HUNTING MATTHEW NICHOLS (2024)

In theaters from Dropshock Pictures and Moon7!
Directed by Markian Tarasiuk.
Written by Markian Tarasiuk, Sean Harris Oliver.
Check out the trailer here!!

After two teenagers, Matthew Nichols and Jordan Reimer, disappear without a trace in the deep woods of Port Rupert, Vancouver Island. That’s Canadia, folks. Twenty years later, Matthew’s sister Tara (Miranda MacDougall), a documentary filmmaker Markian (played by actual writer and director Markian Tarasiuk), and a cameraman Ryan (played by real cameraman Ryan Alexander McDonald) head back to Canada to seek out answers on this missing person’s cold case. Their investigation brings them into contact with the law enforcement involved in the initial case as well as experts on local mythology from the indigenous people from the land and finally leading them to a cabin in the woods where the teenagers’ camera was found.

Are the actors successfully acting like they aren’t acting?
Miranda MacDougal who plays Tara does a convincing job as a sister obsessed with finding out more information about her missing brother. This is a role that could have lost steam, as Tara plays her role with an intensity for knowledge from the very second we see her on screen. Still, she is likable, relatable, and most importantly believable as a non-actor, which is what you’re looking for in a found footage film. The rest of the cast is solid too with the older generation being stilted and uncomfortable in front of the camera. Tarasiuk and McDonald are basically playing themselves and feel natural as well.

Does the footage found seem authentic and untouched by additional production?
This film is made in a mockumentary format, as if this is an actual documentary put together by a production team. So, there is additional music added to the film as if it were a real true crime documentary. That said, there is also music added to scenes that are supposed to feel like found footage, specifically during the final moments as Tara and director Markian head into the woods where her brother went missing with a last sliver of hope and two cameras. I understand that since the film was punctuated and elevated by musical cues, it makes the film consistent. But because this section is supposed to be much more like found footage rather than produced material, the use of musical cues in these scenes undercuts the authenticity of it all. I know these scenes would have hit harder had they simply played the footage untouched by production.

Is there an up-nose BLAIR WITCH confessional or a REC-drag away from the camera?
The two boys who went missing were obsessed with THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, so there are bound to be comparisons between this film and the classic found footager. There is a scene where the two boys do the up-nose confessional, but it is there as more of a joke. Later, there is a confessional that is dead-ass serious which really feels dated and unnecessary. The film also does a REC-style drag-away, which is another trope that has become extremely tired as it has been repeated ad nauseum in many a low-fi found footager for going on twenty-five years now and just makes me roll my eyes every time I see it in a new movie.

Why don’t they just drop the camera and get the hell out of there?
Since this team is making a documentary, they are committed to capturing as much as possible. Still, once shit finally goes down in the final moments, the camera is dropped numerous times as the paranormal stuff begins to occur.

Does anything actually happen? Is the lead in too long and the payoff too short?
This is what some might call a slow burner. I would call HUNTING MATTHEW NICHOLS a cross between THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT and LAKE MUNGO. The bulk of the film is an investigation for Tara to find some kind of closure with the disappearance of her brother. There are interviews, behind the scenes shots of the investigators sifting through evidence, backstories of the two missing kids, and a minute-by-minute retelling of the night leading up to their disappearance. It all plays out like a real deal documentary one might catch on Netflix. It also felt a lot like the ominous aura that was captured so well in one of my favorite mockumentaries LAKE MUNGO, as the mystery deepens the further this investigation goes. I was enthralled with this mystery and invested in Tara getting the answers that she was looking for, but I know some might not have the patience I had with HUNTING MATTHEW NICHOLS. This is not a scare a minute movie, but an investigation lead by a very obsessed person and a lot of modern horror fans might not be into that. Once we get into the woods in the last leg of the film, things pick up quite fast and it really does have a lot of those BLAIR WITCH sensations. Simply mentioning that will push people away from this movie, but it has to be said.

Does the film add anything to the subgenre and is it worth watching?
If you don’t like THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, it’s doubtful you’re going to like HUNTING MATTHEW NICHOLS, full stop. Still, I found the whole thing to be an intriguing homage to two of my favorite examples of found footage, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT and LAKE MUNGO. One does wonder why, after viewing a video tape of what happened to her missing brother and his friend in the woods, Tara would attempt to do the same ritual and expect different results, but one might argue that Tara was too far gone into her own obsession to know any better. The final moments are quite shocking and while similar to BLAIR WITCH, it does go into its own different direction. It feels as if the filmmakers intention of homage might have come from a place where they simply haven’t seen the unnumerable amount of found footagers as you and I have and they might think they are paying homage and hoping to drum up some nostalgia feels. That said, much of HUNTING MATTHEW NICHOLS worked for me as it felt legit most of the time and had some wonderfully macabre and woodsy horrific moments. HUNTING MATTHEW NICHOLS doesn’t tread any new paths for found footage, but it does it well while taking the whole thing seriously.