Archive: UFF666

It's easy to discount Cloverfield, given its large budget, big name director, and the sprawling marketing campaign that led to massive success at the box-office. But think back to 2008, when Matt Reeves wasn't known for THE BATMAN (he was probably best known for *checks notes* writing Under Siege 2: Dark Territory), J.J. Abrams was little more than “the Lost guy,” and found footage was still in its youth, with THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT having debuted only 9 years prior. When it came out, Cloverfield was an absolutely radical film, smashing together experimental cinematography, huge special effects, and a cutting edge viral marketing campaign. Now, 15 years and two(ish) sequels later, Cloverfield still holds up as an absolutely insane found footage kaiju film that begs to be seen on the big screen.

A failed influencer documenting his vacation with his friends for a vlogumentary turns into a nightmare when a demon joins the party. Set in the Poconos, MEAN SPIRITED explores the relationship between two former childhood best friends, one of whom has become an extremely famous actor and the other, an annoying and jealous vlogger. Friendships may die but evil never does.

The return of the found footage horror power hour, Don't Stop Recording 2: “This Is Really Happening” – 60 clips in 60 minutes each followed by a toast. The party will be hosted by local SF horror influencer Terrell Trotty (Blu-ray Tuesday With Terrell), with free beer donated by Lime Ventures & mixers from Q Mixers.

South African enfant terrible filmmaker and artiste-cineaste Manus Oosthuizen meets with Rotten Tomatoes-approved indie film critic Babette Cruickshank in an Echo Park sound studio. With key members of Manus' crew joining, they record an audio commentary track for his new elegiac feature documentary RAZZENNEST. But the session goes down a different path… Chaos ensues, but to say how and why would be spilling too many of this highly original art-house horror film's deep, dark secrets.

Two short films supplementing THE OUTWATERS. A prequel, CARD ZERO is a video diary shot by Robbie Zagorac (Banfitch) of his relationship with a man he is seeing (Julian Broudy) captured before going missing in the Mojave Desert. FILE VL-624 is a fragment of corrupted footage salvaged from Zagorac's camera, now property of the Mojave Police Department.

A young man searches for the body of his sister years after her tragic disappearance. Framed as raw documentary footage shot on real MiniDV cameras, TINSMAN ROAD is a chilling mystery uncovered while observing strained familial bonds that diverts from the heartstopping horror of Banfitch's prior film, THE OUTWATERS. A beautifully eerie soundtrack by Salem Belladonna punctuates this tense thriller.

After six years of found footage programming, UFF will finally present the film that turned an entire generation into found footage horror fans, Paranormal Activity. Oren Peli's groundbreaking film pumped new blood into the genre in 2007, and it's hard to say the festival would even exist if not for its impact. The late-night screening will be hosted by filmmaker and underground performance artist Joshua Grannell (Peaches Christ, Writer & Director of All About Evil).

Up-and-coming director Carey Williams (Amazon's EMERGENCY) pairs up with the master of in-world camera innovation, producer Timur Bekmambetov (UNFRIENDED, SEARCHING, MISSING), to bring us this dynamic screenlife adaptation of the archetypical romantic tragedy. A Sundance premiere, this reimagining of Romeo and Juliet blends Shakespeare's original dialogue with current social media shorthand to create a modern-day love story that could only be told through a smartphone. It's Shakespearean screenlife – love between nobles on mobiles.

A team of inexperienced, young ghost hunters break into a well-known haunted house inhabited by the spirit of a French industrialist who murdered his family inside. What Is Buried Must Remain acts as a commentary on the creative structure of found footage haunted house films by cleverly reworking both the characters' and viewers' assumptions and using the setting to observe the impacts of occupation on a country deeply effected by war and violence, and the experience of refugees in Lebanon.

WHAT IS BURIED MUST REMAIN is in Arabic with English subtitles.

Found footage films tend to gravitate to a small subset of themes. Cryptid hunts, dark web excursions, and haunted exploration stories abound. Recently, “Influencer Horror” has blown up, with films like SPREE (2020), DASHCAM (2021), and DEADSTREAM (2022) all making waves in the horror community. Based on his 2019 short of the same name, Travis Bible's #CHADGETSTHEAXE is without a doubt among the best examples of the subgenre. The film follows four social media influences, including the Logan Paul-esque Chad Ryan as the venture into Devil's Manor, the former home of a Satanic Cult, and a perfect place for their livestream. The film uses this setup to provide a delightful satire of toxic masculinity and influencer culture, filled with laughs and scares. Get ready #chadpions, because #chadgetstheaxe is sure to delight.

A reality TV show becomes LORD OF THE FLIES, as the contestants quickly turn on each other when they find themselves shipwrecked on a desert island. Described as “BLAIR WITCH meets SURVIVOR on steroids”, real-life reality show star Rob Mariano (SURVIVOR, THE AMAZING RACE) went on an entire press tour promoting TONTINE as an upcoming reality show he was hosting. Shot on film on the island of Fiji with the assistance of Peter Jackson's post house Park Road, this will be the first time the film is seen by an audience in over a decade, and it is not to be missed.

