"MALIBU HORROR STORY" (2023) brings found footage to new heights, and dark caves! (REVIEW)
French Fashion Designer YVES SAINT LAURENT famously said “I am no longer concerned with sensation and innovation, but with the perfection of my style.” While we are no fashion experts, we can apply YSL’s words to any of the many sub-genres in horror. For this discussion, let's focus on FOUND FOOTAGE, a genre that up until recently hadn’t seen much innovation, sensation, or perfection. While the die-hard defenders of the genre will cry afoul of the previous sentence, think about a genre you don’t hold in high regard and you may feel the same. For some, it is the zombie genre. A sub-genre so dried up you would find it hard to find anything that could get your pulse up. Sure, these are sweeping generalizations, but the fact remains that sometimes innovation can lead to a kind of perfection. With enough ideas roadtested, the parts become a whole of the best ideas moving the genre forward executed both technically and performatively with an eye towards perfection. Bringing this back to found footage we have MALIBU HORROR STORY. Releasing Friday, October 20, 2023, it aims to carry the genre into a new frontier, but does it innovate or stagnate?
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
Terror strikes when a team of paranormal investigators search a sacred cave for clues in the unsolved disappearance of four Malibu teens.
HOW IS IT?
There is something happening in the found footage genre, and it started during the pandemic. Not only is the medium ideal for social distancing and DIY film projects, but it had been treading water for so long that it was inevitable that someone(s) would breathe new life into an almost lifeless genre. It started with HOST, then we got DEADSTREAM, followed by this year’s THE OUTWATERS, and now what seems to be a culmination of all of that progress in MALIBU HORROR STORY. Make no mistake, this is the real deal for fans of the genre and even those like this reviewer who is jaded and less than enthusiastic about the genre.
The core premise of “Malibu Horror Story” is very much attuned to the rise in meta-storytelling, however, in this case, it doesn’t feel disingenuous to the story that is being told; a group of high school seniors disappears and a documentary crew goes out to figure out what happened to them. The film is divided into multiple parts that layer on various pieces of the story while also changing to cover various perspectives. Similar to BEHIND THE MASK: THE RISE OF LESLIE VERNON, the story is part TV documentary and part found footage film. There isn’t much sense going into the plot too much to avoid spoilers, but it would be a disservice to not give the film credit for having such a strong attention to detail for the background and backstories. Part of what found footage films miss is that connection to the characters' backgrounds that is often not germane to the very real-time nature of found footage storytelling. To see both the meta-documentary and found footage elements balanced so perfectly alleviates some of the concerns around pacing while not inducing format fatigue on the audience.
The performances across the board are quite solid, although no one particular person stands out, the real star of the film is writer and director SCOTT SLONE. On a technical level “Malibu Horror Story” will have you believing that this is a big studio release with respect to the high-quality cinematography and the dedication to some really gnarly practical effects. On the former, there is a lot of emphasis on establishing a sense of place that is counter to what people might think of Malibu. Forgoing the beach for dark caves and mountainous desert, Slone perfectly captures the menace lurking in the typically sunny SoCal destination while giving us just enough light in just the right places to expose you to the horrors within. Speaking of the horrors, once things start going in “Malibu Horror Story” they just don’t stop for the remainder of the film. From some really stomach-churning moments of BONE TOMAHAWK-like gore to creature effects that echo claustrophobic classics such as THE DESCENT, “Malibu Horror Story” is dedicated to delivering horror on multiple levels to appease all tastes. One particular scene involving a sacrifice is concentrated horror loaded up into a syringe and mainlined to your pleasure centers. We can’t say enough good things about “Malibu Horror Story”, and if found footage has a final form this very well may be it!
LAST RITES
“Malibu Horror Story” is a genre-breaking and defining film that delivers breakneck-paced horror. It perfectly harmonizes mockumentary and found footage into one efficient and bloody wild ride that deserves to be seen in the darkest room with the loudest speakers this Halloween season!
THE GORY DETAILS
Directed By
Written By
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Where can you watch it?
Malibu Horror Story releases in select theaters nationwide on Friday, October 20, 2023! Click here for tickets and local showtimes!
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