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Review: Case 347

Just when I thought found footage had played all its cards, along comes Chris Wax's Case 347 to prove me wrong.

OK, not for one moment did I forget I was watching a movie. This isn't a Blair Witch Project win here. There's no way anything pertaining to be found footage could ever do that again. But Wax's film holds your attention from Frame 1, and doesn't let go until the film is over.

Maya Stojan plays Mia, who is making a documentary about extraterrestrials. Her goal is to debunk the phenomenon, but things quickly spiral out of hand the deeper into the investigation she goes, and everything circles back to her own family history.

As is the case with any good found-footage movie, Case 347's success rests on the cast and filmmaking. Stojan is great as Mia, and Wax does good work behind the camera as writer/director, and in front of it as part of Mia's crew. Jason Kropik is also good as the lone voice of reason in their little group.

There's a few jump scares, but for the most part Wax focuses on building a slow-burn tension. There's a particularly creepy sequence where the crew encounters a little girl on a highway at night that is downright chilling.

All told, this is good, good stuff. Well made and acted and, as an amateur paranormal investigator myself, pretty well researched too. I'm giving it a Good, and encourage Basement Dwellers to seek it out on VOD. It's available now.
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