“An eye-opening and emotional look at real life family dysfunction.”

Every now and then, a low budget indie film comes along that really stands out as great film-making.  In 2012, one of those movies made its way through numerous film festivals and has quickly become an underground cult smash hit.  That film is simply known as Found.  Written and based on the novel by Todd Rigney and directed by Scott Schirmer in his first full length feature film, Found is an emotional and disturbing look at real issues in the modern world of racism, bullying, neglect, and troubled family life.

THE PLOT

Twelve year old Marty (Gavin Brown) is a very troubled young boy struggling with multiple issues.  His home life is shaky with his somewhat neglectful parents who don’t seem to understand him.  On top of that, he’s having a tough time at school due to constant bullying which just feeds his low self esteem and in turn his closed off personality.  His only comfort seems to be his love for horror movies, which his mother reluctantly allows him to watch simply because she sees that it’s his only joy in life.

One day out of boredom, Marty decides to prowl around in his older brother Steve’s (Ethan Philbeck) room and makes a startling discovery in the closet.  Not sure what to think, he decides to keep it to himself, fearful of what Steve would say or do if he found out.  To try to take his mind off his recent discovery, Marty plans a movie night with his only friend David.  While at the local movie rental store, Marty makes a few selections.  One movie that catches his eye is a film called Headless.  Unfortunately, the clerk informed his that this video is either lost or stolen.  Later at home, Marty decides to rummage through Steve’s movie collection and stumbles upon the missing movie from the store.  As he and David start to watch it, Marty quickly discovers that this VERY graphic movie seems to be a possible “inspiration” for the dark and twisted secret that his brother Steve may be hiding.  As the days go on, Marty’s anxiety rises.  He realizes that he must make a choice…either tell his parents about his suspicion or keep quiet out of fear that his brother may be aware that Marty knows something!

SHOULD YOU SEE IT?

Found is a different kind of indie horror film.  Winner of many awards from multiple film festivals, it deserves all the credit and praise it has been given.  From personal experience, and from what I’ve heard from other reviews and discussions, it’s definitely one of those rare films that will stick with you days after viewing it. The last series of events are very disturbing, and for some, possibly tough to watch.  I would label it as more of a drama than a horror film.  Sure, it definitely does have its fair share of violent and shocking content, but what makes it work is that the violence is done properly and not just for shock value.  The message in this film can be eye-opening and a possible PSA for the real life issues in today’s society.  You never know what really goes on behind closed doors of even the most “perfect” looking families out there.