What starts off as an interesting idea rapidly becomes something we have seen before. As of this writing there are approximately three billion found footage horror films. To that list we now add Godforsaken, a Blair Witch meets The Last Exorcism mashup in a small town in Canada.

Toronto-based indy film team Chad (Chad Tailor), Dom (Domenic Derose), and Katie (Katie Fleming) have come to Minto, Canada, Chad’s hometown, to make a documentary. A childhood friend has passed away and Chad is in town for the funeral but also wants to make a film. The problem is that we have seen all of this before in other films, down to the actors using their real names, the shaky camera work, the screaming and running, and even the plot itself. The film is not at all bad – the performances are solid and the visuals work (until one moment at the end that for this viewer crossed the line into ridiculous), it is just hard to be scared at something I am seeing for the hundredth time, even if done well. A slightly above average entry in an overfull subgenre, if you will. In short, if you enjoy this sort of thing, stop reading (spoilers below) and go watch it. If you’re over found footage, keep reading.

Lisa (Mélie B. Rondeau) passed away and at her funeral noises were heard from the casket, which then fell to the ground and she crawled out.  It is an effective little sequence, as are several of the set pieces in the film. What follows is not ever a surprise.

At first Lisa begins healing people. Townspeople, including Chad’s mom (Nicole Fairbairn) find her healings miraculous and believe she has been touched by God. Another childhood friend, Chris (Chris Kelly), uses a wheelchair, but after Lisa touches him he can walk again. But the film is called Godforsaken, so you know that this will not end well and is not of God. Faster than you can say “too-good-to-be-true,” the miracles start turning dark. Chris goes mad, shooting others before killing himself. The priest from the funeral, Father Anderson (Dan Bieman) seemingly commits hara kiri with a crucifix. One by one the healed become possessed and then we slip from a demon possession found footage film into a zombie found footage film, as the possessed individuals mindlessly chase and attack our documentary crew which keeps filming throughout the horrors.

At one point the characters run into the local movie theatre which is playing Night of the Living Dead in a none-too-subtle bit of self-reference.  Fun because, it is in the public domain and therefore free to use in one’s own film, but also, not to put too fine a point on it, the film is calling attention to its own shift. One my one characters we have met at the funeral and around town become possessed and join the horde and you know before the credits roll that camera will be on the ground with everybody dead (not a spoiler – kinda predictable since Blair Witch). The last twenty minutes or so is simply a cacophony of screaming, running, possessed individuals leering at the person holding the camera and the attacking. It becomes a bit much and Godforsaken might have benefited from a less-is-more approach here.

5 out of 10