The found footage format quickly gained popularity thanks to its unique way of creating powerful scares, but declined almost as quickly due to its limitations. Once the novelty wore off, the inevitable questions arose, like, why doesn't the protagonist put the camera down and run away? Or who is gathering and editing the found footage? Malibu Horror Story attempts to overcome the most obvious tropes of the format by including found footage within a mockumentary within a traditional narrative feature.
Four paranormal investigators set out to retrace the steps of four missing teenagers to solve the case behind their 2012 disappearance and use their findings in a documentary in the hopes of landing a series deal. Documentary director and host Josh (Teen Wolf's Dylan Sprayberry), equipment technician Matt (Robert Bailey Jr.), investigator Ashley (Valentina de Angelis), and editor Jessica (Rebecca Forsythe) head to the last known location of teenagers to complete the production. Taking a break from experimenting with EVP, Jessica shows her director the draft of the documentary so far.
Director: Scott Slone
Writer: Scott Slone
Stars: Dylan Sprayberry, Robert Bailey Jr., Valentina de Angelis
At this point, the traditional narrative transitions into documentary footage, piecing together news clips, newspaper articles, and found footage of Malibu teenager Jake Torrance (Tommy Cramer) and his friends. This section retraces his steps and reconstructs the circumstances that led to his disappearance. Writer-director Scott Slone interrupts the film's intense exposition of Torrance lineage and mythology with fascinating commentary on how the teenagers' rebellious behavior altered public opinion. The latter keeps the momentum going when the difficult world-building becomes tedious.
From a terrifying perspective, Malibu Horror Story features cool creature designs and two disturbing creature performers: Douglas Tait (Annabelle Comes Home, Hellboy) and Troy James (Hellboy, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark). Any appearance of malevolent entities makes up for when the most telegraphed shocks miss the mark.
The use of paranormal investigators as the setting for this POV nesting doll avoids one of the most common found footage tropes by avoiding the need to explain the camera's presence. It's a clever solution, but the downside of relegating these characters to final segments only means that we never really get to know them beyond their fleeting archetypal roles in the documentary. There's no emotional investment in their fates as energetically as the third act, particularly with the creature work. However, it offers visual interest and a much more polished climax.
Despite the innovative structure and convergence of styles, Malibu Horror Story cannot completely free itself from the conventions of found footage. Their characters are still prone to making artificial decisions that sometimes exceed plausibility, and many refuse to endear themselves to the public. In the case of the 2012 teens, it generates intriguing commentary in the court of public opinion. But the dense mythology behind what ails the haunted land and its ties to the Torrance family swallows him whole. Although not entirely successful, Slone's unique structural approach, his fast pacing, and his creature work at least slightly push the needle forward in the evolution of found footage.
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