If done right, a found footage horror movie is capable of building delicious tension, hooking us to the story and characters as we’re taken on a journey that, while sometimes predictable, is engaging. For their feature directorial debut, Man Finds Tape, co-writers Paul Gandersman and Peter S. Hall found a balance between intensity and supernatural mystery within the found footage horror format. The result is a film that isn’t aiming to do anything different but is good at utilizing subgenre elements that make it a worthwhile watch.

After their parents died from unexplained causes, documentarian Lynn Page (Kelsey Pribilski) leaves her small town of Larkin, Texas, behind. Years later, she gets a call from her brother Lucas (William Magnuson), who went viral with a web series he started after finding a puzzling tape in his parents’ home. He wants her to help him investigate video footage he found, and the events of which no one remembers happening or seeing — even after watching the tape. What Lynn and Lucas find, however, is much more chilling than either of them expected.

Man Finds Tape Makes The Most Of Its Story & Chilling Suspense

There’s a lot to like in Man Finds Tape, from the intriguing mystery, which sees the entire town of Larkin blacking out memories of seeing certain footage, to the documentary-style filmmaking that pulled me in from the film’s opening scenes. The horror thriller expertly develops its tension, revealing morsels of information for us to piece together a haunting mystery that plagues characters we start to care about. Man Finds Tape gives us just enough to chew on without laying everything out too early.

While there’s the occasional plot contrivance or something that isn’t quite clear, it doesn’t derail or distract from the narrative, which is thrilling and harrowing. The small-town setting creates intimacy and isolation. If not for Lynn returning to Larkin to find out what’s going on with Lucas, you genuinely start to fear what would have happened to everyone. The film’s visuals — which turn grainy and blurry when a man they call the Stranger (Brian Villalobos) appears in the sH๏τ — elevate the sense of unease. Paired with Gandersman and Hall’s editing, Man Finds Tape blurs the line between what is and isn’t real.

The suspense alone is worth watching the film and the way it intricately crafts a story that escalates is its greatest strength. I was invested in the mystery, even if the reveal was surprising yet a bit underwhelming. It’s ultimately in the way the writers-directors handled the lead-up and aftermath of the supernatural reveal that worked. And it leaves us with enough answers that the remaining elements of the mystery that were unanswered didn’t affect the climax.

Man Finds Tape’s Cast Keeps Us Invested In The Characters

Where Man Finds Tape could have dug a bit deeper is in its character development. While I bought into the film’s story and even its twists, we didn’t get to spend as much time with Lynn and Lucas. I felt more than fully believed in their rift; a bit of further exploration would have substantially elevated their relationship beyond the surface. Luckily, the cast’s performances really sell what the writing doesn’t always manage to do in its initial setup.

Pribilski and Magnuson are believable as siblings who don’t have the best relationship at first. There’s enough frustration in Pribilski’s initial line deliveries when in conversation with Magnuson’s Lucas, and enough desperation from Magnuson, whose character wants to be believed by his sister despite a previously tumultuous relationship made worse by his web series, to round out their dynamic.

The real grounding force of the cast, though, is Nell Kessler, who plays Lucas’ ex-girlfriend and the local reverend’s (John Gholson) surrogate. The film is greatly strengthened when her character enters the story. Kessler’s documentary interviews are a particular highlight, with the actress imbuing her character with a complex variety of emotions that you can’t help but be pulled into her story and the connection she has to the supernatural elements.

Throughout the film, Gandersman and Hall maintain a nice ebb and flow. The’ve got a good command of the film’s tone and the editing, by Gandersman and Tyler Mager, creates a sense of apprehension that only grows. It’s one of the stronger and more original found footage horror movies I’ve seen in a while, and an overall solid directorial feature debut.

Man Finds Tape premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival.