#13 - WNUF Halloween Special (2013)
(dir. Chris LaMartina, others)
This Halloween special, which originally aired in 1987, is one of the most infamous broadcasts ever made. In a live broadcast, TV reporter Frank Stewart led a small team of paranormal investigators into a supposedly haunted house to hunt for ghosts, and to host a live call-in seance. Things quickly began to go wrong, and despite the station's attempt to cut away, the horrific events that followed were not only captured on camera - they were broadcast to the whole town. Luckily, someone was able to record the whole thing on VHS.
Obviously, this is not really from the 80's, but it really captures the look and feel of a local news broadcast from that era, with commercials and everything. The structure feels totally authentic, and even though some of the fake commercials get pretty silly, I don't think it would be difficult to convince someone that this is a real recording. Presented as simply an unedited VHS recording of the evening news and the subsequent special, the events play out exactly as they would have if this were an actual broadcast. The commercial breaks, which get very annoying by the end, break up the flow of the special every few minutes. This lends authenticity to the broadcast, but at the same time results in the pacing of the film being really odd, and sometimes frustrating.
I thought this film was a blast. I've never seen a "found footage" movie quite like it - I put that in quotes because it isn't a totally accurate description of the style, but it's the closest one I can think of. The simulated 80's television aesthetic is just as interesting as the horror elements, perhaps more so - the "fake ghost hunt goes wrong" thing has been done before, but it has never been presented like this. Recommended to fans of found footage, or anyone nostalgic for crappy 80's TV.
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