first feature. Brashly, he tries to make a found footage movie about Bigfoot. A French documentary crew captures every moment of the film’s development and production. Chase struggles to keep the movie on schedule as the budget stretches like a rubber band. There is also a series of mysterious and sinister occurrences on and off the set. As the shoot days get longer and scarier, the filmmakers discover that they’ve stepped into a very real and very terrifying found footage film of their own.

One of the film’s secret weapons is the cast. Brennan Keel Cook leads this band of misfits trying to make a found footage film, and nothing goes right. Surrounded by his friends and financier, the movie takes on a meta-commentary about the hell that is making a movie. One of the early and recurring gags involves Betsy (Suzanne Ford) funding the film under the premise that Alan Rickman is the star. Believing Rickman is alive, the crew goes to tremendous lengths to placate Betsy’s delusional wish to meet Rickman.

Further, there is a comedy of errors involving the casting of Danielle, not Daniel Radcliffe, which puts the production in a bind as script pages are rewritten and locations are changed. However, these snafus and inconveniences are not the whole deal. An air of menace persists throughout the film as events on set go awry. Food is mysteriously spoiled. Strange noises are heard. One of the actors playing Bigfoot is accidentally shot while filming in the woods. All this could be chalked up to bad luck. The film plays much of this drama for laughs, but the creepy factor settles in once night falls.

Initially, the film gives the impression of embracing its mockumentary style, leaving much of the suspense and terror until the final act. Again, the witty band of characters driving the plot keeps the audience engaged. Once there is that turn, the film is less This is Spinal Tap and more indebted to The Blair Witch Project. We hear whispers of demonic pranksters, and possession runs rampant as the film falls more into familiar territory. The movie peels like an onion, leaving the audience to engage and guess the ultimate cause of the terror. 

Although this film embraces the horror tropes, it finds its most significant strength in the self-referential humor of making a movie. Director Max Tzannes infuses his anecdotes of creating an independent film. He notes how there is always a prevailing feeling that a chaos demon is terrorizing the set. This chaotic energy and a sense that anything could fall apart run rampant through Found Footage. In many ways, the film serves as a bright spotlight on indie filming: the good, the bad, and the wild.

Ultimately, Found Footage never shrinks from its embrace of films like This Is Spinal Tap and The Blair Witch Project. Uniquely, it finds a way to meld the two found footage experiences into one unique comedy-horror—a little something for everyone. There is no Bigfoot in this one, but there is a big problem when doors open and mysterious books arrive. It is witty throughout, giving the casual viewer enough to enjoy. It is a bloody romp by the end, giving genre fans something to relish.

Found Footage: The Making of the Patterson Project will debut in select theaters on June 20, 2025, courtesy of Vertical Entertainment. The film will debut On Demand on June 24th.