Safe Word is a porno. More specifically, it's a pink film (pinku eiga,) Japan's unique brand of softcore pornography that marries dramatic storytelling and erotic content in a way rarely seen in the west. Safe Word is part of the Nikkatsu Roman Porno series of films, an absolutely iconic series of films that dates back to 1971. Safe Word follows in the footsteps of iconic S&M pink films such as FLOWER AND SERPENT (1974, dir. Masaru Konuma) exploring kink and taboo.

With all that and mind, Safe Word is the newest film by Kōji Shiraishi, Japan's uncontested king of found-footage. It follows Misa, a former pro wrestler and aspiring idol, as she discovers her sexuality while delving into the world of underground S&M clubs. Safe Word isn't Shiraishi's first foray into pink film (That would be his 2011 film HYPERVILLAIN,) but it does represent a surprising milestone for the director.

Pink Film and Horror are a classic combination, with extensive throughlines Toei's Pinky Violence series of films, the films of Hisayasu Satō (particularly the iconic SPLATTER: NAKED BLOOD,) and countless others. But, Safe Word is not horror. Safe Word is a surprisingly tender exploration of kink, taboo, and sexuality in a traditionally repressed and patriarchal society. It also explores personal kinks, especially among celebrities and public figures, in a way that is sex-positive and highly original. This exploration works to justify the film's faux-documentary format, using the voyeuristic nature of found footage in a uniquely meaningful way. It's perhaps Shiraishi's only non-horror film, and needless to say it's an absolute delight. I don't want to give too much away, but to put it bluntly, Safe Word is fucking cute.

The Unnamed Footage Festival is proud to be able to program a piece of subversive filmmaking, and we're teaming up with the San Francisco based chain of sex shops to provide a one-of-a-kind screening that you're guaranteed to never forget.

In Japanese with English subtitles.

While its negative impacts cannot be overstated, the COVID-19 pandemic created a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for creative voices to experiment with unusual formats while in isolation. This resulted in an explosion of Found Footage, Screen Life, and experimental filmmaking unlike anything we've ever seen. THE GULF OF SILENCE represents the best-of-the-best of quarantine cinema. The film follows Dr. Laura Gale, PhD, an experiencer and UFOlogist as she chronicles decades of extraterrestrial encounters and coverups. The film is styled after the iconic gay documentary PORTRAIT OF JASON (1967, dir. Shirley Clarke) and features spectacular narration, sound design, and editing that come together to create a film that is all at once mysterious, avant-garde, and utterly enthralling.

Sex House is an American reality television parody web series produced by Onion Digital Studios. Its ten episodes were released on YouTube from July 12 to September 13, 2012. A parody of reality television series such as MTV's The Real World, Sex House follows three men and three women who move into a large house called the "Sex House" together for three months to have sex with each other. They soon realize that they are trapped within the house, which is quickly deteriorating as their health declines, and they have to fight against the show's producers and host to survive. It was lauded by critics, who praised it for its dark satire, its editing, tone, and camerawork being accurate to an actual reality television series, and its cast.

On the 10th anniversary of the Australian found-footage film THE TUNNEL, this documentary delves into the filmmakers' endeavors to challenge how films are financed and distributed, and the lasting impact THE TUNNEL had internationally. A rare chance to see the behind-the-scenes footage of a production trying out radical new ideas in the independent film industry.

In 2007, the New South Wales government suddenly scrapped a plan to utilize the water in the disused underground train tunnels beneath Sydney's St. James Train Station. In 2008, chasing rumors of a government cover-up and urban legends surrounding the sudden back flip, investigative journalist Natasha Warner (Bel Deliá) led a crew of four into the underground labyrinth. They went down into the tunnels looking for a story–until the story found them.

Set in 1997 South of Chile, a trio of metalhead 20something girls venture into the woods to create their demo tape for their black metal band, Invoking Yell. While also documenting the eerie and unsettling process of recording psicofonías (EVP, or electronic voice phenomena) in the woods for the final track, dynamics between the girls begin to reveal a tension much greater than typical band infighting.

The crazed auteur is a common theme in non-found footage horror, with films like EVIL ED (1995, dir. Anders Jacobsson), CIGARETTE BURNS (2005, dir. John Carpenter), and ALL ABOUT EVIL (2010, directed by a close friend of UFF, Peaches Christ). It is, however, oddly uncommon in found footage, at least at the same level as a standard narrative film. Sure, there are found footage movies where a psycho with a camera goes around killing people, but it hardly makes them an auteur. EVERYONE DIES BY THE END serves as a breath of fresh air by putting the focus on crazed director Alfred Costella, as he creates his horror masterpiece. As a character, Costella evokes real world filmmakers like Herschell Gordon Lewis, Kenneth Anger, and Werner Herzog, while ripping his look directly from Jimmy Buffet. These elements combine to create a hilarious character study with an unforgettable lead, excellent gore gags, and veritable geysers of blood.

Picking up where the 2021 film left off, Dutch Marich's Horror in the High Desert 2: Minerva continues to explore mysterious disappearances in the high deserts of north-eastern Nevada, introducing new victims, new forms of media, and plenty of new scares. Investigating the death of a woman in a locked house and a disappearance on an isolated stretch of Nevada highway, the film uncovers chilling similarities to the disappearance of Gary Hinge. Horror in the High Desert 2 builds on the scares and lore established in the first film with terrifying results which will leave you on the edge of your seat. Horror in the High Desert 2 is among the most anticipated found footage movies of 2023, and we're overjoyed to be able to screen it with Dutch in attendance.