GOOD CHILL HUNTING
HUNTING MATTHEW NICHOLS (15)
Director: Markian Tarasiuk
Screenplay: Sean Harris Oliver, Markian Tarasiuk
Starring: Miranda MacDougall, Markain Tarasiuk, Ryan Alexander McDonald
Running time: 89 minutes
Shudder
Review: RJ Bland
True crime documentaries and found-footage horror have been good mates for years. One of the reasons that the latter is so effective is that the format immediately encourages a suspension of disbelief. It’s almost like a magic trick. Raw, grainy, seemingly unfiltered footage has an inherent sense of authenticity that polished, carefully composed cinematography often struggles to replicate. It simply looks and feels more real. And true crime only seems to be growing in popularity these days, with viewers seemingly still fascinated with the mystery and macabre of missing person/murder cases. It's the closest thing to real life horror that many of us get to witness (thankfully). So it's no great surprise that these two film-making styles can compliment each other so well. The combination of found footage’s vérité aesthetic with the familiar conventions of true crime documentaries - news broadcasts, on-screen graphics, archival material and talking-head interviews - can be a particularly winning formula. The line between reality and fiction can be blurred with great effect. The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007), Lake Mungo (2008), Savageland (2025), Strange Harvest (2025) and Horror in the High Desert (2023) are all excellent examples of this approach, and well worth seeking out for fans of the subgenre. Hunting Matthew Nichols, the feature debut from Ukranian Canadian director Markian Tarasiuk, is the latest film looking to capitalise on this particularly effective marriage of true crime and found-footage horror...
On Halloween night 2001, 17 year old Matthew Nichols and his best friend Jordan vanished with a trace in the unforgiving woods of Vancouver Island. More than two decades later, their disappearance remains a mystery. No bodies have ever been recovered, no definitive evidence of foul play has emerged, and the circumstances surrounding that fateful night remain the subject of unanswered questions. Now, Matthew's younger sister, Tara (Miranda MacDougall), is returning to the island in an attempt to finally uncover the truth about what happened to her brother. Accompanied by filmmaker Markian Tarasiuk (playing himself, naturally) and his cinematographer Ryan, Tara sets out to document the case, retrace the events leading up to the boys' disappearance, and hopefully find some measure of closure for herself and her family. As the team begins interviewing people connected to the case, including Tara's mother and Pam Hamilton (Christina Willes), the original lead investigator, a complicated picture of the past begins to emerge. Hamilton has long believed that Matthew and Jordan simply became lost in the woods, eventually falling into a ravine or river and drowning. But without bodies, physical evidence, or any clear indication of foul play, the case has never been conclusively solved and remains technically open. In fact, the only evidence that has ever been discovered is Matthew's camcorder that was found in an abandoned old cabin that was home to a local religious (cult!) leader from a decades before. But as Tara and the filmmakers begin examining the original case files and reviewing the available evidence, Tara notices something that doesn't quite add up. According to the official inventory, several DV tapes were logged as evidence. Yet one of them appears to be missing from the records and has never been accounted for. Why would the authorities have neglected to disclose this final tape? Well, we soon discover why and the ramifications are pretty big...and extremely unsettling. Some things are better left buried. And some mysteries, it seems, were never meant to be solved.
Attempting yet another found-footage take on the 'missing person' subgenre is no easy task. The Blair Witch Project (1999) may have been the first (unless you count the Italian shocker Cannibal Holocaust), but it remains the best in many people's eyes - ourselves included. However, Dutch Marich's ongoing Horror in the High Desert series demonstrates that, far from being a format audiences have grown tired of, there are still fresh ways to elicit genuine terror from this particular style of filmmaking. For the most part, Hunting Matthew Nichols is gripping and intriguing without ever being particularly frightening. That is, until the final ten minutes. But we'll get to that.
The film does a pretty convincing job of emulating an actual documentary, despite some early scenes in which certain exchanges feel a little too 'acted'. However, as we settle into the rhythm of the narrative, the performances become more naturalistic and these initial wrinkles gradually iron themselves out. Miranda MacDougall does a fine job portraying someone who starts out curious and engaged but gradually becomes increasingly intense and almost paranoid. Her performance convincingly sells that progression. A special mention, too, for Christine Willes, who makes a real impression in an excellent (and pivotal) one-take scene at the midpoint. The success of horror mockumentaries ultimately hinges on two things: genuinely unsettling found-footage sequences and a convincing sense of authenticity in the documentary elements. On the latter front, Hunting Matthew Nichols certainly passes the test, although some viewers may find its approach a little too measured and deliberate. There are no jump scares or sudden shocks peppered throughout. You have to be patient and wait for the good stuff.
While the film teases the prospect of a missing found-footage video, it isn't actually the centrepiece of the horror. Going in, you might assume that, much like Horror in the High Desert, the film is building towards a 'big reveal' in which we finally get to see what's on the tape. We do get glimpses, but director Markian Tarasiuk is careful not to reveal too much, instead using the footage primarily as a narrative device to propel the story forward. The film is essentially a quest to locate this elusive tape and, once it has been found and viewed, it sets the wheels in motion for the inevitable conclusion. And, as mentioned earlier, this is pure, unadulterated found-footage horror. Yes, it feels a little Blair Witchy (a film referenced several times throughout), and it makes the questionable decision to layer a musical score over the footage (come on, guys!). But there's also a distinctive occult and folk-horror flavour that gives it an identity of its own. And, much like Sanchez and Myrick's masterpiece, it leaves you feeling thoroughly unnerved, while deliberately leaving a few questions unanswered.
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