Official synopsis: After receiving a cryptic call, documentarian Lynn Page returns to her small Texas hometown to investigate haunting footage of events no one can remember taking place. But her brother Lucas’ controversial past with a viral web series called “Man Finds Tape” forces Lynn to question if he, or anyone in their town, can be trusted. And the arrival of a stranger with chaotic intentions forces Lynn to confront her family’s involvement with the deadly monster preying on Larkin, TX.
With Man Finds Tape, cowriters/codirectors Peter Hall and Paul Gandersman serve up a truly excellent fear-fare feature that plays with the faux documentary and found footage subgenres. Wonderfully conceived, realized, and acted, the film is a gripping work.
Filmmaker Lynn Page (Kelsey Pribilski) and her troubled brother Lucas (William Magnuson) grew up in Larkin, Texas, the children of deceased parents who made their living as videographers. Lynn moved away but reluctantly returns when Lucas — who previously found a certain degree of internet fame and infamy when he turned a strange childhood video into a mystery and then a deception involving local Reverend Endicott Carr (John Gholson) — uncovers another strange enigma that causes him to lose consciousness while watching it on videotape.
Hall and Paul Gandersman do a fine job of character building and suspenseful pacing as the mysteries of Man Finds Tape unfold. Obsession with true crime cases on the internet through social media is explored, cleverly using the format itself to examine those issues. Pribilski, Magnuson, and Gholson are terrific in their lead roles, and the supporting players also turn in fine work.
Horror films using faux true crime elements have been solid in the past couple of years, and Man Finds Tape is a highly recommended entry in the subgenre.
Man Finds Tape screens as part of the 2025 Tribeca Festival, which runs June 4–15 in New York City. For more information, visit https://www.tribecafilm.com/.
