Jimmy Tupper vs. the Goatman of Bowie

First things first, if you don't like horror films that employ the use of hand-held cameras (Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity, Cloverfield etc.) then don't even bother with this one. As matter of fact, you can stop reading my review right now.

Now, for those of you who are still with me and are looking for the next big handy cam horror film this is not it. That's not to say that Jimmy Tupper is a bad film, quite the contrary. In fact, what makes this film stand out above the others is that I truly believed that the camcorder footage was authentic, whereas in films such as REC:, Cloverfield etc., the application of the hand held is a stylized choice and the actors are pretending not to act.

Jimmy Tupper is effective because I truly believed that the footage – at least for the first half of the film – was real footage of kids goofing off, partying and of course being mean to their so called "friend" Jimmy Tupper. It's in the second half of the film in where it starts to lose me, not in the stories revelation – which I will not spoil for you – but in the changing from shaky handy cam to a more stylized digital camera with smoother more professional transitions.

In summation, it's too bad Jimmy Tupper couldn't stick to its guns that it starting shooting with and winds up firing nothing but blanks.

The movie was not only fun due to the idea that the main character went back to the woods to get proof of the Goatman, but it is also another fine example of Andrew Bowser's storytelling prowess.

I have seen three of Andrew Bowser's films (this one, "Worm", and "Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls"). All 3 were vastly different from the others, but the one thing they all had in common was Andrew's detailed storytelling.

This movie was not just about about a bunch of young partiers pranking a friend, and the friend spanking them in the end with a truth. From the beginning you could see what living in Nowhereville looks and feels like - being stuck in a low-wage dead-end job and escaping that prison at night by getting wasted with friends.

Among his "friends", Jimmy is the runt of the litter, and they think nothing of dumping his unconscious body off in the middle of the woods, except for one brief moment when one of his friends explained, on camera, that "it's Mike's idea".

When Jimmy returned to the woods, it was evident that he put a lot of thought, albeit very quickly, into returning for his quest. He was desperate in his need to justify his prior experience in the woods, and he displayed a very realistic range of defiant "I'm coming for you Goatman" to freaking out and crying the first night he heard noises around the tent, and again the second night when his "douchebag" friends returned with masks to scare him.

There were also some interesting details about his development of his artistic capabilities. Jimmy's vulnerable character was laid out and wide open, echoing his extremely vulnerable immediate situation.

Toward the end I continued to expect certain things to happen and not to happen, but was surprised each time.

This is a very solid early creation for Andrew Bowser. I really liked it.