This independently produced and released horror film made back it's cost on the first weekend of release and delighted many people I know. Wanting to see what the fuss was about I dove in.
One part found footage and one part fake documentary, HUNTING MATTHEW NICHOLS follows a documentary filmmaker who tries to sort out what happened 22 years earlier when her brother and his friend disappeared, never to be heard from again.
Sticking close to the psuedo documentary branch of the the found footage genre the film is the assembled footage of the quest to find the missing boys. Holding tight to it's conceit the film doesn't really commit the found footage sin of changing POV until late in the game and even then it's not done so as to collapse the tale. I mention this because I abhor most found footage films because too often they alter their rules becuase they paint themselves into a corner and they can't get out. HUNTINGS shift doesn't feel like cheating which is why the film holds together.
Yes, the film has chills and yes, the film has suspense (which is why the film is worth seeing), but what I liked about the film is how it nails the true crime doc motif perfectly. I love that the filmmakers have made a film where this could fool true crime fans for a good chunk of its running time. I can imagine some lazy programmer at Discovery Channel seeing the film and thinking adter watch half of the film to program it. I truly love this film gets the genre right.
My geeky love of the film aside, HUNTING MATTHEW NICHOLS is a scary delight and recommended.
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