It really is interesting to note trends in found footage. There are some well trodden themes and locations and EMBEDDED hits on two of them – the woods and cryptids. I get it, found footage has certain parameters that can feel a bit like a cage, I’d imagine, and shooting a movie in the woods gives you atmosphere, sets you don’t need to dress, and the possibility of horror lurking out of sight. And with cryptids these are popular types of creatures that people know a little something about but which can be made to be whatever you need.
It’s not like we’ve caught the Mothman or have a stable of Chupacabras around so we have to stay true to what they are.
We have no IDEA what they are, or aren’t, so you can use them in whatever way you want.
And really, that’s perfect for EMBEDDED, a found footage horror with a fair amount of humor that never gets in the way of the terror.
EMBEDDED follows a once well-regarded reporter who has fallen out of favor and is now working smaller, regional stories. Paired with a cameraman the two go to a small town to investigate the disappearance of local cattle. As the two are trying to get some information about the disappearances a truck crashes nearby and the man inside tells those around him that his son has been taken by…but he is dead before he can say more. The reporter and cameraman learn that there is a posse being formed the next day and they join it as they search for the boy. The belief is that the bear that has taken the cattle is now responsible for the disappearance of the boy. What they soon learn is that they are not hunting a bear, and whatever is out there is hunting them.
This was a very surprising movie. I didn’t expect it at all. This is a pretty clever little movie with a lot more humor than I would have expected and yet it also knows well enogh when to let the film just do what it needs to do, and that is be scary. There’s a level of ridiculousness with many of the characters and it works because the actors don’t (generally) play it too broad. They walk that line where earlier on it’s funny but it doesn’t push too far into ridiculousness. When things ramp up the humor is slowly turned down until it’s completely gone and we are left with a movie of survival and horror.
This isn’t the scariest movie, at all, but it’s effective and the ferocity and speed of the ‘thing’ is what really ramps up the horror here. It’s unexpected. They filmmakers do a great job of showing but NOT showing the beast, letting you see it but never so clearly that it loses its mystique.
It’s a smart movie, it knows what it can do and it does it well. It lets the actors take the lead and peppers in the horror to shake it up.
There’s a LOT of shaky cam in the film, reasonably so given the nature of what is happening, but if youc an get past that bit you should be OK. The film sticks to the rules of the subgenre and which it establishes. It’s well made. It’s well shot and well choreographed. The writing isn’t stellar but it works and you hit the right beats with some heart in moments where it’s effective.
Sure, it is what it is, but for me, that meant a fun, fast-paced movie that surprised me.
For never having heard of it and just finding it on Tubi, this was definitely worth my time and worth a look if you’re a fan of found footage. Not the scariest you’ll see but effective and fun.
Worth a look, friend.
4 out of 5
(not all movies are the same, so this 4 isn’t the same as another 4. nothing is universal. so there you go_
The Spooky World of Chris Ringler 