C.A.M. (CONTAGIOUS AGGRESSIVE MUTATIONS, 2021)

Streaming on Tubi!
Directed by Steph Du Melo, Larry Downing.
Written by Steph Du Melo.
Check out the trailer here!!

C.A.M. uses different formats; a documentary style, a phone call with an anonymous informant, and found footage to chart the outbreak of a super-virus from a secret military lab that turns the infected into violent monsters.

Are the actors successfully acting like they aren’t acting?
Yeah, most of the group actually do a decent job. The phone call is interesting, as it eeks out the information about the virus ever so slowly, which propelled my interest in where the film was going. The soldiers and the camera crew captured in the found footage are decent as well, as they play your typical screaming people in the middle of an out of control situation decently. The script doesn’t require a lot from them, but there are moments of levity at the beginning that make you relate to them enough to want to follow them as they head into danger. One of the things that was distracting was that many of the soldiers look and sound alike and since they are all dressed alike, it’s hard distinguishing them from each other.

Does the footage found seem authentic and untouched by additional production (which means there is no omniscient editor making multiple edits between cameras or an invisible orchestra providing music)?
This is an amalgamation of different footage. The found footage taken in the field and at the scientific facility is all immediate and happening in the moment. While there are some subtle musical cues, it all plays out pretty authentically, using two cameras to capture all of what’s going on. This footage, spliced with the documentary footage and phone call interview feels authentic as it all feels produced to tell a specific story or message about the impending danger of this virus.

Why don’t they just drop the camera and get the hell out of there?
The two camerapeople are there to report what’s happening around the world and expose the cover-up of this virus and how the outbreak began. The two camerapeople know this, so they try to keep the camera rolling no matter what happens for the sake of journalism. A noble enough reason to not drop the camera and run, I think.

Is there an up-nose BLAIR WITCH confessional or a REC-drag away from the camera?
While there might have been a drag-away, I don’t think there was a confessional that I remember. The found footage portion of C.A.M. is all immediate and fast moving, so there really isn’t much time to confess or break down with final words in front of the camera. They are running for their lives for the bulk of the time.

Does anything actually happen? Is the lead in too long and the payoff too short?
Quite a bit happens as this outbreak is approached from many different angles. Each angle is different and put all together you begin to see the entire picture of the outbreak, what the virus is, and the cover-up. As a fan of conspiracies, my interest was piqued for the bulk of the film. While the approach to the scientific facility took a bit of time, the film jumps from one style of footage to another, keeping the pace quick and never boring.

Does the film add anything to the subgenre and is it worth watching?
Basically, this is the broader-scale version of [REC] that we didn’t get in [REC]4. It’s not as well made, and the budget was only a fraction of that found footage classic. I liked the switching of formats as it kept the pace brisk. The film doesn’t seem to know how to end as the final moments really put a bad taste in my mouth. It involves some very bad CG, sported on the poster, and doesn’t really make sense. The film just kind of ends with no real wrap-up, which in itself might be the point of it all, as if this is the final plague that wipes us out, a poetic ending simply ain’t going to happen. Still, the final moments kind of soured the experience for me. Up to that point, C.A.M. didn’t really offer up new ideas, but did present them in an interesting way.