Rating: NR | Runtime: 89 minutes
Release Date: June 20th, 2025 (USA)
Studio: Vertical Entertainment
Director(s): Max Tzannes
Writer(s): Max Tzannes & David San Miguel

We are all the Bigfoot, and that’s why we never find him.

First-time feature filmmaker Chase (Brennan Keel Cook) is in pre-production when a documentary crew led by Rochelle (Marie Paquim) asks if they can film his progress. She’s been capturing the indie scene for ten years now and sees this ultra micro-budget horror project as a perfect fit for her series. It’s one man’s vision assisted by his girlfriend as first-AD (Erika Vetter’s Natalie), the star of his short films as associate producer (Chen Tang’s Mitchell), and his best filmmaking client as chief financier (Dean Cameron’s furniture store owner Frank who uses Chase to direct all his commercials). Since each of them is a novice, completing The Patterson Project at all would prove an immense victory.

Director Max Tzannes and co-writer David San Miguel present Found Footage: The Making of The Patterson Project as what we can assume to be Rochelle’s documentary. The opening credits focus on in-film names and institutions, so we’re placed into this fictional world from the first frame as a fatigued Chase provides an on-set testimonial setting the stage with a promise to himself that this movie won’t turn into a regret. From there we rewind two months and see a completely different man with an excitable smile and bottomless wealth of optimism. Nothing anyone could say would ruin Chase’s high then. Not Natalie’s worry about their location. Not even Frank’s unorthodox means of securing an angel investor (Suzanne Ford’s Betsy).

The film within the film is a creature feature with Bigfoot as the villain. Except, as Chase explains without a drop of irony, it’s really humanity that’s exposed as the true monster. So, don’t be surprised when he exudes obvious film bro levels of pedantic arrogance to portray his script as the equivalent of “heightened horror” without using that nonsense phrase himself. His worst nightmare is for his masterpiece to be pigeon-holed as one genre when it’s “so much more than that.” More than enough to secure a big-name actor (maybe). Enough to enlist the talents of a costumer and make-up duo who create a Sasquatch that literally fools passersby into thinking it’s real. Even enough to open the gates of Hell.

Well, let’s not give Chase’s artistic genius credit for that last one. Yes, he technically is the person who unleashes a demon by dragging a supply chest through an intricately drawn sigil on the basement floor, but the chaos that ensues would have occurred regardless of his reason for being there. The question for us is therefore whether the noises and issues that arise are actually a result of this act or just a coincidence. Because films like The Patterson Project never go off without a hitch. Being able to overcome the inevitability of all his plans going awry is what Chase will need to prove he’s a real filmmaker. And, for the most part, he does find a way. Perhaps to a fault.

I say this because Chase’s pretentiousness about “Bigfoot” is ultimately true in the sense that he is this documentary’s monster. That doesn’t mean Tzannes hasn’t also created a real monster to terrorize cast and crew in his mockumentary. It’s just that the metaphor of a film set’s unpredictability being akin to a cabin in the woods suffering under the weight of demonic possession allows Chase to show his collaborators his true colors. Because he will always put the art first once tensions rise. He’ll even use the art to solve certain problems, carving his way out of impossible real-world scenarios by rewriting and adding to the existing fiction. And while this mode of thinking should get the work across the finish line, it may also ensure he crosses it alone.

Therein lies the multi-layered fun built into Found Footage‘s DNA. This idea that The Patterson Project will test creative and interpersonal limits just as the unexplained supernatural phenomena they combat tests the limits of their sanity. A lot of comedy is born from the convergence of these two—characters laughing off extremely serious events because they must to continue moving forward. It doesn’t matter if they’re pushing the flexibility of their morality to its breaking point in the process. As long as nobody sues or messes with the footage (which proves a struggle in itself considering the lead actor, played by J.R. Gomez, acts as though a camcorder is an alien object despite his role demanding that he also be the camera operator), Chase won’t need to jump off the nearest bridge.

For the first two-thirds, we’re generally watching as the production begins to fall apart. Chase is entrenched in mental gymnastics to Band-Aid insane issues, Frank is becoming more hands-on (and problematic) as the shoot progresses, and Natalie is quickly realizing she’ll always be an afterthought to her boyfriend while Mitchell leans further into a martyr complex that makes him highly susceptible to being victimized by the entity potentially wreaking havoc around them. Their increasing stress levels guarantee an escalation in our enjoyment of their pain as voyeurs like Rochelle enjoying the ride without an ability to smack them in the face to wake-up and see what’s right in front of them (people and demons alike).

That’s the meat and potatoes as far as messaging goes, but it’s the final third that leaves a mark because Tzannes isn’t actually messing around where it concerns the horror aspect. It’s easy to believe he might since the budgetary constraints of The Patterson Project lull us into thinking Found Footage suffers from the same, so you might be surprised with how effective the “real” terror facing Chase and company proves by comparison. The special effects gore work is great and the Blair Witch Project-esque look of the post-shit-hitting-the-fan footage is even better. All the fake screams and intentionally amateur acting pays off too when this lot comes face-to-face with their mortality. Not only does Tzannes get the joke, he knows how to exploit it so his parody can also become the real thing.

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The cast of FOUND FOOTAGE: THE MAKING OF THE PATTERSON PROJECT; courtesy of Vertical.