Based on the novel by Todd Rigney, "FOUND" is a refreshing addition to the horror genre. A familiar yet grim coming of age drama wrapped in a very dark and horrific nightmarish shell. The story is told through the eye's of Marty, a typical twelve year old boy who like most of you reading this can probably relate to, tends to escape the turmoil of his daily life by taking refuge in horror films. From early on in the film we learn that Marty (Gavin Brown) is from an average American family with the usual facade of "normalcy" hiding a plethora of underlying social problems. His fathers overt racism and inability to relate to or get along with his older son. His mothers inability to mediate or intervene in the situation, and his brothers (Ethan Philbeck) worsening antisocial behavior. Marty has discovered personal secrets of his family members. His dad's porn stash, mother's love letters to an old boyfriend and the biggest one yet, a bowling bag containing a severed head in his brothers closet. Marty discovers the brother that he loves and looks up to is a serial killer. "My brother keeps a human head in his closet. Every few days it's a new head", "My life is starting to turn into a horror movie." Let me just say that I found this film intriguing and truly disturbing. Director Scott Schirmer has done a truly amazing job on a shoestring budget of a reported $8000.00 dollars, managing to tell a great story and do what most big budget horror films seem to fail at, making you care about the characters. The only drawback of the film for me was the talent level of some of the supporting cast. While Gavin Brown and Ethan Filbeck gave outstanding performances for their first outing, the mother (Phyllis Munro) and several of the supporting members, most notably the father (Louie Lawless) seemed to lack the ability to convincingly pull off any dramatic moments. But this is a relatively minor complaint and hardly a drawback in the ability to enjoy this film. Other indi film makers and directors should pay attention and take notes. This is how it's done, with an engaging story and a lot of heart. With all that said, I highly recommend this film. In the end I was left almost speechless. This film manages to tell a sympathetic yet engaging horrific story. It is severely brutal and gory at times and not for the faint of heart. Four out of five stars!

Found to me was a very edgy and viscerally jarring film that was thinking very much outside the box compared to most movies about young psycho killers. Even though most of it plays like a drama it definitely is a horror film, just a more low-key different approach to one, and one that's certainly not for everybody, particularly those of a weak stomach or who are easily offended. I found its overall atmosphere and tone to be very saddening and morbid, there were no jump scares or schlocky humorous horror gags, it's all very subtle and even ordinary, and to me all the more haunting in its everyday blandness than if they'd gone the typical route of trying to be scary in the more conventional way. I enjoyed how it seemed to be set in the late 80s/early 90s, it gave it a certain ambiance without it coming across as like they were purposefully trying to be retro or anything like that. By the end I was glad I watched it, it was a worthwhile viewing experience as I knew it would be from that opening line. It was chilling and poignant and the horrendously sick climax did stick with me for a few days after.. But, I also thought that it felt noticeably lacking somewhere and it ultimately wasn't all that satisfying, I just kept thinking that it all could have easily been done significantly better if it'd only had more money behind it. I couldn't believe that it had been made for only 8000. I mean that is seriously a micro budget, that being that case I'm happy to declare that what they managed get out of that was pretty amazing, but regardless the dark themes and messages of the movie are a little undermined and hampered by it's noticeably basic quality.. I thought Gavin Brown as "Marty" was a likable kid and good as the lead, he wasn't perfect but he was sure better than the other child actors in the movie, who I thought were the most amateur thing about it. But I did find him effective as just this little kid being pulled in many different directions from parent and bullying issues, and perhaps just a little desensitisation from one too many horror movies that he accepts the all too close to home horror of an older brother who has people's heads in a bag in his closet as if it's just another mere fact of his messed-up young life that he can't control. The acting of the big guy playing his only friend wasn't that great, but I found the sequence moving where he very suddenly turns on Marty who then later burns the little thing they shared together, which was a comic book they were making. I thought the relationship with his older psychotic brother "Steve" was well-realised and it felt sincere. Ethan Philbeck was a bit over-intense in his delivery for me, but he was good at showing the love for his little brother - who by the bitter end he seemed to regard as something pure - and he was also effective at being threatening to him at the same time. Steve's motivation wasn't developed enough, that stupid angle they toss into the movie in the middle and never mention again of him killing for racist reasons was unnecessary and meaningless. The film also hits you over the head a lot with the tired old theory that horror flicks have the mystical power to corrupt and influence the young minds of the unwary, which is something that I always felt was total bullshit, as to my point of view even the vilest of horror pictures are basically just entertainment and by themselves aren't capable of bringing out such badness in a human being unless they are already damaged to begin with and are susceptible. There's a sense of inevitability that underscores it as the events slowly build up to the ending, like the disaster of the sick maniac brother who's clearly about to explode is like an oncoming collision that little Marty is helpless to do anything about. It actually meant a lot to me when Marty finally realised that the monster before him was not the brother he once knew. My god, that ending truly takes you down into hell. It's strange, to look at it's not necessarily all that gruesome or intense, but when you think about it and let it sink in a little it's just incredibly horrifying, it made me feel grim and sick to my core. This is one movie that seriously messes with you... I didn't like the way they closed the movie with the sentence "This is the kind of thing that can warp a person", I thought it ended things on a bit of an inappropriately comedic note. So in closing despite its limitations, this flick does stand out from many other independent horrors due to its realistic nature, shattering atmosphere, and eerily well done gore effects. Bye, go easy on ya family!

Let me start by saying I respect the hell out of this movie. I had heard good things about this movie, and it seemed right up my alley, so my expectations were set mildly high. I thought the story, character development, writing, and lead kid were all great. There were a few scenes with actors that played small roles that were almost cringe worthy because they weren't very good actors. Luckily for the film, most of the scenes took place between the 12-year old boy and his brother. My overall feeling with this movie is that I enjoyed it, but I wish there was just a liiiiittle bit more in the budget for the smaller roles. If you can get around a few scenes with bad acting, it is worth a watch.

This movie is proof that a good story will overshadow any budgetary limitations. I'd heard of this film for quite some time because of all the rave reviews. I don't usually watch new horror movies because I think they're generally unwatchable but I decided to give Found. a look because I was so curious to see what the production did with only $8,000. Well, I was engaged from the opening scene when a young boy named Marty tells us through voice over that he sneaks into his older brother Steve's room when he's not home just so he can take a look at the severed heads he keeps in his closest. Needless to say, Steve is a serial killer and Marty's the only person who knows his older brother's secret.The film gave me chills in a way very few films do. There's something very real and disturbing about the subject matter that does not let up until the end credits roll much like Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer.It is important to point out that aside from the story, every other aspect of the film is incredibly amateur. The footage looks like it was shot on a digital camera from the early 2000s, the sound is very poor and the acting from most of the cast is very amateur. Does it matter? Surprisingly not at all. I basically ignored all of this because the story was so captivating and relevant to today's society that I just wanted to see how much worse this young boy's nightmare could get...and it gets indescribably horrifying.Kudos to the team for basically picking up a camera and using whatever resources they had to tell such a twisted story. If you're mature enough to get past the budgetary limitations and appreciate the film for what it is, you will not be disappointed. This is coming from a die hard horror fan. Best horror film I've seen in many years.