Laikals The greatest movie ever made..!

BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

Coventry "Found" may very well be one of the most difficult films I ever reviewed… It completely wasn't what I expected, but then again I didn't really know what to expect. It is definitely a horror movie, but simultaneously also one of those films that are unclassifiable. Like several other reviewers around here, I'm tempted to label it as a "coming-of-age" story, but those are usually pretentious and boring, and "Found" most certainly is not! And finally, I don't want to use too many enthusiast superlatives, because it honestly isn't that unique or fantastic, neither. The least I can say for myself is that "Found" pleasantly surprised me in some ways and also that it made me think. Not necessarily about deeply philosophical subjects, but merely about how simple and identifiable the most shocking horror tales actually are.The one thing I find absolutely astonishing in Todd Rigney's screenplay (adapted from his own novel) is the realism and authenticity of the lead characters, and particularly of the young protagonist Marty. I recognize a lot of myself in Marty from when I was around that age. Finally a normal 12-year-old who loves watching gory horror movies without hinting that he's abnormal, disturbed or potentially dangerous. Marty says early in the film: "I like watching violence, but I'm not a violent person myself". That's exactly what I'm forced to repeat to people over and over again when I tell them about my passion for extreme cinema. I have been intrigued with sick and sadist violence for as long as I can remember, and – like with Marty - my parents never made a big deal out of it, but I never felt the urge to hurt another living creature or was unable to function in society. I consider "Found" as one of the best horror stories of the last 10-15 years if it were only for the verity of Marty's character. And the same actually goes for his parents as well. They actually come across as good people and decent parents; not like the clichéd type of abusive and alcoholic parents who are generally responsible for the later failures of their children. Of course, I didn't have an older brother who was a serial killer and kept severed heads in his closet, but obviously Todd Rigney needed at least one extraordinary lead character, otherwise his novel and screenplay would have been quite boring. So, Marty discovered that his older brother Steve is a murdering psychopath and he's terrified of him. Marty desperately tries to hide from Steve that he knows his dark secret, but also can't resist snooping around in his brother's horror closet and impressive VHS horror collection. Marty has very few friends and gets bullied at school, but the evil hobby of his brother and also Steve's increasingly protective behavior give Marty more confidence and strength to stand up for himself. "Found" is film of extreme opposites. The atmosphere of the main story is foreboding and the pacing is rather slow. There practically isn't any action and even the intense climax is suggestive and unsettling rather than explicit and confronting. In sheer contrast to all this, however, there's a large portion of film-within-film footage that is utterly violent, sickening and gratuitous. The supposedly lost horror movie is called "Headless" and follows a deranged killer wearing an eerie skull-mask as he's ruthlessly butchering young women and sodomizing their mutilated corpses. If it weren't for the "Headless" footage, and perhaps 2 or 3 human heads in a bowling bag, "Found" would only be a talkative and atmospheric coming-of-age story (albeit a very good one) Based on popular demand, "Headless" got turned into a full-length separate film, directed by make-up wizard Arthur Cullipher and starring Shane Beasley as the deranged killer. According to many people whose opinions I trust, it's just as vile and uncompromising as the footage shown in "Found". Needless to say I will do whatever I can to see it as soon as possible.

Fred Schaefer Once seen, FOUND will not soon be forgotten, for it is a horror movie that pulls no punches, and takes its premise all the way. Made for only eight thousand dollars, it delivers the kind of kick to the gut those high concept, CGI laden reboots, and remakes, populating the multiplexes wish they could give an audience. In every way, this movie is the antidote to the mediocrity of PG-13; in truth, if this film, which is unrated, were to be given a rating by the MPAA, it would surely be NC- 17. There is extreme gore of the very explicit 21st Century variety, but for me, the scenes of emotional horror and trauma were far worse; this movie goes to the heart of darkness, and then keeps on going.We know what we are in for in the first scene, where Marty, a shy and bullied 5th Grader, finds a severed human head in a bag inside of his older brother Steve's bedroom closet. Turns out his big bro is a serial killer, a fact to which Marty's typically suburban parents are totally oblivious. Marty decides to keep this awful secret, for he loves his brother, the only member of the family with whom he can relate, but this proves to be a fateful mistake, as Marty, a kid who finds escape in horror movies, finds that his life is rapidly becoming one. Marty is no wisecracking tween from a Spielberg picture, but an emotionally immature and painfully withdrawn kid, very much like the ones you would find in any classroom in the real world. That is one of the reasons why this movie is so tough to take.Serial killers have become a pop culture trope in the past few decades, and in many TV shows and movies they have morphed into a variant of the super villain, like the character of James Patrick March in American HORROR STORY: HOTEL. But Steve is no Dexter, he is a nuclear bomb, and when he finally detonates, and his true nature is revealed, he will vaporize all those close to him and leave a wasteland of collateral damage for the survivors. There is torture, sadism, cannibalism, necrophilia, and full frontal, but the scenes of Marty being bullied have a special power to make the viewer squirm, as FOUND conveys the ugly truth that bullies, even when they are called out, never receive proper punishment; are never adequately paid back in equal measure for the pain they have dealt out. I found myself totally on Marty's side when he turns on one of his tormentors and puts a brutal beat down on him, then stands his ground when chastised by adults. Reportedly, FOUND was made for only $8,000 in Indiana, if so, then it is amazing how they did so much with so little. All credit to director Scott Schirmer and screenwriter, Todd Rigney, for putting big time Hollywood to shame. Some of the acting is not up to standard, but Gavin Brown as Marty, and Ethan Philbeck as Steve are spot on. And special thanks to S.A. Bradley at the Hell Bent for Horror podcast for steering me to this exceptional film. After watching it on Blu Ray, what I was feeling must have been akin to what the first audiences to see NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD felt when they walked out of the theater back in 1968.

dallasryan The ending is what brought this film together, the ending is what made this film transcend itself from the rest of the wolf pack. A film that should be looked at as a metaphor for our society. How we're brought up and how things like movies, music, et al, can give the ones with unbalanced neurological brain deficiencies the extra push they need to go off the deep end of the ocean.Also shows in Marty, how as a society, we're afraid to stand up to tyranny, we're afraid to do anything before it's too late as we've been taught and conditioned to mind our own business, if it's not happening to us-to just look the other way, etc.A society that loves gore, porn, and bdsm is brought to a head by the end of the film, and to truly find the sickness in us all, and to not medicate it(although sometimes medicating it is the only way once your mind is past the point of no return), but to truly get to the root of our problems, that's when we're found, we find ourselves.

quitwhileyouareahead This is a movie that will impress some and offend others much like some of the ground breaking horror classics of the past. Will this be the next classic? I think not, although it could be a springboard for the director as it does pack a wallop. It is very effective and well done with some very good acting, at least from the two leads. I haven't decided if the adult actors are incredibly bad or if they are deliberately staged that way to emphasize the viewpoint of the younger boy who narrates through some of the scenes. I will give the director the benefit of the doubt as it otherwise would be inconsistent with his other great choices. If you can handle the sick material, it is probably a good movie to watch again as you may underrate it. I can only give it a 6 for entertainment value but then maybe I have underrated it.