‘Godforsaken’ Review: An Unholy And Disturbing Found Footage Experience
Mary Beth McAndrews
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Take a religious found footage horror film and it’ll probably have something to do with a demon or miracles or both. Films such as The Devil’s Doorway and The Borderlands play with the concept of the demonic masking itself with miraculous occurrences. Everyone wants to believe in a miracle, after all. But those miracles quickly go to hell in a handbasket, which is no different in Ali Akbar Akbar Kamal‘s new found footage film Godforsaken. But Kamal takes its concept beyond the typical religious horror film. Between the use of miraculous cures, mass suicide, and zombies, Godforsaken swings for the fences, creating a low-budget hidden gem slightly reminiscent of [REC].
Chad (Chad Tailor) is a documentary filmmaker who’s gone home for the funeral of a high school friend. He’s returning home to support his mother (the church’s pastor), the deceased’s family, and his childhood friends. Being a filmmaker, he’s recording the entire event much to his mother’s chagrin. But then, something happens. Jane (Mélie B. Rondeau), the deceased, comes back to life.
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Congregants sprint out of the church screaming and her mother prays to God while Jane snarls at everyone around her. She’s returned to the land of the living, but she definitely isn’t the same person. This is just the beginning of the film. Now, Chad decides to come back with friends Katie (Katie Fleming) and Dom (Domenic Derose) to make a documentary about whatever the hell is going on in his small Canadian hometown.
They’re determined to figure out if this in fact a miracle. As they keep digging and trying to film Jane, something comes over the town. First, Chad’s friend Chris (Chris Kelly), once a wheelchair user, is granted the ability to walk by Jane. Then a child is cured of a chronic illness. Soon, people flock to Jane, who’s kept in a dank basement, to receive her gifts. A cult mentality overtakes the town. A symbol is erected in her honor. She is their new God.
But of course, this is a case of too good to be true and when things break bad, they break bad fast. Everything snowballs into hell as violence overruns the town. The trio can do nothing but try and outrun whatever madness has gripped everyone around them. The climax is essentially zombies meet Jonestown in a way that made my jaw drop.
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What’s difficult to grapple with in Godforsaken is its performances. Sometimes, they’re great. Other times, they’re painfully amateur. And what’s even more frustrating is that one actor will give both a terrible and incredible performance, depending on the scene. It’s like we’re watching brand new actors warm up to the idea of being in front of the camera and each scene is them getting more and more comfortable. This is especially the case for Chad’s mom (JoAnn Bundock) and other townspeople, who at first appear stiff and overact. But as the horror begins to truly start, Bundock falls into the role, portraying bone-chilling terror and panic with a surprising amount of sincerity. So while the performances, for the most part, get there, it’s still challenging to sit with them at their worst.
However, our core three have just enough chemistry, particularly Chad and Dom, to keep the viewer invested in their doomed fates. They play and joke with one another like real friends, selling their relationships as more than just onscreen personas.
The ending is a bit rough around the edges, particularly in how it rushes through an explanation of what’s been happening to the town. It’s smashed into an otherwise shocking climax that doesn’t hold back in brutality against its protagonists. But that comes with the territory with low-budget indie horror, especially found footage. If you can look past some of the less polished elements of Godforsaken, you’re in for a downright nasty treat.
Summary
If you can look past some of the less polished elements of Godforsaken, you’re in for a downright nasty treat.
