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 Marty is no wisecracking tween from a Spielberg picture, but an emotionally immature and painfully withdrawn kid, very much like the ones you would find in any classroom in the real world.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.

To make you an idea the Blair witch Project back in 1999 have an estimated budget of $60.000 so think for ten seconds on that.$8.000 have to be something like 15 minutes of Brad Pitts's salary and this guy made a movie with that ...I was coming to point out the flaws and now that I know this I only can say this guy is a genius;With that money people these days do not make even a short.Now the sensation that the movie gave me was that it one of those that can surprise you (my case) or offend you.It is disturbing ,original and macabre and at the same time deals with a lot of dramatic family issues like secrets and the relationship between parents and sons.The cast and the acting has some point amateurish but it gave it a touch of realism in it own flaw.The faces in the cast are not the cliché pretty boys kind so it adds something more it remind me of HARMONY KORINE type of cast before Selena Gomez and James Franco.I recommended this movie to the people that want to see a dramatic thriller with real horror and I advice you not to see trailers go and dive in this one whit confident it will not let you indifferent.Knowing now about the budget for it originality I give it 9 out 10 Thank you well done!

Based on the novel by Todd Rigney, "FOUND" is a refreshing addition to the horror genre. A familiar yet grim coming of age drama wrapped in a very dark and horrific nightmarish shell. The story is told through the eye's of Marty, a typical twelve year old boy who like most of you reading this can probably relate to, tends to escape the turmoil of his daily life by taking refuge in horror films. From early on in the film we learn that Marty (Gavin Brown) is from an average American family with the usual facade of "normalcy" hiding a plethora of underlying social problems. His fathers overt racism and inability to relate to or get along with his older son. His mothers inability to mediate or intervene in the situation, and his brothers (Ethan Philbeck) worsening antisocial behavior. Marty has discovered personal secrets of his family members. His dad's porn stash, mother's love letters to an old boyfriend and the biggest one yet, a bowling bag containing a severed head in his brothers closet. Marty discovers the brother that he loves and looks up to is a serial killer. "My brother keeps a human head in his closet. Every few days it's a new head", "My life is starting to turn into a horror movie." Let me just say that I found this film intriguing and truly disturbing. Director Scott Schirmer has done a truly amazing job on a shoestring budget of a reported $8000.00 dollars, managing to tell a great story and do what most big budget horror films seem to fail at, making you care about the characters. The only drawback of the film for me was the talent level of some of the supporting cast. While Gavin Brown and Ethan Filbeck gave outstanding performances for their first outing, the mother (Phyllis Munro) and several of the supporting members, most notably the father (Louie Lawless) seemed to lack the ability to convincingly pull off any dramatic moments. But this is a relatively minor complaint and hardly a drawback in the ability to enjoy this film. Other indi film makers and directors should pay attention and take notes. This is how it's done, with an engaging story and a lot of heart. With all that said, I highly recommend this film. In the end I was left almost speechless. This film manages to tell a sympathetic yet engaging horrific story. It is severely brutal and gory at times and not for the faint of heart. Four out of five stars!

This movie is proof that a good story will overshadow any budgetary limitations. I'd heard of this film for quite some time because of all the rave reviews. I don't usually watch new horror movies because I think they're generally unwatchable but I decided to give Found. a look because I was so curious to see what the production did with only $8,000. Well, I was engaged from the opening scene when a young boy named Marty tells us through voice over that he sneaks into his older brother Steve's room when he's not home just so he can take a look at the severed heads he keeps in his closest. Needless to say, Steve is a serial killer and Marty's the only person who knows his older brother's secret.The film gave me chills in a way very few films do. There's something very real and disturbing about the subject matter that does not let up until the end credits roll much like Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer.It is important to point out that aside from the story, every other aspect of the film is incredibly amateur. The footage looks like it was shot on a digital camera from the early 2000s, the sound is very poor and the acting from most of the cast is very amateur. Does it matter? Surprisingly not at all. I basically ignored all of this because the story was so captivating and relevant to today's society that I just wanted to see how much worse this young boy's nightmare could get...and it gets indescribably horrifying.Kudos to the team for basically picking up a camera and using whatever resources they had to tell such a twisted story. If you're mature enough to get past the budgetary limitations and appreciate the film for what it is, you will not be disappointed. This is coming from a die hard horror fan. Best horror film I've seen in many years.