Another batch of filmmakers try their hands at another batch of found footage horror in this long-running anthology franchise. This time the horrors are inspired by science fiction and the already loose reality the series plays in spirals further out of bounds. The opening text claims that in 2021 an anonymous Redditor purchased a pair of videocassettes at a flea market which supposedly featured evidence of an alien encounter. We’re watching a documentary about said tapes with talking heads and all that fun stuff hosted by noted expert Mitch Horowitz. That makes up the wraparound in Abduction/Adduction. It’s a loose thread focusing on its own subject while also getting us to the short horrors on display… but it’s worked this far along so why shouldn’t it now? Stork is footage provided via body-cams by the uniformed vigilantes of the group W.A.R.D.E.N. and the handheld cam of a new recruit. Their raid on a dilapidated house to rescue abducted infants takes a turn down the Resident Evil path and all hell quickly breaks loose as meteor-born zombie-demons attack, bullets and viscera explode across the screen and the action settles down only to allow movement to the next horrific location. Floor by floor, the team meets nothing but horrors in this energetic and insane time with an emphasis on splattery set pieces up until its ridiculous revelation. It’s a hell of way to start things off from Thankskilling director Jordan Downey. Virat Pal injects some Bollywood sensibility into the series with Dream Girl, even including the necessary dance number (cleverly included and presented in a fashion to take you out of the FPV style just as it should). Two paparazzi (one naive, one bitter) are desperate to get what they can on a fast-rising superstar named Tara. Of course, it doesn’t take long for the tabloid derps to figure out something is very wrong and for violence to run wild. If shaky cam is a deterrent for your enjoyment, ya may want to skip this bitch. Even when the shit hasn’t hit the fan, it’s still a handheld nightmare. It doesn’t really bother me all that much and adds to the chaotic vibe this one is reaching for. An excellent turn from Namrata Sheth really helps and it gets downright wild when the true face of the starlet is revealed. Silent Radio member Justin Martinez throws out a sky-diving nightmare in his Live and Let Dive which shows what would happen when a group of friends are thwarted in enjoying their experience by a fucking alien invasion. The terrifying plane crash hits immediately and is then followed by the survivors fighting for their lives as the aliens hunt them down in an orange grove. This one is solid as fuck with a formidable threat in the wonderfully weird alien enemy but is let down by an ending that just kinda runs out of steam. Fur Babies from Christian and Justin Long drops the science fiction vibe but still delivers a solid entry when two animal rights activists set out to expose the owner of the Doggy Dreamhouse business they suspect is up to no good. It’s Justin Long so it’s funny as all hell and then gets downright twisted as the endgame is revealed. As someone who loves dogs more than most of the people I’ve ever met, I still don’t get it. I think Tusk may have fucked up Justin Long more than he’d care to admit… just another thing to hold against Kevin Smith. The final entry outside of the wraparound is Stowaway and is the entry I was most excited about as it was written by Mike Flanagan and directed by Kate Siegel… two people who have brought so much to this genre I love in the very brief time they’ve been blessing us with their presence. A journalist attempts to document evidence of alien activity in the Nevada desert, she seems lonely and maybe a little sad as she goes about her lone quest to prove that aliens are real. Kate Segal’s directorial debut is strong and undoubtedly sad while being somehow wondrous before things spiral into unmapped territory. You could technically call it the “weakest” entry as it’s far more focused on its protagonist than delivering action but I feel like you’d be making an error by dismissing it. It just feels more complete than anything else available in this terrific outing. It’s successful because it makes me hope we get more from her in the future. A solid outing from the franchise and the best it’s been in a while. There’s not really a bad bit contained with it.
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