Tribeca: “Man Finds Tape” Finds the Monster Lurking in Every Frame
It’s a tale as old as time: someone finds a strange item that rockets them to internet fame, which invariably ruins their life and their devoted fans turn on them, claiming hoax. Rookie co-directors Paul Gandersman and Peter Hall tackle this rise and fall of an internet sensation in their Tribeca-premiering Man Finds Tape. But things in this film are a little different and the stakes considerably higher. Man Finds Tape is a pseudo-documentary that questions our sense of reality and asks if monsters can exist in plain sight.
Lucas Page (William Magnuson) achieved viral fame through his YouTube channel, “Man Finds Tape.” While looking through his now-deceased parents’ home, he finds a tape with his name on it that is footage from Lucas’ childhood. The video shows a stranger come into his childhood bedroom and wake him from his sleep. Lucas has no memory of this encounter, but upon finding the tape, he goes down a rabbit hole that’s far deeper than he could have imagined. To help with the growing mystery, Lucas calls his sister, Lynn (Kelsey Pribilski), a documentarian, who agrees to return to their hometown and solve the puzzle that’s coming to light.
A mockumentary is an exceptionally difficult style to pull off. Most people think of a mockumentary as a comedic vehicle with the popularity of media like Parks and Recreation and The Office, but horror has a home in the style as well. Man Finds Tape differs from horror entries in the faux documentary category because the film doesn’t wholly rely on shaky camera footage to build a sense of dread, excitement, or scares. Instead, it wants to show everything. The few moments of shaky camera work are earned and never detract from the audience getting a full picture of the scene in front of them.
courtesy of Tribeca
Part of the reason Man Finds Tape refuses to hide behind the more gimmicky aspects of the mockumentary is because of the central theme of denial playing a role in being able to see the truth of our circumstances. Even with tangible, visible proof of the existence of something, people often choose to believe something different. It’s an especially harrowing time with the rise of Artificial Intelligence, when what we see isn’t always what is true. How do you trust anyone or anything?
Man Finds Tape twists this even further, with its mysterious monster always looming over the film. The audience is asked to question each new character’s motives and their role within the film. Can a monster hide in plain sight? Can they walk and talk like you and me, yet be responsible for unspeakable evils? “Are all monsters a hoax? Or is it possible that the monsters that haunt the 21st century hide in plain sight?” asks Lynn in the opening montage. Surely someone has to see evil in their own backyard, right?
There’s a deep indie-spirit sensibility to Man Finds Tape. Often constrictions, like the mockumentary style, can create a piece of work that feels far larger than one might think. Such is the case with Man Finds Tape. What begins as an interesting look at viral internet fame leads the viewer into a darker corner of what humanity is capable of.
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