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Cast: Gavin Brown, Ethan Philbeck, Phyllis Munro, Louie Lawless, Alex Kogin
Marty is the ideal fifth grader. He gets good grades, listens to his teachers, and doesn't start trouble in class. But a darkness is beginning to fall over Marty's life. The kids at school won't stop picking on him, his parents just don't seem to understand him, and now Marty must grapple with a terrible secret that threatens to destroy life as he knows it -- his big brother is a serial killer!
Marty is a young boy that loves horror movies and graphic novels but he is also a loner and only has one friend at school since all the other students pick on him. But his life really gets turned upside down when he finds out his older brother is a serial killer. It started when Marty was going bowling with his friends and borrowed his brother's bowling ball without him knowing. When Marty opened the bag at the bowling alley he found a human head inside instead of a bowling ball. Instead of being frightened by what he saw Marty instead becomes curious and every week he sneaks into his brother's room to see if a new head is inside the bag. Things begin to escalate from there and the film goes from being a drama about the pains of growing up to a full-blown horror film.
I loved that the film addressed bullying and even racism, this is a unique horror film that is both disturbing and intelligent. You are quickly taken into Marty's life and you immediately feel a part of everything that happens to him. The coming of age story is thoughtful and engaging and the horror is so tense it will have you squirming around in your seat. The film within the film "Headless" not only reveals where Marty's brother got his inspiration from but it also provides the most frightening parts of the film as well, it is awesome and disturbing at the same time. To talk too much about the story would only ruin the surprises along the way so I am not going to go into anymore details here.
Writer/Director, Scott Schirmer did an amazing job adapting Todd Rigney's Novel to the big screen, the story is true to the book. "Found." like all Independent films was done on a limited budget but you would have a hard time telling, the cinematography is fantastic and everything from locations and lighting are top-notch. When making a film such as this having a cast that can play the characters is very important and I do not believe they could have picked better actors for the job. Gavin Brown is terrific as Marty, He provides so much emotion and gives a realistic and powerful performance. I cannot wait to see what this amazing young talent has coming next. Ethan Philbeck is also excellent in his role as Marty's older brother, Steve. In fact the entire cast did a magnificent job in the film, there was not one weak performance.
"Found" is a pretty special film, one I would call a gem. It's mix of coming of age drama, horror and a bit of humor is perfect. This is a film that gets in your head and it will have you thinking about for days. A one of a kind horror film, this is not to be missed if you are a fan of the genre. Movies like this one just do not come around all that often, a perfect blend of drama, suspense and horror make this an instant classic everyone should and will be talking about. To me this is a game changer and it sets the bar pretty high for horror films.
Released by XLrator Media
***** Out Of *****