Creepy, atmospheric indie horror should be any given film festival’s cream of the crop. Man Finds Tape perfectly meets this criteria, establishing a trademark eerie mystery with a signature style evolved from the best in the found footage subgenre. This one is less Paranormal Activity than Late Night with the Devil or The Poughkeepsie Tapes, finding a seamless flow in its faux documentary trappings. Writing/directing duo Paul Gandersman and Peter S. Hall show a clear understanding for the kind of Lynchian small town dynamics and breadcrumbs of answers that make for a captivating mystery. Twisty and bizarre, be kind, rewind Man Finds Tape in all its nostalgically mesmerizing glory.
The fictional quiet town of Larkin, Texas, may have its own secret boogeyman. On the map due to a strange and unusual web series aptly titled “Man Finds Tape,” Larkin native Lucas (William Magnuson) discovers a mysterious videotape with his name on it when cleaning out the barn of his recently-deceased parents. The footage contained therein leads Lucas down a rabbit hole of cryptic clues and oddball occurrences that transform Lucas into a veritable online obsession. Narrated entirely by Lynn (Kelsey Pribilski), Lucas’s older sister, Man Finds Tape envisions a documentary project where the two siblings hunt for answers to some of Larkin’s most chilling secrets. As Lucas gets deeper into his research, he begins experiencing unexplainable blackouts and memory loss.
Without getting too deep into the labyrinthian plot, Gandersman and Hall develop a strong hook of a concept right from the very beginning. How can a crime be committed, yet those complicit have no memory of it actually occurring at all? The supernatural trappings of their idea perfectly suits the documentary format. They use a mix of various types of videography to strengthen Lyn’s central thesis, brilliantly merging cell phone, surveillance, and webcam footage. There are also talking heads, too, in classic documentary style. The Curse of the Blair Witch, a faux documentary that aired ahead of the movie itself in the late 90s, comes to mind in this approach. Every bit of texture added from various subjects aids in the overall authenticity. We might know what we are seeing is fake this time around, yet it still chills to the bone in its execution.
Lyn herself makes for an easily-lovable protagonist to follow, thanks to a variety of factors. For one, Pribilski has a certain cadence to her voice that perfectly accompanies the bizarro imagery. She also feels like a presence we can trust amongst so much uncertainty, a sort of outsider perspective willing enough to share her full family history with the viewer. As for Magnuson, in his paranoia, he still seems to have latched onto a thread of truth. His online presence grows, but his commitment to uncovering the whys and the hows behind the discovered videotape speaks volumes. He shines a light on a suspicion towards a possible suspect: weird revered Endicott Carr (John Gholson), host of a long-defunct public access show called The Salvation Hour. Footage of this reverend and his preachy sermons is interspersed throughout Man Finds Tape, adding a layer of unnerving religious testimony into the mix.
Eventually, Man Finds Tape provides answers to its nail-biting questions, delivering some cosmic body horror to go with the rest. Too many mystery titles are content to just let the audience do the problem solving without the strong writing to back it up. There is no such issue here—Gandersman and Hall leave enough to the imagination without spelling out every little detail, but they also deliver bold and satisfying moments that add a layer of cohesiveness. The ambiguity never frustrates, managing to work well off strong character arcs and fleshed out mythology that takes its time.
Man Finds Tape ultimately plays on the unreliable nature of memories, wrapping the genre trappings in a cloak of viral content. The journey it takes the viewer on still manages to be one of unexpected depth. The searing imagery builds gradual tension toward a gripping climax seeped in dread. That slow build gives the film an addictive quality, a surprising emotional thread weaved in between the shakiness of its horror. With a throughline of monsters hiding in plain sight and a homespun web of terrifying secrets, Man Finds Tape records a creepy masterpiece.
Man Finds Tape premiered at 2025’s Tribeca International Film Festival.
One thought on “Tribeca 2025: Man Finds Tape”