Directed by Michael Rock of Horror Dadz Productions
Welcome to Day 1 of my favorite annual tradition, Spooktober! This month we’ll tackle a new (to me) horror movie every day until a final horror extravaganza on Halloween day. Every week will have its own theme, and this first short week we’re going with is the absurd subgenre of felt puppet horror movies!
I Hate Found Footage occupies one of the most unusual cross sections of horror subgenres: found footage (naturally) and felt puppet horror. Right off the bat, that’s points for creativity, I haven’t seen a movie that combines those two concepts before, so let’s cut to the chase and get into what this unique movie is all about.
I Hate Found Footage starts off with puppet roommates/friends, Ollie and Filbert who decide to make a found footage movie. This is the classic Bert & Ernie setup where Ollie is optimistic and Filbert is a grump, which is an old formula for comedy, but it’s still around because it works. Anyway, the duo head out into the woods in order to film a found footage monster movie, but shockingly, while they’re out there, they run afoul of a plot much more deranged than their own.
Before I get too deep into any criticism, and there is a good bit coming, I wanted to focus on the positives. I liked the design of the puppets themselves, they’re fun without being overdesigned and their simplicity is charming. While not all the jokes landed, there were plenty of moments that had me laughing at both the antics of the puppets as well as the general send-up of found footage movies that, as a big found footage fan, tickled me. There was one joke in particular that really got me, I won’t give away the punchline but the setup is that our heroes come across a group of dead bodies and you see the the remains of both humans and puppets, and seeing the ‘insides’ of a puppet is a great visual gag.
The main issue here is that I wanted more from the central premise. While there are plenty of jokes and gags about general found footage stuff in the first half, once we enter the horror part of the movie, everything slows down and gets a bit repetitive. There was a chance to ramp up the humor, the found footage trope commentary, and the horror, but this is kind of unfulfilled as the latter half of the movie is mostly just walking through the woods. Yes, I understand that’s a found footage thing but it isn’t exciting to watch. There’s a solid concept here and some great bits, but I Hate Found Footage feels like it needs to be more of everything. More puppet stuff, more found footage twists and turns, more weirdness. ‘Leave them wanting more’ is a good idea, but only after you’ve created something that can stand on its own.
