Found Footage Of Fear: Digital Terror

British indie maverick Sam Mason-Bell and American renegade filmmaker Dustin Ferguson teamed up to co-produce the feature Found Footage Of Fear: Digital Terror. Utilizing webcams and security footage from home cameras, the found footage film is shockingly not a horror picture. Well, it is not a straight fright flick, at least. So, let’s find out if the movie is as unwieldy as its title.

Darryll (Chris Mills) is a big-time gamer, often livestreaming his matches with his best friend Bill (Spencer Craig). But Darryll is also a prolific troll, donning a white Anonymous-esque mask and speechifying about the loss of “man’s culture” and how any sign of representation or diversity is politically correct garbage. While Bill knows of this online persona, Darryll’s girlfriend, Nat (Cassandre Wallace), does not. But, after Darryll installs a ton of security cameras around his flat, he notices odd things happening. These strange occurrences push Darryll to the brink of madness.

Found Footage Of Fear: Digital Terror utilizes a ghostly presence to account for the few supernatural elements. But mainly, the film is scary because of who the main character is. The plot is rather bare-bones, as the writers, director Mason-Bell and lead actor Mills, are much more interested in observing what makes a doxing misogynist tick and watching him unravel than rushing through a plot for the sake of it.

“…strange occurrences push Darryll to the brink of madness.”

As such, most of the film is comprised of scenes of Darryll taking. He talks to Bill, Nat, or his followers. This might bore some viewers who need an action beat of some kind every few minutes. But, thanks to how well the three characters are written and performed, those who don’t mind a character study will be in for a treat. There’s an amazing scene after a funeral where Nat is trying to be both understanding and confront Darryll about certain things. It is intense.

Mills wonderfully brings the scumbag protagonist to life, as he sells the mental break well. Wallace stuns as Nat, bringing an empathetic nature to the events, as she seems to truly love Darryll. Spencer Craig is all high energy and boisterous as the best friend, perfectly aligning with the role’s more unflattering traits.

Found Footage Of Fear: Digital Terror is not be all that scary, from a conventional standpoint at least. But, witnessing the slow decline of an angry man who feels he’s being attacked solely because marginalized people are finally getting representation is frightening. Mainly because we all know or have heard about such radicalized individuals in real life and seen the havoc they have wrought. Viewers will see the horror of everyday life thanks to the strong writing and excellent performances. Though, it might be too close to home for some.