Found - Mein Bruder ist ein Serienkiller

This is a movie that will impress some and offend others much like some of the ground breaking horror classics of the past. Will this be the next classic? I think not, although it could be a springboard for the director as it does pack a wallop. It is very effective and well done with some very good acting, at least from the two leads. I haven't decided if the adult actors are incredibly bad or if they are deliberately staged that way to emphasize the viewpoint of the younger boy who narrates through some of the scenes. I will give the director the benefit of the doubt as it otherwise would be inconsistent with his other great choices. If you can handle the sick material, it is probably a good movie to watch again as you may underrate it. I can only give it a 6 for entertainment value but then maybe I have underrated it.

Let me start by saying I respect the hell out of this movie. I had heard good things about this movie, and it seemed right up my alley, so my expectations were set mildly high. I thought the story, character development, writing, and lead kid were all great. There were a few scenes with actors that played small roles that were almost cringe worthy because they weren't very good actors. Luckily for the film, most of the scenes took place between the 12-year old boy and his brother. My overall feeling with this movie is that I enjoyed it, but I wish there was just a liiiiittle bit more in the budget for the smaller roles. If you can get around a few scenes with bad acting, it is worth a watch.

"Found" may very well be one of the most difficult films I ever reviewed… It completely wasn't what I expected, but then again I didn't really know what to expect. It is definitely a horror movie, but simultaneously also one of those films that are unclassifiable. Like several other reviewers around here, I'm tempted to label it as a "coming-of-age" story, but those are usually pretentious and boring, and "Found" most certainly is not! And finally, I don't want to use too many enthusiast superlatives, because it honestly isn't that unique or fantastic, neither. The least I can say for myself is that "Found" pleasantly surprised me in some ways and also that it made me think. Not necessarily about deeply philosophical subjects, but merely about how simple and identifiable the most shocking horror tales actually are.

The one thing I find absolutely astonishing in Todd Rigney's screenplay (adapted from his own novel) is the realism and authenticity of the lead characters, and particularly of the young protagonist Marty. I recognize a lot of myself in Marty from when I was around that age. Finally a normal 12-year-old who loves watching gory horror movies without hinting that he's abnormal, disturbed or potentially dangerous. Marty says early in the film: "I like watching violence, but I'm not a violent person myself". That's exactly what I'm forced to repeat to people over and over again when I tell them about my passion for extreme cinema. I have been intrigued with sick and sadist violence for as long as I can remember, and – like with Marty - my parents never made a big deal out of it, but I never felt the urge to hurt another living creature or was unable to function in society. I consider "Found" as one of the best horror stories of the last 10-15 years if it were only for the verity of Marty's character. And the same actually goes for his parents as well. They actually come across as good people and decent parents; not like the clichéd type of abusive and alcoholic parents who are generally responsible for the later failures of their children. Of course, I didn't have an older brother who was a serial killer and kept severed heads in his closet, but obviously Todd Rigney needed at least one extraordinary lead character, otherwise his novel and screenplay would have been quite boring.

So, Marty discovered that his older brother Steve is a murdering psychopath and he's terrified of him. Marty desperately tries to hide from Steve that he knows his dark secret, but also can't resist snooping around in his brother's horror closet and impressive VHS horror collection. Marty has very few friends and gets bullied at school, but the evil hobby of his brother and also Steve's increasingly protective behavior give Marty more confidence and strength to stand up for himself. "Found" is film of extreme opposites. The atmosphere of the main story is foreboding and the pacing is rather slow. There practically isn't any action and even the intense climax is suggestive and unsettling rather than explicit and confronting. In sheer contrast to all this, however, there's a large portion of film-within-film footage that is utterly violent, sickening and gratuitous. The supposedly lost horror movie is called "Headless" and follows a deranged killer wearing an eerie skull-mask as he's ruthlessly butchering young women and sodomizing their mutilated corpses. If it weren't for the "Headless" footage, and perhaps 2 or 3 human heads in a bowling bag, "Found" would only be a talkative and atmospheric coming-of-age story (albeit a very good one)

Based on popular demand, "Headless" got turned into a full-length separate film, directed by make-up wizard Arthur Cullipher and starring Shane Beasley as the deranged killer. According to many people whose opinions I trust, it's just as vile and uncompromising as the footage shown in "Found". Needless to say I will do whatever I can to see it as soon as possible.

Sometimes you can say it runs in the family ... sometimes it is just one bad sheep that will put a bad name to all. What could be the case here? Is being rebelious the same as being an ice cold killer? Of course not, right? There are more degrees to what consists of being a bad person or a bad parent/sibling and the movie explores a few of them.

Depending on your view on things you may feel different things on the characters displayed. I would argue that you can have empathy for at least the kid. That doesn't mean you will condone his behaviour. There are good arguments to be made and there are certain things said that make sense. This is not the greatest movie, but it does try to be more than just a slasher/horror movie. The low budget nature of it means, you have to forgive a few downfalls in certain areas ... if you do, there is a decent movie here

"found." is Scott Schirmer's dark caveat to what could arguably be the true meaning of horror starring Gavin Brown, Ethan Philbeck, Phyllis Munro, Louie Lawless and Alex Kogin. The film follows a young boy who's life is abruptly altered when he discovers his older brother is a budding serial killer. The story delves deep into the nuances of family dynamic like nothing I have ever seen before. Marty is a boy transitioning into his own only to have to deal with bullying, loss of familiarity and the complete and utterly disturbing degradation of family stability. "found." is so much more than a horror story, it is a visual ode to a very deep and personal problem lying unmentioned, ignored or unnoticed within our world of paved pathways that guide us along our daily destinations dotted by manicured lawns and cookie-cutter homes. That problem which Schirmer brutally forces us to notice is the complete and utter break down of family cohesion. That one aspect of life that for many of us is an assumed respite, a place of safety and comfort-home, viciously ripped away to expose a darkness that in this film is unequivocally the birth of evil.

The story plays with you completely from the very beginning. It grabs at your emotional center and squeezes slowly but firmly all the while pushing you to the very edge of tense anguish as felt through the eyes and mind of a child. "found" has done something that so few movies are capable of, it made me reevaluate how I define horror. The characters are so modest and honest that you relate to them in a truly gripping way. It exposes the twisted nature of misguided youth forced to face life with very few answers and nearly absent representation. Then simultaneously placing you head first into racism and bullying. But wait, as if that wasn't enough to make this well defined nightmare affective there is an added element that forces you as a viewer to test your limit of what is acceptable horror. It is a question that people have argued for quite some time- are horror films warping young people? This is truly the first time that I have seen that subject matter carefully and poignantly dealt with in the horror industry in such an honest manner while taking you into some of the most sickest and twisted areas of shock/horror cinema.

In my opinion this is truly a masterful tale of terror that carries a deeper message that needs to be addressed, and manages to do so in a fresh and exciting way. It carries all the emotion of surrealistic art film, complete brutality and gore of a horror film in the most systematically harmonious ways imaginable. There is an element of truth that this story pulsates from that creates an atmosphere so haunting and tragic. The film is held together by a chilling soundtrack that allows the story with all it's components to flow seamlessly. Quite frankly I hope more people than just the horror community experiences this film because although the visuals are graphic the heart of the drama is one that needs to be exposed because the true nightmare of this film is the fact that it could very well be happening in your neighborhood or more disturbingly in your very home. I recommend that everyone who comes across this film-watch it! It is just that powerful. A truly terrifying look into the mouth of madness is what you get with "found."